In Chapter 2 sutra 50, the vacillations of prana is
regulated in three ways. By location (which is like breathing into the knee
or other body part) by time, which is what? By number, meaning minutes?
Duration of practice?
This sutra refers to the process of gaining control over the
pranas vacillating nature by three disciplines. Location means confining
prana to any external or internal point. Time is the ratio of the practice.
Number means duration yes.
I would like to have some light shed on this sutra. II 50 is from the sutras regarding pranayama. From Mukunda’s translation Patanjali is referring to extending the breath "into the divine life force and the range of prana is felt permeating everywhere, transcending the attention given to either external or internal objects."
This sounds rather cosmic to me in that there seems to be no end to taking awareness outwards - that the possibility is endless, infinite. However i guess the proof is in the pudding, isn’t it? Is it about practicing and seeing how much one can extend the breath into the cosmos, without distraction from mind-waves? Does it mean connecting the breath with ‘the worlds breath’ or mothers breath’, linking us like the umbilical cord? I know when we discussed this sutra with Mukunda that he talked about Adhya being the omnipresent prana. Always existing, always available perhaps? - we just need to practice plugging into it more regularly maybe? Please would someone elaborate on this?