Prana and Apana Balance

• Sit gracefully in Celibate Pose with the hands relaxed on the thighs.

Gaze

the third eye, the middle point between the eyebrows

Breath

normal

A quiet opening that settles the pelvis before the work begins.

Watch for. Sitting between the heels, not on them. If the buttocks cannot reach the ground, sit on a folded towel between the feet rather than perching on the heels.

• Place the arms out to the sides, parallel to the ground, with the palms up.
• Inhale for six counts as you rise up straight from the knees.
• Hold the position and the breath for twelve counts.
• Slowly exhale, taking six counts to lower yourself back down onto the heels.
• Repeat this cycle seven times.
• On the eighth time, clap the hands over the head.

Gaze

the third eye, the middle point between the eyebrows

Breath

inhale 6, hold 12, exhale 6

The counted breath makes this a discipline as much as a movement. The eighth clap marks the close.

Watch for. Count out loud. Six in, twelve holding, six down. On the eighth cycle the hands clap over the head, and that clap is how you know the movement is finished.

• Lie on the back with the palms flat on the ground at the sides.
• Raise the legs off the ground and begin a push pull motion, drawing one knee in toward the chest while the other leg extends out.
• The legs stay parallel to the ground with the toes pointed.
• This movement must always follow the one before it.

Gaze

the third eye, the middle point between the eyebrows

Breath

strong, with the motion

Works the navel and the lower abdomen with the legs never touching down.

Watch for. The legs do not touch down through movements three, four and five. That is the hardest stretch of the kriya. If the lower back lifts off the ground, bend the knees and keep going rather than stopping.

• Immediately inhale and lift the legs to ninety degrees.
• Hold, then slowly exhale and lower the legs.

Gaze

the third eye, the middle point between the eyebrows

Breath

inhale up, hold, slow exhale down

A single held lift after the pistoning, which is what sets the navel.

Watch for. This comes straight out of the pistoning with no pause. Immediately is in the instruction.

• Still on the back, lift the legs six inches and do Breath of Fire.
• Inhale, hold, then relax.

Gaze

the third eye, the middle point between the eyebrows

Breath

Breath of Fire

The classic navel hold, kept short here because the work has already been done.

Watch for. Six inches is low. Higher is easier and does less, which is the opposite of what people assume.

• Lie on the stomach.
• Place the hands in Venus Lock at the small of the back.
• Inhale powerfully and arch the spine up from the waist, drawing the shoulder blades down the back and reaching the arms away from the body.
• Keep the eyes closed as you come up.
• Hold the position for thirty seconds.
• Then exhale powerfully as you open the eyes and lower the torso to the ground.
• Repeat this cycle ten times.

Gaze

eyes closed on the way up, open on the way down

Breath

powerful inhale up, powerful exhale down

Opens the chest and the front of the body while the eyes stay closed, which is the point of this movement.

Watch for. Eyes closed on the way up, open on the way down. That is not decoration, it is the instruction, and it is what makes this movement different from any other back arch.

• Lie on the back with the arms straight up at ninety degrees, palms facing each other.
• Do Breath of Fire for one minute.
• Inhale.
• With a great deal of tension in the hands, the arms, the chest and the teeth, make the hands into fists and slowly pull the energy and the fists down to the chest.
• Exhale.
• Inhale, raising the arms, and repeat the whole action one more time.

Gaze

the third eye, the middle point between the eyebrows

Breath

Breath of Fire, then the tension pull

This lets the heart dominate and eliminates a great deal of pent up anger that hides in the form of deep muscle tension.

Watch for. The tension is the point. Hands, arms, chest and teeth. A slow pull with a tight jaw does something a fast pull with a loose one does not.

• Relax.
• Move the mind to the Navel Point and listen to the heartbeat there.

Gaze

eyes closed

Breath

natural

You are asked to feel as though you are home, resting at the center of yourself. The heart rhythm is powered by the sound Ong.

Watch for. The record does not name a posture here, only relax. Staying on the back is my reading, because that is where the movement before it leaves you.