Ṣaḍaṅga Yoga's Kumbhaka Rough Breathing Practice from Vajrayāna Tibetan Buddhist text
Translator’s Note
Prāṇāyāma in the Ṣaḍaṅgayoga system of Kālacakra Tantra includes four main yogic breathing techniques. This article is about the third method, 'Kumbhaka with Rough Breathing'. In Tibetan it is called rtsub rlung bum pa can. This text is taken from the Ṣaḍaṅgayoga section of Ngawang Kunga Sonam's (1597-1659) commentary on the Kālacakra Tantra.
The instructions for this Kumbhaka breathing technique are quite difficult to translate, and I have left the translation incomplete for fear of mistranslation. Do not follow the instructions as my translation, but refer to other texts to understand this technique. The purpose of this article is simply to give the reader an idea of the various breathing techniques of the Prāṇāyāma ancillary yoga of Ṣaḍaṅgayoga in Vajrayāna Tibetan Buddhism, which are almost unknown to many people.
The four main yogic breathing techniques of Prāṇāyāma
Vajra breathing:
This breathing practice involves inhaling, holding and exhaling with the (mental) sound of Om, Hum and Ah in that order. This practice helps to purify the passage of the nāḍīs (will write about this in another post).
kumbhaka with gentle breathing method:
In this practice, the yogi inhales through one nostril (closing the other nostril with an index finger), presses the air a little at the navel and holding the air without drawing the lower air (apāna vāyu) to the navel. Then exhales through the other nostril. This breathing practice helps to usher and lock the air into the central channel.
Kumbhaka with rough breathing:
This practice involves a rough and forceful breathing technique and must draw the apāna vāyu forcefully. This practice helps to bind the vital air within the central channel.
haṭhayoga:
This practice is used when the kumbhaka with the gentle breathing method and the kumbhaka with the rough breathing method fails in directing and binding the vital air in the central channel respectively.
TRANSLATION
Text:
Once the prāṇa enters the central channel with the help of kumbhaka with gentle breathing, the practitioner has to bind the prāṇa in the bindu of the central channel.
Explanation:
Although the prāṇa has entered the central channel. However, if the practitioner is unable to lock the merged prāṇa and apāna vāyu in the bindu of the nāḍī-chakra of the forehead with the kumbhaka of gentle breathing, there is no benefit in breathing from the left and right channels like a blacksmith's bellows with the kumbhaka of gentle breathing method.
What is the meaning of 'entering prāṇa into the central channel with the kumbhaka of gentle breathing'? By means of gentle breathing, the vital air enters (the central channel) from the navel, like a pot of water (kumbhaka) filled with fire, the air (in the body) fills the entire inner body with fire, and at the upper tip of the central channel, a ball of prāṇa and apāna vāyu, merged into one, enters the bindu of the nāḍī-chakra of the forehead. This is the meaning of 'the vital air entering or becoming entrapped in the central channel'.
Kumbhaka with rough breathing:
What is 'Kumbhaka Rough Breathing'? There are three types of air or breathing, gentle, rough and forceful. This method of breathing is rougher than the gentle breathing and gentler than the forceful breathing. So it is called rough breathing.
What is Kumbhaka of Kumbhaka Rough Breathing? It is not merely bringing the air of the left and right channels (into the central channel) by means of (the union of) prāṇa and apāna vāyu. Although the (kumbhaka of) gentle breathing makes the vital air enter through the lower end (of the central channel). Just entering is not enough. A ball of prāṇa and apana vayu, merged into one, should be bound in the nāḍī-chakra of the forehead (upper end of the central channel). Thus is called Kumbhaka.
Prāṇa is the vital air that moves through the left and right channels.
Binding the prāṇa in the bindu of central channel means binding the prāṇa in the forehead’s nāḍī-chakra.
Kumbhaka of rough breathing stabilises the prāṇa that enter the bindu of central channel earlier during the gentle breathing.
Actual practice
The posture and the gaze during this Kumbhaka are the same as in the previous Kumbhaka.
Hold vajra fists. Cross the arms over the chest.
During clearing away the residual air- do not expel the air in a quick and short manner as before. When expelling the air, twist/bend the neck so that the jaws are just able to press on the (two) pulsating channels (running along the throat). And then expel a long breath with force from the each of the three channels- left, right and central (through both nostrils) channels.
After that, perform vajra breathing to remove the hindrances and rest.
Then sit in a round posture (maṇḍalam, Tib. zlum po), legs crossed at the ankles, spine straight, arms crossed over the chest.
Inhale the air (in the manner of yogama?!) that reaches bottom of the bowel and press (the air), sending it to the path of excretion. Now squeeze the anus and draw the apāna vāyu towards the navel. Do not draw it higher than the navel. Push it down, touching the bottom of the bowel. Press and hold. (I have stopped the translation here, may continue in the future).
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