Important Guidelines on Gorakhnath's Pranayama
In the previous article of this series on Goraksha Shataka, we explored Gorakhnath’s secret Nadi Shodhana Pranayama. Now, he is set to share some important guidelines regarding Pranayama practice. In this article, we will attempt to understand these instructions in detail.
When a patient visits a doctor, the doctor not only prescribes medicine but also provides certain dietary and lifestyle guidelines. A patient who follows both the prescribed medicine and the recommended guidelines recovers quickly. On the other hand, a patient who only takes the medicine but ignores the guidelines either fails to recover or experiences a significant delay in healing. Similarly, a practitioner of Pranayama must follow certain rules along with their practice. The guidelines suggested by Gorakhnath are essentially the rules and instructions for Pranayama practice.
अङ्गानां मर्दनं शस्तं श्रमसंजातवारिणा ।
कट्वम्ललवणत्यागी क्षीरभोजनमाचरेत् ॥
मन्दं मन्दं पिबेद्वायुं मन्दं मन्दं वियोजयेत् ।
नाधिकं स्तम्भयेद्वायुं न च शीघ्रं विमोचयेत् ॥
ऊर्ध्वमाकृष्य चापानं वातं प्राणे नियोजयेत् ।
मूर्धानं नीयते शक्त्या सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते ॥
In the above three shlokas, Gorakhnath has pointed towards six important aspects. A casual reader may not even notice all of them, but someone who studies deeply will perceive the subtle instructions within. Now, let us explore what these aspects are.
The practice of Pranayama should be performed in an open and pure environment. As a result, the likelihood of sweating during Pranayama is generally low. In regular Pranayama, sweating does not usually occur. However, the method of Nadi Shodhana Pranayama described by Gorakhnath is different. Along with Puraka (inhalation), Rechaka (exhalation), and Kumbhaka (breath retention), it also incorporates meditation on the lunar and solar discs
While practicing this Pranayama, a gentle sweat emerges. During my phase as a practitioner, I used to perform Pranayama three times a day, at each twilight. In the initial stages, I experienced this kind of sweat while practicing. The sweat caused by heat or sunlight often feels unpleasant, but the sweat that arises during Prana Sadhana does not feel unwelcome. It spreads across the body like a delicate network of tiny sweat droplets woven together.
Gorakhnath's first instruction is that the sweat generated during Pranayama practice should be rubbed and absorbed into the body. Some people might find this practice unpleasant, but this sweat is not the same as ordinary sweat. It is infused with vital energy—as if charged. You might wonder if rubbing this sweat has any benefits. While Gorakhnath has not explicitly mentioned its advantages, my personal experience suggests that it enhances one's energy levels throughout the day. Additionally, if you chant your Guru Mantra or Ishta Mantra while rubbing the sweat, it further strengthens the spiritual practice. If you sit for meditation immediately after Pranayama, you will not feel drowsy or lethargic.
Gorakhnath’s second important instruction is related to diet. He advises that a practitioner of Pranayama should avoid three specific tastes: pungent (Katu), sour (Amla), and salty (Lavana). Ayurveda describes the concept of six tastes, which include sweet (Madhura), sour (Amla), salty (Lavana), pungent (Katuka), bitter (Tikta), and astringent (Kashaya). Among these, pungent taste refers to spicy and heavily seasoned foods. Excessive consumption of pungent foods can make the body dry and increase internal heat. Since Pranayama itself generates warmth and dryness due to breath regulation, such foods should be avoided. Sour foods increase mucus (Kapha) in the body, leading to congestion in the nose, throat, lungs, and sinuses, which can interfere with smooth breathing during Pranayama. Therefore, sour foods should also be avoided. Salty foods, when consumed in excess, can aggravate blood and bile disorders, making them another category of food to be restricted.
After specifying what should not be consumed, Goraksha Maharaj advises that a Pranayama practitioner should follow a diet that includes milk-based foods. 'Ksheera' means milk, and 'Ksheera Bhojana' refers to meals that primarily consist of cow’s milk and its derivatives. It is important to note that the recommended Ksheera Bhojana should ideally be prepared according to traditional methods from ancient times. Given the prevalence of adulteration and declining quality in modern food products, this advice should be considered with caution.
Gorakhnath Maharaj further advises that while practicing Pranayama, inhalation (Vayupana) should be done slowly and, similarly, exhalation (Vayu Viyojana) should also be gradual. A common mistake in Pranayama is breathing too fast. Keep in mind that you are handling Prana energy through your breath. Just like a ringmaster in a circus cautiously and gradually gains control over fierce animals like tigers and lions, one must gain control over Prana energy in the same slow and deliberate manner. If mistakes occur, they may lead to diseases or physical ailments. Therefore, Gorakhnath instructs that inhalation should be done very gently and slowly, and exhalation should follow the same steady pace. In other words, Puraka (inhalation) and Rechaka (exhalation) must be performed with utmost calmness and precision.
After advising that inhalation (Puraka) and exhalation (Rechaka) should be done slowly, Gorakhnath further instructs that breath retention (Kumbhaka) should never be practiced beyond one's own capacity or excessively. During Kumbhaka, the flow of air to the body is temporarily halted. At the same time, internal pressure within the body increases, exerting additional force on the eyes, chest, ears, and other organs. Considering these effects, it is crucial for a practitioner to recognize their breath-holding capacity and ensure that it is not exceeded. When releasing Kumbhaka, there is often a tendency to expel the breath forcefully and quickly — this should be strictly avoided.
Further, Gorakhnath instructs that during Pranayama, the practitioner should draw Apana Vayu upward and unite it with Prana Vayu. To achieve this, the practices of Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha, and Jalandhara Bandha are useful. You can now understand why the description of these Bandhas appears before the Pranayama techniques in Goraksha Shataka. The merging of Prana and Apana is not the final goal; rather, the process must go further—using Kundalini Shakti to direct Prana to the crown region, known as Murdha Sthana or Sahasrara Chakra. Goraksha Maharaj states that once Prana reaches Sahasrara through the power of Kundalini, it leads to the eradication of all sins.
Gorakhnath's final instruction is the most complex and difficult to grasp. Without the grace of a guru, this process cannot be fully understood. Specifically, one must learn from their guru how Pranayama leads to the destruction of sins. There are millions of people who believe that bathing in a sacred river or at a confluence leads to the absolution of sins. However, if one merely takes a dip without understanding the philosophy and purpose behind the practice, will they achieve the intended benefit? No. Similarly, simply performing repeated cycles of Nadi Shodhana Pranayama will not result in the eradication of all sins. The deeper meaning behind this must be learned from a guru. Today, millions of practitioners across the world perform Pranayama, but are all of their sins vanishing? Are they truly advancing in higher spiritual planes? No. Only those who grasp the profound connection between Pranayama and the dissolution of sins can achieve such purification.
That's it for this article.
May Jagadamba, the primordial Kundalini Shakti—who nurtures Prana and Apana like her own children—assist all yoga practitioners in ascending towards higher states. With this heartfelt wish, I conclude my writing.