Hatha Yoga Pradipika: Level 2 - Advanced Pranayama Practices

Alternate the Jalandhara and uddiyana locks in pranayama, engage the neck lock at inhalation’s end, release on exhale, and keep the uddiyana lock active through the breath.

Explore the three locks—Mula bandha, Jalandhara, and Uddiyana—and pull energy upward through the diaphragm and spine toward the skull. Visualize the middle channel to enhance this experience.

Practice advanced pranayama techniques with mula bandha and neck lock to reverse apana and prana flows toward samana, boosting metabolism and promoting muscular and neural cellular regeneration.

Explore surya bhedan, the piercing of the sun pranayama, practiced without retention for two to three months, then with locks like mula bandha and vishnu mudra to calm the mind.

Explore how Surya Bhedana pranayama cleanses the blood-brain barrier, improves brain function, reduces cerebral clots and seizures, and supports nervous system balance for wind and space element dominants.

Practice ujjayi breathing, a popular pranayama that can be done anytime, with winter cautions for throat or chest issues, and it cultivates mental control through longer inhalations and exhalations.

Explore the benefits of ujjayi breathing by inhaling through both nostrils with a constricted throat, retaining the breath with five locks, and exhaling through the left channel, with safety guidance.

Explore how regular Uji breathing, even simple inhalation and exhalation with slight throat constriction, boosts appetite, metabolism, and balance of the five elements and major organ systems, especially in summer.

Cooling pranayama Seetkaaree balances energy and emotions by rolling the tongue between the teeth, retaining with the five locks, and exhaling through the nose.

Learn the cooling pranayama of shikari and critelli, using seed prana and throat-heart mantras to balance the five elements, erase hunger and thirst, and attain pure calm.

practice sheetalee breathing, a cooling pranayama using a hissing inhalation and nasal exhalation with locks, detoxifying and supporting organs like pancreas, liver, bile, and insulin function, contributing to anti aging.

Explore bellows breathing, a powerful bastrika pranayama, to experience the three states—waking, dreaming, and deep sleep—through breath retention and brain engagement, with steps taught in the pranayama module.

Advance your pranayama practice by mastering explosive inhalations and diaphragmatic exhalations, retaining breath effortlessly, and guiding prana to the lotus of the heart through the sun technique.

Practice advanced bhastrika breathing as a three-step nostril-alternating technique with breath retention inside the body, emphasizing safety and guidance to detoxify elemental imbalances in the hot yoga pradip sequence.

Explore the benefits of Bhastrika pranayama in hatha yoga, balancing the body's elements and awakening Kundalini energy. This amplification practice purifies the self and expands consciousness through heightened prana flow.

Unlock psychological liberation through pranayama by breaking through the three knots of body, senses, and mind, and detach to reveal yourself beyond Brahma grunty, Vishnu grunty, and Rudra grunty.

Learn bee humming pranayama (bhramaree) with ujjayi-inspired inhalation and exhalation, breath retention, and throat locks to cultivate lasting bliss and the nectar of prana.

Explore cutting moorcha pranayama, an advanced, high-pressure breath retention technique that can induce sensations and a brief swoon, guiding practitioners toward meditation and the internalization of senses under expert guidance.

Explore the three types of pranayama—inhale, exhale, and retention—and the two-type view where breathing ceases in advanced practice, highlighting spontaneous stopping of breathing.

Explore kevala kumbhaka pranayama within Hatha Yoga Pradipika level 2, emphasizing gradual pranayama with inhalation, retention, and exhalation, and pursuing spontaneous, mind-absorbed breath suspension (cabela) as the ultimate goal.

Explore the benefits of kevala kumbhaka and the suspension of breath, showing how mastering Kundalini energy centers time, unites waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, and unlocks transformative possibilities.

Attaining raja yoga through pranayama, this lecture explains how suspension of breath awakens kundalini, purifies nadis, and reveals higher states of consciousness, with raja yoga progress and dhyana samadhi.

Recognize the union of Hatha and Raja yoga, with Ashtanga yoga’s eight limbs practiced together, and see hot yoga cover the first five levels, the rest belong to Raja yoga.

Practice advanced pranayama with heedful focus on prana, breath retention, and detachment from mental identities, using empty space and timelessness to awaken higher Raja yoga consciousness.

Explore complete purification through pranayama as the mind, energized by prana, releases fear of the unknown and awakens higher consciousness and growth, with signs of accomplishment in body and mind.