“Mental activities are called Kliṣṭa when they result
in Duḥkha and Akliṣṭa when they do not.
When the three Guṇa are dominant,
Jīva is troubled and mental activities result in Duḥkha.
When the mind is free from desires, inclined toward discrimination
and seeking truth, mental activities do not result in Duḥkha.
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 5

“When Jīva, attached to Prakṛti,
realizes its own true nature with
clear understanding, all desires,
arising from the three Guṇa and
their variations cease entirely.
This state of Vairāgya,
free from all types of desire,
is called Para Vairāgya.”
– T Krishnamacharya on  Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 16

“What is the nature of the Dṛśya or what can be perceived?
It has three qualities; it reveals, it acts, it has substance.
It has many components, the objects known and the means to know them.
They serve two roles.
When in strong association with the perceiver they produce pleasure or pain –
when this association is absent they let the perceiver visualise its own nature.
Experience of pleasure or pain is by the perceiver.
Freedom from them is also its fundamental situation.
This freedom is no different from Mukti.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 18

“The Das Indriya or ten senses of experience and action,
whilst seen as belonging to the Bāhya Aṅga or five external limbs
in the eight limb Aṣṭa Aṅga Yoga of Patañjali,
are also the gateway to the Antar Aṅga or three internal limbs.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 54

“Everything we see,
including the instrument of mind,
has three qualities or natures.
All matter has the three qualities.
In Saṃskṛta they are known as Guṇa.
In Sāṃkhya it is said that every problem
comes from the Guṇa and their interplay.
The effects can be based on what we see, eat, hear,
and the effects of what we see, eat, hear.
In Yoga one who has mastered themselves is one
who can produce whatever Guṇa is required.”
– TKV Desikachar on Sāṃkhya and Yoga

“A human being is made up of the three Guṇa:
Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
All three are important and have their respective roles.
The role of the Rajas Guṇa is to initiate action.
Every function of the body and action of the person is
because of the operation of the Rajas Guṇa.
Even breathing requires the action of the Rajas Guṇa.
In all his teachings, my father would always insist on action.
As long as a person is alive, the three Guṇa will exist in his system
thereby making action not only necessary but inevitable.”
– Yoga Sūtra on Stress – An interview with TKV Desikachar

“The teacher decides which of the Tri Krama is the best for the student:
Śikṣaṇa Krama requires a perfect knowing to transmit a strict practice,
without any compromise, as it should be in Vedic chanting for example.
Rakṣaṇa Krama is aimed at protection and preservation;
it promotes continuity in any levels like health, abilities, knowledge, etc.
Cikitsā Krama looks for adaptation, healing, recovering…”
– TKV Desikachar speaking with his senior Western students London 1998

“Tri Bandha Sādhana – Jālandhara, Uḍḍīyāna and Mūla,
starts from the top down rather than the bottom up,
in both senses.”
– 108 Mudrā Practice Pointers

“The Teaching of the Tri  Bandha starts the day we teach the exhalation.
1. Introduce the exhalation.
2. Extend the exhalation.
3. Attention on Lower Abdomen during exhalation.
4. Deepen attention on Lower Abdomen during exhalation.
5. Further intensification on the Bāhya Kumbhaka.
6. Introduce Uḍḍīyana Bandha by moving Navel Backwards
and Upwards, towards the point between the shoulder blades.
7. Retain the Mūla Bandha during the inhalation, by holding
the lower abdomen as you release the diaphragm.”
– 108 Mudrā Practice Pointers

“In Learning the Tri Bandha we engage with certain potential contraindications:
1. The Tri Bandha reduce the length and subtlety of the breath.
2. The accumulative effect when repeated should be more intense,
but often the opposite is what can actually happen.
3. In the beginning the use of the Tri Bandha can disturb the system and
create tendencies, such as for the practitioner to lose their temper.
4. The continued use of the Tri Bandha can easily
raise tensions in the neck and shoulders.
5. If the abdomen appears to be retracted strongly, but the breath
is getting shorter the practitioner is probably cheating.”
– 108 Mudrā Practice Pointers

“In Practicing the Tri Bandha we engage with Haṭha teachings:
In that, the inhale takes the Agni towards the Mūlādhāra.
This effect on Agni increases with the Antar Kumbhaka,
as the Antar Kumbhaka helps to intensify the fire.
Following this process in bringing the Agni down,
the exhale takes the Mūlādhāra towards the Agni.
Thus the exhale draws the Apāna towards the Agni,
plus adding Uḍḍīyana Bandha holds the Apāna up.
This is the link with the effect on the Kuṇḍalinī,
though in terms of practice, very hard to get.
Here also, the coming down period is important.
For example, do not eat just after, though you feel hungry.
Uḍḍīyana Bandha is a heating process and Madhura Rasa,
such as sweet rice cooked with milk is initially recommended.”
– 108 Mudrā Practice Pointers

“One primary prerequisite to initiation into a Tri Bandha Sādhana
was an ability in Prāṇāyāma within a Vinyāsa Krama around
Nāḍī Śodhana where the crown was 12 breaths at 12.12.12.12.
Thus, before being taught Uḍḍīyana Bandha,
an essential precursor to Mūla Bandha,
there needed to be competence in sustaining Prāṇāyāma,
within a Vinyāsa Krama leading to a crown ratio of 1.1.1.1.
with the Pūraka, Antar Kumbhaka, Recaka and Bāhya Kumbhaka
each set at 12 seconds in a crown of 12.12.12.12. for 12 breaths.
Thus, a Vinyāsa Krama peak of almost 10 minutes sustaining the crown
ratio within a Prāṇāyāma practice, with the entire practice itself totalling
over 20 minutes, all performed with one technique, Nāḍī Śodhana.
This technique alone is already in itself demanding to sustain with
an inaudible softness, as if pouring oil slowly and smoothly amidst
an almost undetectable deftness of finger movement on the nostrils.
A further example of how there needs to be an effortless skill in working
with the Kumbhaka and how our fluency with all four components of the
breath sets a practice direction and evolution in that, amongst other goals,
it determines our readiness to incorporate the Tri Bandha into our Sādhana.”
– 108 Mudrā Practice Pointers

“Holding the body steady, with the three upper parts erect,
causing the senses and the mind to enter the heart,
the wise person should cross by the boat of Mantra,
all the fear bringing streams of the mind.”
– Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad Chapter 2 verse 8
– 108 Chanting Practice Pointers

Links to Related Posts:

• Navarātri or the Nine Nights of Durgā as a time for Mantra Sādhana……
• Physiological and psychological considerations around the practitioner’s starting point…
• Studying, Practicing and Learning the Tri Bandha involves Theory, Techniques and Cautions…
• What are the concepts of Sṛṣṭi Krama, Sthiti Krama and Antya Krama?