[Advaita-l] Qn. on prANAyAmam in sandhyAvandanam

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005, Amuthan Arunkumar R wrote:

> namo nArAyaNAya !
>
> Dear group members,
>
> I have a question regarding the prANAyAmam that is a
> part of the sandhyAvandanam. I was taught to breathe
> in thru' the left nostril (pUrakam), retain it
> reciting mentally the prANAyAma mantra thrice
> (kumbhakam) and then breathe out thru' the right
> nostril (recakam). But as I am given to understand,
> the duration of the pUrakam, kumbhakam and recakam
> stand in the ratio 1:4:2, in that order (I remember
> reading this in Sandilya upanishad, which deals in
> detail with ashTAn.ga yogam). But in the prANAyAmam
> used in sandhyAvandanam, I don't remember being taught
> any specific relative duration for the pUrakam or
> recakam or for that matter even kumbhakam (other than
> the duration in reciting the prANAyAma mantra thrice).
> I'd be extremely thankful if someone can help me in
> this aspect, and give details regarding the proper
> (traditional) practice of prANAyAmam in
> sandhyAvandanam.

Thereare various varieties of pranayama so we cannot necessarily say which
is right or wrong.  For what it is worth, this is how I was taught to do
pranayama in sandhyavandana

puraka - 7 vyahrtis each preceded by omkar
kumbhaka - Gayatri itself
rechaka - Gayatri shirah

The approximate ratio of the three parts is 1-2-1

-- 
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>
It's a boy! See the pictures - http://www.braincells.com/nilagriva/