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Jala neti kapala bhati bhastrika

An instructional lecture on Haṭha Yoga purification techniques (kriyās), focusing on neti and related breathing exercises.

"Haṭha Yoga kriyās are meant for the purification of the body."

"Neti is a cleaning process... The reason to do Haṭha Yoga Kriyās is that we require good health."

The teacher explains the classical definition of Haṭha Yoga as balancing the Iḍā and Piṅgalā nāḍīs, introducing the six purification kriyās (ṣaṭ kriyā). The session details the neti practice for nasal cleansing, including the use of salt water, sutra neti, and rubber catheters. Emphasis is placed on correctly performing kapālbhāti after neti to dry the sinuses, with a comparison to bhastrika prāṇāyāma. Practical guidance is given on timing, water temperature, and the importance of using abdominal muscles during breathing exercises.

Filming location: Strilky, Cz.

DVD 288

The practice of Haṭha Yoga leads to perfect health. Haṭha Yoga kriyās are meant for the purification of the body. There were different kinds of Haṭha explained: Balhat, Triyahat, Rājhat, Yogahat, and Yogīyahat. Then it was explained classically what Haṭha Yoga means: balance over the three nāḍīs, Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣumṇā. Iḍā is Ha, Piṅgalā is Tha, which becomes Haṭha, and the union of them, or their meeting together, means Yoga, so it's called Haṭha Yoga. Then there are physical practices in order to get the balance and union of the three nāḍīs, Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣumṇā, and this practice is called Haṭha Yoga Kriyā, or Ṣaṭ Kriyā, meaning six kriyās, or it's called ṣaṭ karma. So karma means to do something. Anything that you are doing is karma. Inhale and exhale are karma. To move your hand is also karma. Eating, drinking, sleeping, walking, cooking, working, thinking, speaking—everything is karma. And where there is karma, it takes place. It means the action. So every action has a cause. It has its reason. Without reason, no action will take place. You will drink if you are thirsty. The cause of drinking is that you are thirsty. Now you are drinking, you are acting, doing. And the result of drinking will be that you are satisfied. Your thirst is quenched. So the cause, action, and result. That result is, you can say, the reaction, the answer. In this way, ṣaṭ kriyā, the six karmas. In Āyurveda also they say pañca karma; they lost one. And in Āyurveda, it's a little bit different. Pañcakarma is an imitation of the Haṭha Yoga Kriyās, but they are slightly different. Of course, they are also very good. The reason to do Haṭha Yoga Kriyās is that we require good health. Our body is asking to do something. And when we do this, the result will be positive. So when you say that you practice Haṭha Yoga, it means you are doing the six kriyās or six techniques. They are independent; it doesn't depend on anything. When you have learned well, you can do it yourself. Some kriyās should be done every day, and some kriyās should be done with some interval—some days, weeks, or months. The first Haṭha Yoga kriyā we shall take today is called neti. We explained to you about neti. So neti is about nose cleaning. Whatever we inhale, our nose is functioning as a filter also. Not only to take breath in and out, but it filters the air. There is humidity in the nose, or the liquid, which attracts all kinds of dust which are in the air when you inhale, like a magnet pulls iron. Also, there are some hairs in the nose which function as a filter. It is not good to pull them out. But there are some people standing in front of the mirror, looking and seeing. Why did God give us hair there? They are very gentle hairs, but when you begin to pull them out constantly, then they become harder and thicker, and bigger. Neti is a cleaning process. It's like a channel from your bathroom; water, or any water, is flowing, but some things remain there, stuck on the walls of the channel. Like on the channels when the liquid goes into your bath, something remains on the walls from the water. Then you clean it with some kind of pressure, with the water pressure or the brush. So similarly, the neti is functioning. Salt has two functions. First, if there is salt in the water, then your gentle skin inside will not feel irritated. If there is too much salt, it will burn. If there is no salt, it will also burn. If water is cold, you may get a headache. If water is too hot, it will be very unpleasant. Therefore, it should be 2–3 degrees more than body temperature. The temperature of the water should be 2-3 degrees above the body temperature. So salt prevents us from unpleasant feelings. But the main purpose of putting salt in is for cleaning. It makes it easier to clean the nostrils. It cleans all the bacteria out, and when the water is flowing gently, it's like a gentle massage, and all these fine nerves, which are connected to the nose system and to the eyes, are cleaned and massaged gently. You know that our tear channel is connected to the