Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c9.5249

c9.5249

iv) Prāṇāyāma. This is regulation of breathing. Inhale air through the left nostril, retain the air in the lungs for a few minutes and then exhale it through the right nostril. The process may be reversed—that is inhalation through the right nostril and exhalation through the left. This is the first step in Prāṇāyāma. Exhaling the breath and then not inhaling for some time is called recaka; the opposite process is called pūraka. The object of prāṇāyāma is to awaken Kuṇḍalini.