Now plāvinī: with the stomach internally expanded and filled with air, one floats easily even in deep waters like a lotus leaf.

This verse describes plāvinī, the last of the eight kumbhakas. The name derives from plava (to float). The technique consists of filling the stomach (udara) — not just the lungs — with air (māruta), expanding it (udāram) internally.

The benefit mentioned is literal: the practitioner can float (plavate) in deep water (agādha) effortlessly (sukhāt), like a lotus leaf (padmapatravat). The air trapped in the stomach increases the body’s buoyancy.

This technique has practical applications for yogīs who live near water or practice in sacred rivers. The ability to float indefinitely without effort allows meditative states even in water. The comparison with the lotus leaf also evokes the quality of remaining immaculate amid the world, like the lotus that emerges clean from the mud.