Samadhi Pada • sutra 34
| प्रच्छर्दनविधारणाअभ्यां वा प्राणस्य ॥१.३४॥ pracchardana-vidhāraṇa-ābhyāṁ vā prāṇasya ॥1.34॥ |
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| Also (vā) by means of (ābhyām) exhalation (pracchardana) and retention (vidhāraṇa) of the breath (prāṇa), [the mind is pacified]. |
| Commentary In the previous sutra (1.33), Patañjali proposes a first method to pacify the mind: cultivating four fundamental attitudes – friendship, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity – toward others and life experiences. It is an ethical and relational path, working on the quality of our inner gaze and our being in the world. In this sutra the approach shifts direction: “Also by means of exhalation and retention of the breath.” The term vā, “or / also,” with which the sutra opens, signals another possibility, not in opposition but alongside the previous: the mind can also be pacified through the body, the breath, the subtle rhythm of prāṇa. As also taught by the tradition of Haṭha Yoga: “If the prāṇa (vāyu) is unstable, the mind (citta) is also unstable; if the prāṇa is steady, the mind becomes stable. Thus the practitioner (yogī) attains inner steadiness (sthāṇutva), therefore should restrain the breath (vāyuṁ nirodhayet).“ – Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā II.2 It is significant that in sutra 1.33 vā does not appear: it does not say “also through friendship…,” but presents these attitudes as the indispensable foundation of the inner path, the non-negotiable first step. This suggests that this ethical attitude is considered essential and universal, while the methods of this and subsequent sutras – all introduced by vā – are complementary tools, adaptable according to situation and individual disposition. This progression reflects an integrated vision of the human being. Mind, emotions, posture, and breath are interconnected: a held breath may reflect emotional tension; a deep exhalation can accompany the release of an agitated mental state. Working on the breath, as this sutra suggests, is therefore a direct way to act on the mind-body system. Not through repression or forced control, but through listening: exhalation (pracchardana) and breath suspension (vidhāraṇa) become tools to defuse disturbance and open a space of quiet. The mind is not an isolated entity: it breathes with the body, vibrates with emotions, feeds on perception and relation. Patañjali knows this and guides us with surgical precision along this path of recognition and transformation. It is interesting to note that here only exhalation and retention are mentioned, while the phase of inhalation (pūraka) is not, and will be treated more systematically in the second pāda of the Yoga Sūtra. This choice highlights how Patañjali, in this early section, focuses attention on breath release and its suspension as keys to calming the mind, anticipating themes that will be developed in greater detail in the more advanced respiratory practice. |
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