Introduction to Tantra Sastra - Aghori

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INTRODUCTION TO TANTRA ŚĀSTRA
water up to the navel, and the anus is contracted and
expanded by aivini mudrā; or the same is done in the
paścimottānāsana, and the abdomen below the navel is
gently moved. In neti the nostrils are cleansed with a
piece of string. Laulikī is the whirling of the belly from
side to side. In trātakā the yogī, without winking, gazes
at some minute object until the tears start from his
eyes. By this the “celestial vision” (divya-dṛ ṣṭ i) so often
referred to in the Tāntrika-upāsanā is acquired. Kapālabhati
is a process of the removal of phlegm, and is
three-fold—vāta-krama by inhalation and exhalation;
vyūtkrama by water drawn through the nostrils and
ejected through the mouth; and śitkrama the reverse
process.
These are the various processes by which the body is
cleansed and made pure for the yoga practice to follow.
DṚ DHATĀ: ĀSANA
Dydhata, or strength or firmness, the acquisition of
which is the second of the above-mentioned processes, is
attained by āsana.
Āsanas are postures of the body. The term is generally
described as modes of seating the body. But the
posture is not necessarily a sitting one: for some asanas
are done on the belly, back, hands, etc. It is said 1 that
the āsanas are as numerous as living beings, and that
there are 8,400,000 of these; 1,600 are declared to be excellent,
and out of these thirty-two are auspicious for men,
which are described in detail. Two of the commonest of
1 Gheraṇḍa-Saṃ
hitā, Second Upadeśa. In the Śiva-Saṃ
hitā (chap. iii,
verses 84-91) eighty-four postures are mentioned, of which four are recommended—viz.,
siddhāsana, ugrāsana, svastikāsana, and padmāsana.