The Bhastrikâ
The Padma Âsana consists in crossing the feet and placing them on both the thighs; it is the destroyer of all sins. 59.
Binding the Padma-Âsana and keeping the body straight, closing the mouth carefully, let the air be expelled through the nose. 60.
It should be filled up to the lotus of the heart, by drawing it in with force, making noise and touching the throat, the chest and the head. 61.
It should he expelled again and filled again and again as before, just as a pair of bellows of the blacksmith is worked. 62.
In the same way, the air of the body should be moved intelligently, filling it through Sûrya when fatigue is experienced. 63.
The air should be drawn in through the right nostril by pressing the thumb against the left side of the nose, so as to close the left nostril; and when filled to the full, it should be closed with the fourth finger (the one next to the little finger) and kept confined. 64.
Having confined it properly, it should be expelled through the Idâ (left nostril). This destroys Vâta, pitta (bile) and phlegm and increases the digestive power (the gastric fire). 65.
It quickly awakens the Kuṇḍalinî, purifies the system, gives pleasure, and is beneficial. It destroys phlegm and the impurities accumulated at the entrance of the Brahma Nâdî. 66.
This Bhastrikâ should be performed plentifully, for it breaks the three knots: Brahma granthi (in the chest), Viṣṇu granthi (in the throat), and Rudra granthi (between the eyebrows) of the body. 67.
