As long as breath remains in the body, there is life. When it departs, there is death. Therefore, one should control the breath.

The previous verse connected breath with mind; this one connects breath with life itself. Vāyu (breath, vital wind) is literally what animates the body.

Jīvana (life) depends on vāyu sthita (breath remaining). Maraṇa (death) is niṣkrānti (departure) of breath. This basic observation — life begins with the first inhalation and ends with the last exhalation — grounds the entire science of prāṇāyāma.

The conclusion is repeated: tato vāyuṃ nirodhayet (therefore, one should control the breath). Nirodha means containment, regulation, mastery — not violent suppression.

Implicitly, the verse suggests that whoever masters breath has a certain mastery over life itself. Yogic traditions claim that great yogīs could extend life or choose the moment of leaving the body.

For the modern practitioner: each conscious breath is an act of conscious living. Prāṇāyāma is not just breathing technique but cultivation of vitality.