nose. So they are all connected to each other. It is also said to be good for the eyesight. Then, time to time, you can do the sūtra neti. Sūtra is cotton. You make cotton strings about 40 cm, thinner, very thin, and then you dip them into beeswax so that they become softer. Then you put the string in the nose, the nostril, and it comes in the throat and out. In the beginning, it's a little bit unpleasant, but after two or three days you will get used to it. The string comes in the nose, to the throat, and with two fingers you hold that, and then you just move like this, and then take it out from inside. Clean it with salty, warm water. Do not clean it with washing powder, please, because that may cause allergy. Then you put it in the other nostril. You catch it and you move like this, and take it out and clean it with salty water. You should keep it individually; it is yours. Do not give somebody else to utilize. Everyone should have their own sūtra netī. Or there is a rubber catheter, a small catheter you can find in a medical shop. Mostly doctors use this catheter when someone has problems passing urine. Then they put the catheter in. So the catheter has a different number. And according to your nostril size, you should choose which catheter would be good. Generally, they say two and a half numbers. But different countries or different companies may have different numbers, so you should choose yourself. It is said that if you practice netī, it will be good prevention against allergies—all kinds of allergies which have to do with the dust. Also, it is very good against getting headaches. Also, it is said that those who have a problem with sinus can get rid of this problem. But after practicing jala neti or sutra neti, you must do the kapālbhāti. If water remains somewhere in the sinuses, that can cause you problems, and you will get a sinus infection. Therefore, the bāstrīkā and kapālabhāti, these are two prāṇāyāmas, they look similar, but there is a big difference. So kapāla means forehead, and this is a sinus where there are three sinuses, left and right, and four here. If you do wrong kapālbhāti, then water goes to your sinuses here, towards your forehead. Then that can cause you headache and a heavy feeling. So, the Kapālbhāti is done, giving pressure on this part of the face, with a closed mouth. Inhale through the mouth and exhale through the nose, and give the pressure from the abdominal muscles. Like this. So it means you press the water out. First, you do like this, let's say, 20 times. And then you do like this. So it means the water, you turn left and right, and from the sinus all water comes out. But when you do like this, don't inhale through the nose. Always through the mouth. You are inhaling through the mouth. This is very important. Some people are doing like this, closing the mouth; that's also not good. If you do kapāla bhāti with a closed mouth, then you press the water here near the forehead, and it's difficult to get water out from there again. And such people have constantly sinus problems here, the forehead sinuses here. So, therefore, do not do kapālbhāti with a closed mouth. After doing this, do with individual nostrils. Close one nostril, press sidewards, right nostril for example, bend a little forward, inhale through the mouth, and exhale through the nose two to three times, like this. And then with the other nostril. This is the correct way of doing kapālbhāti. So do not mix kapālbhāti and bastrika together. Kapalbhati is more, you give the pressure from the nostrils to dry them and bring all the water out. We can also see the difference between kapālbhāti and bastrika. Bastrika is done through the abdominal muscles. Kapalbhati also trains the abdominal muscles. But in Kapālbhāti, we give the pressure here towards the nose and forehead. And for Vāstrika, we give pressure here, not in the chest. If you give pressure on the chest, then it can happen that you give pressure on your heart. And you can have some heart pain, and especially people who have overweight or a big stomach, for them it is not good to give the pressure here on the heart. And mostly, people have, when they are grown over 30 years, 35 years, then the stomach has a little more kilos. Those who are working in the office or sitting. So, wrong kapāla bandha, bāstrīka prāṇāyāma, wrong would be like this. This would be wrong. Yes, so don't do this. This is wrong. This is wrong. It should go from the stomach to the abdomen. Of course, the lungs do not go all the way to the abdomen. The diaphragm extends to the end of the ribs. But if you can expand your stomach muscles, then you give more space for your diaphragm to expand further. And when you expand more, you create a greater capacity for taking in breath. It means oxygen. You get more oxygen. So the lungs function, and the capacity of the lungs is very, very important. When we walk, climb a staircase, go up a mountain, run, cycle, or breathe like this, then it means the capacity of the lungs is not enough. So, Bhastrika and other kinds of pranayama are