Å›rÄ«-bhagavÄn uvÄca
sama Äsana ÄsÄ«naḥ
sama-kÄyo yathÄ-sukham
hastÄv utsaá¹…ga ÄdhÄya
sva-nÄsÄgra-ká¹›teká¹£aṇaḥ
prÄṇasya Å›odhayen mÄrgaá¹
pūra-kumbhaka-recakaiḥ
viparyayeṇÄpi Å›anair
abhyasen nirjitendriyaḥ

 Å›rÄ«-bhagavÄn uvÄca - the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; same - having a level surface; Äsane - on the seat; ÄsÄ«naḥ - sitting; sama-kÄyaḥ - sitting with the body straight and erect; yathÄ-sukham - sitting comfortably; hastau - the two hands; utsaá¹…ge - in the lap; ÄdhÄya - placing; sva-nÄsa-agra - on the tip of one's own nose; ká¹›ta - focusing; Ä«ká¹£aṇaḥ - the glance; prÄṇasya - of the breath; Å›odhayet - should purify; mÄrgam - the pathway; pÅ«ra-kumbhaka-recakaiḥ - by the mechanical breathing exercises, or prÄṇÄyÄma; viparyayeṇa - by reversing the processes, namely recaka, kumbhaka and pÅ«raka; api - also; Å›anaiḥ - following the process step by step; abhyaset - one should practice prÄṇÄyÄma; nirjita - having controlled; indriyaḥ - the senses.


Text

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Sitting on a level seat that is not too high or too low, keeping the body straight and erect yet comfortable, placing the two hands on one’s lap and focusing the eyes on the tip of one’s nose, one should purify the pathways of breathing by practicing the mechanical exercises of pÅ«raka, kumbhaka and recaka, and then one should reverse the procedure (recaka, kumbhaka, pÅ«raka). Having fully controlled the senses, one may thus practice prÄṇÄyÄma step by step.

Purport

According to this procedure, the hands are to be placed palms upward, one on top of the other. Thus, one may practice prÄṇÄyÄma through mechanical breath control in order to achieve steadiness of the mind. As stated in the yoga-Å›Ästra, antar-laká¹£yo bahir-dṛṣṭiḥ sthira-cittaḥ susaá¹…gataḥ: “The eyes, which generally see externally, must be turned inward, and thus the mind is steadied and fully controlled.â€