Ready
Sit tall · soften the jaw
—
4 · 4 · 4 · 4
Sound
Ocean breath
Filtered noise that swells as you inhale and recedes as you exhale. The most natural eyes-closed cue — you follow a wave, not a number.
Tānpūra drone
A low sustained Sa–Pa bed at 136.1 Hz. Gives the ear a home to rest in.
Singing bowl
An inharmonic bowl struck at each change of phase, ringing for several seconds.
Guide tone
A soft tone gliding up a fifth as you inhale, back down as you exhale.
Count pulses
A muted low drop on each beat. Off by default — the wave usually tells you enough.
Spoken phase
Says “Inhale · Hold · Exhale · Hold”.
Keep screen awake
Prevents the display sleeping mid-practice.
Practice settings
Śūnyaka krama — the pyramid
Grow the empty hold
Śūnyaka lengthens a little each round up to a peak, then comes
back down the same way. Every other phase stays fixed.
Bandha cues
A rising tone to draw the belly up at the start of the hold, and a
falling tone to release it before the in-breath.
On the names. Pūraka is the in-breath, rechaka the out-breath, and
kumbhaka the retention. The hold on full lungs is antara kumbhaka; the hold on
empty lungs is bāhya kumbhaka, widely called śūnyaka — “emptiness”.
The Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā (ch. 5, sahita kumbhaka) teaches a 1 : 4 : 2 ratio, not the equal square — square breath is modern sama vṛtti. Both presets are above.
Care. Never strain. Retention should feel spacious, never desperate. Ease off if you feel dizzy or air-hungry. Skip retentions if pregnant, or with uncontrolled blood pressure, heart conditions, glaucoma or epilepsy — ask a doctor first.
The Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā (ch. 5, sahita kumbhaka) teaches a 1 : 4 : 2 ratio, not the equal square — square breath is modern sama vṛtti. Both presets are above.
Care. Never strain. Retention should feel spacious, never desperate. Ease off if you feel dizzy or air-hungry. Skip retentions if pregnant, or with uncontrolled blood pressure, heart conditions, glaucoma or epilepsy — ask a doctor first.
Space — begin / pause · Esc — stop