3.40 · The Kindled Hearth

Mastering the balancing breath, one shines.

Word by word

samāna-jayāt

from mastering the balancing breath

jvalanam

shining, blazing

Where it fits

The second breath sūtra. Mastering samāna, which Vyāsa says works as far as the navel (p. 267), makes the yogi blaze: he fans his inner fire (p. 268). With 3.39 this ends the mastery of breath, and 3.41 returns to saṃyama on a relation.

Reading

Samāna is the current of breath that distributes evenly; Vyāsa takes it as far as the navel, and later tradition links it with digestion and the body's fire. Master it, Patañjali says, and you shine. Vyāsa: the yogin makes the inner flames flare and becomes radiant. Traditional accounts take the radiance literally. One way to read it today: a body that is well ordered and well fed has a glow of its own.

Vyāsa

“Having mastered samāna, the balancing breath, the yogi fans his inner fire and blazes.”

Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 268.

Practice

Eat one meal today sitting down, without a screen, at an easy pace. Afterwards, sit for two minutes with a hand on your belly and notice any warmth there. Let the meal settle before you move on.

A question to sit with

What would help your inner fire burn evenly?

Key ideas

siddhi (powers)