________________
116
THE SCIENCE OF BREATHING
purity, external purity, and a fourth way is that of postures, and there are many other ways. But our proper subject is breathing, and in order that all the parts of the body may respond to the working of the subtle forces we must first of all breathe rhythmically, first through the right lung and then through the left, so that both of them will be supplied with the necessary quantity of air, so that all the ethers may be equally supplied to all the parts of the body; and for that purpose as much ether as can enter into the system is necessary. When I say that the breathing must' be of such a kind that we must breathe through the right lung and then through the left. I mean that bolh lungs and both sides of the body, positive and negative alike, must peceive the same amount of these ethers, and the commonest way of doing this is first to breathe through the right nostril taking a certain time for this, say four seconds, retain the breath for two seconds, and then let it out through the left postril, taking four seconds for this, then stop breathiag for two seconds and take in the breath tarough the left nostril, etc., alternately. In this way both the lungs and both sides of the body are equally supplied with what is n cesary and here comes in this point, that so far as the physical part of the science is concerned, of the different kinds sf breathing we always advocate the kind in which the most air is introduced and that is the deep breathing or full breathing, in which all the * ts are expanded to some extent at the same time,
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
