Reading: Pages 152โ184
Live Session: April 11, 2026 8am UTC
This section explores specialized prฤแนฤyฤma techniques that require particular skills and serve specific purposes. Bhrฤmarฤซ (humming bee breath) creates internal sound vibrations that calm the nervous system and prepare for meditation. Digital prฤแนฤyฤma introduces the sophisticated art of using fingers to control nostril openings, requiring the development of extreme sensitivity and dexterity. Iyengar compares this to the skill of a master musician, emphasizing how the fingers become instruments for refining the flow of prฤแนa. Bhasrikฤ (bellows breath) and kapฤlabhฤtฤซ represent vigorous, heating practices with specific contraindications and warnings about proper application. The cooling breaths sฤซtalฤซ and sฤซtakฤrฤซ work with the tongue to regulate body temperature and calm the system. Each technique represents a different approach to working with prฤแนic energy, from gentle humming to vigorous pumping to precise digital control, demonstrating the vast range of possibilities within prฤแนฤyฤma practice.
Questions to Guide Your Reading
Read these before you start the assigned pages. They’ll help orient your attention.
What does โbhrฤmarฤซโ mean and when is the best time to practice it?
Which fingers are recommended for digital prฤแนฤyฤma and why are the fore and middle fingers not used?
What are the five elements (panchamahฤbhลซtas) located in the nose according to ลiva Svarodaya?
What serious warning does Iyengar give about bhasrikฤ practice for women?
How do sฤซtalฤซ and sฤซtakฤrฤซ differ in tongue position?
Reflection prompts
Read these during or after you read to connect the teachings with your embodied experience.
What draws you more โ the vigorous energizing practices or the cooling, calming techniques?
What role does sound (whether humming, hissing, or internal) play in your prฤแนฤyฤma experience?
How do you balance curiosity about advanced techniques with respect for their power and potential risks?
These will be made available 24-48 hours after the session
These will be made available 24-48 hours after the session
This session is part of the Light on Prฤแนฤyฤma Study Pack โ a complete resource for those who want ongoing access to all the recordings, study questions, and materials from this cycle.
The Study Pack includes all session recordings (watch and rewatch at your own pace), the complete Study Companion PDF with reading schedule, focus questions, reflection prompts, and practical tools for teaching, key Sanskrit terms with explanations, and a curated bibliography for further exploration.
Next: Session 8 – Advanced Integration
Agi Wittich is a yoga practitioner since two decades, and is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher. Wittich studied Sanskrit and Tamil at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, completing a PhD with a focus on Hinduism, Yoga, and Gender. She has published academic papers exploring topics such as Iyengar yoga and women, the effects of Western media on the image of yoga, and an analysis of the Thirumanthiram yoga text.