very good to improve the capacity of the breath. So, Bhastrika pranayama is also from the stomach. It is said that you can balance the glass or the cup on your shoulder when you do the Vastrika. And when you do wrong, you can't balance anything. That is, everything will fall down. And when you do it through the abdominal muscles, then you are very gentle. When the horse is running nicely, he's galloping nicely, then nothing is moving from your body. It's a balance. But when the horse begins to run like a donkey, and then you are making like this also, it's wrong. You should sit on the horse, that horse doesn't feel that you are sitting. And your body is automatically, with the movement of the horse, adopted. But when you are doing extra like this, is it torturing for the horse? People think that we support the horse, that we move, that it will be easy for him to move. Yes, it is. Only when you move like this. And what about when you go back? You give him more, like a breaking. So, adopt the movements of the heart and just remain there peacefully. Your body and the body of the heart will adopt like waves on the ocean, gently. You should feel on the back of the heart, like a baby in the cradle. When the horse is running and you adopt the movement of the horse with your body naturally, then nothing is moving. You feel very relaxed, and the horse feels relaxed. When the horse is running and you go like this, both are suffering. When the mother is carrying the child on her back and the child falls like this, the poor lady can't walk. Or mother is walking, and child makes like this. It's the same thing. So, when you do the Bhastrika, then you should do it only from the abdomen. And it moves from here, not from here. Wrong is this. This is wrong. And correct is this, moving from here. Then your lungs become free, and the capacity of the lungs improves. So everybody, stand up and try. Do it with the stomach, slowly, not quickly, slowly, like this. Very good. Thank you. It seems that you practice yoga in daily life. Yes. You are the practitioner of yoga in daily life? Yes. Sit down. I am very surprised. And now you will do wrong, like a non-yoga daily life practitioner. So do it wrong. You are doing it wrong. Like this. Oh God. Tragedy. The breath flows like when a woodcutter cuts a tree, slowly, rhythmically. The same level of breath. This is Bhastrika Prāṇāyāma. So once you do all, sit up straight. Twenty times. Once inhale and exhale is one. So begin. Very good. Now Kapālbhāti. No. Wrong. Very good. So, the kapālbhāti is one-sided, and the bhasṭrikā is dynamical. That is how you can regulate your breath. After practicing netī kriyā, which prāṇāyāma should you do? Which one? Kapālbhāti. Kapālbhāti. After practicing neti, is it very good to do bhastrikā? After neti, is it good to practice bastrika? No. For me, it is. Are you a practitioner of yoga in daily life? Yes, very good. Therefore, netī. Now, netī's practice should be done; best would be before breakfast. Do you have breakfast in the morning or in the evening before going to sleep? So, therefore, netī should be done in the morning. Or, before two hours of sleeping, you give time to your sinuses to dry, in case some drops of water are left. After doing neti, if you go to sleep, let's say in half an hour, you will get off with a headache and flu. You will catch a cold, and your nostrils will be blocked. So, the best time is in the morning. Now, there is a question that outside in the world, the outer world has a lot of physical pollution. In big cities, especially in big cities, when you go to the office and come back, you see your collar is completely dark. So the question is this: wouldn't it be good also to do evening neti so that all this pollution that you inhaled can be cleaned? Yes, that's a very good question. When the haṭha yoga technique was developed, there was no physical pollution. Also, you can do evening, but before, minimum two or three hours before sleeping. When you come from your work and you go to the bathroom to wash your hands, yes, you can do the netī and then do the kapālabhāti in the bathroom. Kapālabhāti will take you two minutes, and then you have your time for evening, your dinner, and talking with your family members and so on. Definitely, there will be a two- or three-hour interval before going to sleep. So you can do your netī also in the evening. It is advisable to do for everyone. It is good for the ears, eyes, nose, throat, and respiratory system. Neti should be done every day. If you can make available sea salt, sea salt would be good. In some cases, people are using some different kind of oil. People also use some oil. You can do neti with milk and with oil. Some people do neti with their own urine. But this is only in the case of certain infections. But if you do it with urine, after that you do it with clean water. Normal water means warm, salty water, lukewarm, warm water. Normal water is warm, salty water.

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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