Pral)a yam as
- Bhastrika Pranayama
Bhastrika means a bellows used in a furnace. Here the air is forcibly
drawn in and out as in a blacksmith's bellows. Hence the name. The
technique is given in two stages here.
Technique Stage I
I. Follow the technique in paras I and 2 of Ujjayi.- Take a fast, vigorous breath and exhale fast and forcefully. One
inhalation and one exhalation completes a cycle of Bhastrika. The
sound made resembles air rushing· through bellows.
3· Complete at a stretch IO to I2 cycles. Then take a slow deep breath
as in Ujjayi. Retain the breath with Mula Bandha for 2 to 3 seconds,
then exhale slowly and deeply as in Ujjayi.
4· This Ujjayi type of breathing rests the lungs and the diaphragm
and prepares them for fresh cycles of Bhastrika.
5· Repeat the cycles of Bhastrika three to four times with Ujjayi
breathing in between.
- If the sound of the air lessens, and the vigour diminishes, then
reduce their number.
7. Aft�r completion lie down in Savasana. (Plate 592)
Stage II
I. Follow the technique in paras I and 2 of Ujjayi.- Adjust the thumb and finger pressure on the nostrils as explained
in the technique of Siirya Bhedana.
3· Close the left nostril completely but keep the right nostril partially
open.
- Inhale and exhale vigorously only through the right nostril for
ro to 12 cycles of Bhastrika as in Stage I above.