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Pranayama with Vishwaguruji

Unity in breath and equality among practitioners were the focus of this closing practice.

The seminar emphasized unity in diversity and equality through yoga practice. Sit straight, relax, and do not force a rigid posture. Bring awareness from the navel to Bindu and Sahasrāra chakras. With eyes closed, place index and middle fingers between the eyebrows, thumb closing the right nostril. Inhale and exhale through the left nostril for purification, then breathe equally through both. Now the full sequence: Inhale left, exhale right five times; inhale right, exhale left five times; then nine more left-in right-out, totaling fourteen on that side; then fourteen right-in left-out. Repeat up to three rounds. After finishing, lie down, then sit in Vajrāsana. Close the ears with thumbs and create the humming sound of Bhramarī for ten rounds. Then perform three more rounds with teeth slightly apart and lips closed. Listen for vibration balance inside the ears. If vibration is heard equally on both sides, the brain hemispheres are balanced. Some reported equal vibration, others did not. Those who heard an external voice clearly while ears were closed lacked balance. This practice reveals one’s own control. Continue at home. Hari Om.

"In yoga, as in life, we are all equal."

"Wholeness is itself happiness."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

In these days, we have had a beautiful seminar. Many of you have come from very different places and from all walks of life—some are doctors, some professors, some farmers, some bankers, and many others. Yet I have seen, and others have told me, how our yoga teachers and students are very humble, very kind, very spiritual. They move with genuine humility. Sometimes someone arrives, perhaps a minor official, and says, “Oh, I want to sit there, or I cannot sit with these people.” Why not? Why not, people? In yoga, as in life, we are all equal. All sisters, brothers, yoga practitioners and teachers—whether from a first-class background or a second-class one—are sitting together as one, like brothers and sisters. Now, you will of course continue some kind of practices at home; for now we have a final session for this seminar. So, sit straight. Relax. Be comfortable, but do not force an overly rigid posture, because after a few minutes you will naturally ease down. You have just had your breakfast, and if we were to bend forward deeply, the stomach would not feel good. So relax, be comfortable. And let us all do five rounds together. You may keep your eyes closed or open, as you prefer. Bring awareness from the navel to Bindu Chakra and Sahasrāra Chakra. Take a deep inhalation from the navel. Be comfortable. Keep your eyes closed, though if you prefer them open, you may do so. Yet when we open our eyes, we tend to take in sights that are not helpful. So close your eyes and go within, together with all parts of your body and the breath. Become aware of your whole body—of all its inner spaces. Wholeness is itself happiness. Now, with the right hand, place the index and middle fingers between the eyebrows. Use the thumb to close the right nostril, and the ring finger for the left nostril. As comfortable as possible, breathe longer—inhale and exhale. Now begin. Inhale and exhale through the left nostril. Feel relaxed, feel comfortable. Be aware of your breath at the left nostril. Always we should first focus on the breath. Continue inhaling and exhaling through the left nostril. When you have completed fifteen breaths, place your hand back onto your leg. Remain with closed eyes and feel the inhalation. The left and right nostrils feel comfortable. In the oneness of our practice, we used the left nostril for purification. And now we return, once again breathing equally through both left and right nostrils. We are again in the unity between the right and left. Once more, bring the right hand up, index and middle fingers between the brows, ring finger closing the left nostril. Inhale and exhale through the right nostril. We will do three full breaths—coming and going—three times. Then inhale and exhale five times through the right nostril, and bring the hand back to the leg. Inhale and exhale with the right nostril five more times, then place the hand on the knee. After fourteen times, rest your hand on the thigh and feel the breath. This was one round. Now the full sequence: Inhale left, exhale right. Inhale left, exhale right—do this five times. Then inhale right, exhale left—also for five times. After this, inhale left, exhale right for another nine breaths, totaling fourteen on that side. Then inhale right, exhale left for fourteen breaths. We go for one round, and you may repeat it up to three rounds. Use the prāṇas skillfully: inhale left nostril, exhale right; inhale left, exhale right; then inhale right, exhale left—move like this. When you finish the round, place your hands behind your back, turn a little, lift the head slightly, and keep the spine fully straight, supported by the back of the hands. Feel yourself relaxed. Again, bring both index and middle fingers to the chest, a little below the collarbones, elbows lifted. Close your eyes. Inhale through the left nostril, exhale through the right. Inhale right, exhale left. Continue the alternation for fifteen rounds. Be relaxed, be comfortable, but straight. Move forward in rounds: left in, right out; right in, left out. Left, right, right, left. Through these prāṇas, we are here in a spacious hall, windows open, fresh, clean air filling the space. We move with prāṇāyāma, with Iḍā and Piṅgalā. Inhale and exhale, exhale, then inhale. Lift, inhale. Robime prāṇayāmu, iḍhā and piṅgalā. Prāṇa je tu vśade. When you finish this round, lie down with the head turned to my side. But you must complete the practice. You have been understanding yoga in daily life for many years; therefore, the breathing you are doing now, you should practice for a long and healthy life. Inhale long and deeply, then exhale long; again inhale right, exhale left. Deep breath. Let it take at least twenty minutes; you have not finished in five. Now sit up, sit straight by your side, sit in Vajrāsana. Both hands on the thighs, sit straight—straight. Relax the elbows. Back straight, comfortable. Close your eyes, and understand and feel how you were practicing these prāṇas just now. How were you inhaling? How were you exhaling? Eyes closed, hands on the thighs. Perhaps the hands are touching the thighs, or held slightly up. Remain comfortable like this. Eyes closed. Now ten times, inhale and exhale with sound. Breathe from the navel up to the Sahasrāra Chakra, the inhalation passing through both nostrils, and the exhalation moving from there back down to the navel. We inhale and feel the breath all the way to the navel, then rise up to Sahasrāra and return through Maṇipūra. The breath continues up to Sahasrāra, and the exhalation flows out through the nostrils. This is a very good practice we have done together in this hall. All these are chakras; we were moving through the chakras. Now, take a deep inhale, close the ears with the thumbs, and create the humming sound of Bhramarī. Ten rounds. Inhale, then the Bhramarī sound. One round is inhale and make the sound again. Understand, see, feel—how is the Bhramarī vibration? Then take your fingers out, hands down. Now do three more rounds, but keep the teeth slightly apart. Jaw relaxed, lips closed. The sound should be very clear and controlled. Through this vibration, when the fingers are inside the ears, you can discover your own balance. Try to understand both hemispheres of the brain. Is the vibration equally present on both sides, or more on the left or right? Do you hear sound on one side and emptiness on the other? With three tries you will find out for yourself. But do not think, “Oh, I have left-side dominance”—you cannot help it; you have to be your whole brain. That is the very first step. So, three times, deep inhale, fingers inside the ears, three times. I will not say “yes” now; inhale and exhale. If, with your fingers in your ears, you can hear my voice clearly, it means your brain is not balanced. Yes, completely closed. Once more. Hands to the sides. Very good. Some said they felt the vibration equally in both ears—yes, I noticed. A few. And those who said, “Yes, both sides completely—my brain vibration is good, exactly,” how many hands went up? There were one, two, maybe three. Then someone else said, “Yes, I was not in control,” while others said, “Completely under control on one side.” But many said nothing, so perhaps you were sleeping! A few people said, “I heard a very nice, balanced sound in my brain.” Some remarked, “Not consistent—sometimes yes, sometimes no.” And others said nothing, so maybe you have no brain! (He laughs.) Next time, practice at home and in future programs. Please be careful. So, brain, brain, brain. Control, control, control. Nābhi, nābhi. Hari Om.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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