I have explained this at length to students of Yoga to impress upon them the close co-ordination of body, breath and mind. This gives them a deeper understanding into the rationale of Yogic breathing exercises. Now, in these exercises, you have to concentrate on the breath. You may try one called Alternate Breathing. This is one of the simple techniques, alternate in the sense that you breathe in through one nostril, exhale through the other, then inhale once again through the second nostril and exhale through the first nostril. This completes one round. Thus, for this Alternate Breathing, you close your right nostril with your right thumb and inhale through the left nostril. When the inhalation is complete, you close the left nostril with your ring and middle fingers, simultaneously releasing the right nostril by raising the thumb, then exhale completely, slowly, smoothly and gradually through the right nostril.

You will find that in the process of breathing in this way, the world around you disappears. You are not aware of this body even, but are totally concentrated on the breath. There is no idea of the time that is elapsing either. When absorbed in this exercise, half an hour may pass and you will hardly be aware of the passage of time. What is the reason? Because this is an extremely vital process. Breathing is life’s central process on the physical level; it is the process that sustains all life, and when you begin to concentrate upon it, your whole mind becomes deeply absorbed. This is, therefore, the core of the very valuable means you may employ to get tranquillity and steadiness of mind.

To precede this exercise, and in the initial stages of the breathing discipline, the practice is very simple. You just sit in a relaxed and steady position, calmly breathing in and out through both nostrils. There are no complications, you just practise this deep, rhythmic breathing for ten or twelve days, or for a couple of weeks, morning and evening. You will soon find that your mind becomes more and more tranquil and steady. Things which upset you and irritated you before will no longer be able to do so, and whenever there is anything that you want to do, you will feel that the mind is already in a calmer state for concentrating and centering it upon the thing that you wish to do. Then, later on, you may start the Alternate Breathing exercise.

At the beginning of your practice of Alternate Breathing, just breathe in through the left nostril, breathe out through the right nostril, then take back through the right, and breathe out again through the left. Try this, say, six times, i.e., six complete rounds in the morning and six complete rounds in the evening when your stomach is not too full—not after your lunch or your dinner, but an hour before eating. After you have practised this for a month or so, then gradually insert at the end of each inhalation a short period for the retention of the breath inhaled. When you are in a state in which the breath is retained, you find that the mind is steady and calm. Take advantage of it, try to fix your mind and concentrate on some idea or symbol. You will find that under these circumstances your concentration is wonderful, for when the breath is arrested, the mind does not move and thoughts come under your control.

When you have reached the final stage in the breathing exercises, i.e., alternate breathing with retention of breath, keep at it and gradually try to increase the period of retention. This is an exercise that may be practised regularly by all people. Two or three hints about these exercises are:

(i) The retention of breath should at all times in your practice be comfortable and easy;

(ii) You should never feel as though you were suffocating or as though your retention were forced;

(iii) When you are about to exhale, you should be able to feel that you could retain the breath a few seconds longer if you wished;

(iv) The exhalation should always be smooth, unhurried and non-violent. Neither should it ever be forced. If it is forced and hurried, it means that you have over-retained the breath beyond your capacity and your lungs can no longer hold it. When you take care of the retention of breath, you feel that the exhalation is very smooth and beautiful. Just do it to a nicety.

Start holding the breath when you feel, “Yes, the lungs are full, but I am not going to pack them or press them”. As you retain the breath, develop, for yourself a sort of rhythmic count by which you can regulate the period of retention. The counts may be gradually increased. If you do this systematically, you will soon find that the mind, in an amazingly short time, becomes progressively steadier.

When there is steadiness of mind and you know how to control the thoughts, stability is found to become the normal condition of the mind-stuff. It is not so much the acting mind that you are trying to perfect, but the mind as it is, the very mind-stuff. When the mind-stuff is thus acted upon—put into a state of stability and steadiness—a certain quality which is to be found in the mind which is of the nature of Light, which is of the nature of balance and harmony, is increased. This is called the quality of Sattva and it is a peculiar psycho-spiritual quality within. When that quality increases in the mind-stuff, the whole mind tends to become harmonized, balanced and steady, and then that balance soon characterizes your whole personality. With the quality of Sattva predominating in your character, you become a balanced person. You are no longer afraid. At the end of a day’s work, you still feel that your mind is tranquil and serene. No one is ever able to put you “out of kilter”. This is the natural result of the practice of the process of breathing, steady posture, concentration and meditation.