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Swara Yoga: A Very Old Tantric Science

What Is Swara Yoga

Swara Yoga is a very old science that has been around prior to the Vedic period, more than ten thousand years, in fact. It was an occult, mystical science, within the ken of a select few, mostly kings and dedicated spiritual seekers. Swara Yoga was kept a closely guarded secret by the sages of yore who were said to have received this knowledge instinctively from the Supreme Being himself. The techniques of Swara Yoga linked to the breath were employed successfully to help man understand the forces governing life, the nature of the Cosmos and effects of natural elements on human mind and body by watching the changing patterns of breath.

In Sanskrit, Swara means musical note or sound. It also means the incessant, nonstop flow of air through the nasal passage, and yoga itself means union. Swara Yoga is, therefore, the science of realization of cosmic consciousness, through observation and awareness, followed by manipulation or control of breath. Swara Yoga is a very old tantric science. It involves the systematic study of breathing flow through the nostrils (Swara) with regard to the waxing and waning of the moon, the hour of the day and direction.

Even though ‘Pranayama’ is what most people think of in regard to breath-related techniques, in Swara Yoga we go slightly further. Here breath is related to the movements, locations or phases of the astral bodies. These include the moon, sun, seasons, planets and the hour of day. Here too, we take into account the mental and physical aspects of a person and then move upon an appropriate course of action bearing in mind these subtle relations.

For instance, in Swara Yoga, it matters that you know the phase of the moon on any given day, observe the flow of the nostrils, which nostril is active and which is passive and, accordingly, get out of bed and decide which foot touches the floor. This way you would take the first step. These little things, attention to detail, go a long way to ensuring success in all the activities of the day. Swara Yoga postulates that the first foot to come in contact with the floor receives the ‘predominant’ flow of energy from the Universe.

It is said that knowledge and, more importantly, practice of Swara Yoga sets man free of all sorts of negative influences said to govern his destiny. Further, he can even go on to cultivate heightened awareness and then reach Moksha or Nirvana.

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