“Within the practice guidelines for Prāṇāyāma
Length and Subtlety are the fruits of a process,
they are not tools for use within this process.
The tools here are Deśa, Kāla and Sāṃkhya.
By these the breath becomes Dīrgha and Sūkṣma,
in other words the breath becomes Long and Subtle.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 50

“Then, he has also some views on Dhyāna.
Since Dhyāna is a characteristic of mind,
and since the mind is limited to form,
Deśa, or the object of meditation,
must be Saguṇa and not Nirguṇa.
Ordinary people need certain forms,
certain visualisations, for Dhyāna,
so any Dhyāna which is Nirguṇa is only Vikalpa.”
– TKV Desikachar Switzerland 1981.

“Since Dhyāna cannot occur without an object of concentration,
there must be an area where you fix your mind.
So, first you have to fix or bind your mind
on a particular place, a chosen object;
this is known as Deśa Bandha.
And second, the mind should establish a relationship with
this object which should last, at least, for a moment.”
– TKV Desikachar Madras December 19th 1988

“We might want to consider the notion that the
most important standing Āsana is Samasthiti.
Its role is to ensure we engage with the next Āsana
from a place of attention and aware anticipation,
and after it, return to a place of fullness and reflection.
As if we are experiencing the fullness of the aftertaste
that naturally follows the ingestion of well-cooked food.
It’s learned Bhāvana is a quality of stillness within any
moment of inaction, ere to a transition to the next action.”
– 108 Postural Practice Pointers

Bhāvana on Ujjāyī as a Dhāraṇā Deśa
“Ujjāyī is a form of Ajapā Mantra.”
– 108 Prāṇāyāma Practice Pointers

“The ‘seed’ of potential for Ujjāyī as an
Ajapā Mantra abides within the ‘shell’ of
a Bhāvana for Ujjāyī as a Dhāraṇā Deśa.
The Deśa also needs to be supported by
utilising a locationally relevant Ādhāra,
as in this instance, the Viśuddhi Ādhāra.
Further considerations can be around the
linking of the sound of Ujjāyī to a semantic
thought-form, by adding Mano Japā Rūpa to
this Ajapā, as some do through using Haṃsa.
However, one could argue that this formation,
shifting from a non-language feeling-based
experience into a language thought-based
experience, can detract from the Bhāvana,
in that a unique Lakṣaṇa of Ujjāyī resides in
the notion of ‘sounding’ without language.”
– 108 Prāṇāyāma Practice Pointers

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