On Mar 12, 2010, at 6:09 AM, cardemaister wrote:
It seems to me Maharishi thinks the slowing down and occasional
stoppage of breathing during TM is what Patañjali means by caturthaH
(praaNaayaamaH), because that prolly is (almost?) the conditio sine
qua non of dhaaraNaa (the first "part" of saMyama).
He unfortunately wasn't much of an authority. Please remember the
angas of mantra yoga are very different from the angas of Patanjali.
Remember the 4th pranayama is done with out respect to length of time
and can be performed at will. In other words, it implies a profound
mastery not seen in many people, let alone in TM meditators.
It's not an easy skill to learn and definitely should not be confused
with TMer's apnea episodes.
It's also important to remember that TM proponents like to push vague
suggestions without knowledge of what they're implying regarding
minute changes or fabricated ideas. They think it's good for the brand.
Can you site a source where Maharishi associates the brief apnea
episodes with the fourth pranayama? You do know they were caught
trying to use people with known central sleep apnea, right?
