Breath Work—Pranayama
and Energy Cultivation
Now that we are moving, stretching, and even breathing deeply with the ujjayi breathing (victorious breath), we can add another layer to our practice to take us deeper. We will add some simple breathing practices (pranayama) that will help us improve our lung capacity, energize and revitalize our life force—our prana, or vital energy—and help us steady the mind and concentration, which is of great help for the meditation practices that will follow.
Pranayama, sometimes called breath control or yogic breathing, offers a variety of practices to help regulate our body and even the mind and our emotions as well as cultivate energy. One of the main books of physical yoga, The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, says that when the breath wanders, the mind also is unsteady. But when the breath is calmed, the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life. Therefore, one should learn to control the breath.
Not only will you be healthy now, but practicing pranayama is also one of the best tools for longevity. Most humans start to lose their lung capacity after age thirty, and since we do not breathe fully to begin with (most people only use about 10 percent of their lung capacity), this gets worse with the years. The cells that could be delivering oxygen to vital organs slowly begin to die. With pranayama, we keep our organs alive. Aging also involves losing control of body and mind over the years, which pranayama can help slow down, as pranayama practices help control the body (breathing nutrients into the cells, cultivation of energy) and mind (maintaining focus and alertness).
There are a variety of pranayama practices with different purposes. Some are cooling, some create energy and heat, some may be calming, and others bring about balance and long-term energy. We use the breath to energize the body, cleanse it, relax the mind and become clearer and more focused.
Pranayama can produce very quick results. However, anytime you practice pranayama and feel slightly uncomfortable, please stop immediately. Since these practices also affect our mind, it is important not to push the practice if you feel dizzy, anxious, stressed, or have any other feeling of discomfort. Please consult with your doctor before taking on pranayama practices. This is especially true for pregnant women, people with recent heart conditions, and people who suffer from high blood pressure.
Benefits of Pranayama
Physically, pranayama improves the functioning of the digestive system, removes toxins from the body, and improves cardiovascular functioning and circulation, as well as improves functioning of the lungs, which can promote longevity. Pranayama activates the flow of energy in the body, which can help with being more alert and present and may allow you to need less sleep when practiced regularly.
Pranayama complements and improves the physical yoga (asana): kapalabhati helps tone the belly and serves as a nice warm up, while viloma helps expand the lung capacity, deepen the breath, and focus and steady the mind. Sitali can help cool the mind and body if we are overheating, and nadi shodhana can close practice with a balancing and meditative effect.
Many of the pranayama practices soothe the nervous system, release tension and anxiety, calm the body and mind, and help bring emotions into balance. They balance the left and right sides of the brain, helping us further come into a state of balance and harmony, which along with the mind control aspect of pranayama, helps prepare for meditation.
The breath that flows through the nostrils is more than just a physical thing. It is known as the swara, breath that contains the life force. Our breath commands the activity of the mind, and when it flows through both nostrils evenly with no distraction, it enables a state of bliss.
Principles of Pranayama
Ideally, pranayama should be practiced on an empty stomach when we wake up. Some prefer to meditate or do their yoga asana practice first. I find that some pranayama practice before meditation or asana, some after asana, and some before sleep are ideal.
A healthy person should take fifteen breaths per minute, or 21,600 breaths per day. Most people breathe much faster. It is common for people to have shallow breathing and to breathe only from the chest. There is a traditional claim that time is measured by our breath. Thus, if we can slow our breathing, we can slow our aging. Pranayama helps us learn how to control and regulate our breathing. Pranayama (breath work) and physical yoga (asana) both create heat and energy in our body, and support each other in improving our physical and mental health. They are the basics for good mind training and meditation, just like eating well is the foundation for all other practices. Let’s see how we can increase the flow of this prana energy.
Preparing for Pranayama
Sit in a comfortable position—cross-legged or on your ankles is normally advised, however any sitting position that allows you to keep your spine tall without too much effort is great. Keep your hips higher than your knees. If this is not possible, or if you have a hard time keeping your spine tall, elevate your seat—a cushion, folded blanket, bolster, or even a chair can work—just make sure to have your spine tall so you have room to breathe!
Practice in a clean room with clean air and no distractions. Take a few ujjayi breaths (victorious breaths) before you begin any other pranayama (breath work) practices.
Pranayama Practices
In the descriptions below I will offer you a variety of techniques and methods of practicing pranayama. Master your ujjayi breathing (victorious breath) first. Learn to use it with your physical yoga practice (asana). Then, learn your deerga swasa (expanding your lungs), which is a great to do at the beginning of your physical yoga practice, as it will expand your breathing capability within your practice.
Later, master nadi shodhana (balancing breath). This can be done anytime, but I love doing it after my physical yoga, as it wraps it all up. Kapalnhati is wonderful to wake up with, or stimulate your physical yoga practice. Anytime you need some more heat or to get started, do a round of kapalbhati (breath of fire). I love doing it at the beginning of my physical yoga practice (asana). From then on you will be able to practice the pranayama of your choice according to your needs.
I offer a progression with different lengths of counting the breath. A count is more or less a second. You may find that at first you count your breath a bit more quickly, but as you get comfortable with the practice—and you will; it is only a matter of time—you will find yourself counting slowly and more calmly.
The more you practice and begin to master some of these practices, the more you will find yourself practicing pranayama. Sometimes you will arrive at a red light and simply observe your ujjayi breath (victorious breath) or do a round of sitali if it is hot outside or kapalabhati if it is cold. You can look forward to having pranayama (breath work) as your best friend.
Ujjayi Breath—Victorious Breath or Throat Breathing
Ujjayi is the basic and most fundamental breath we use in asana practice, but it can be practiced anywhere and anytime. It is nostril breathing that passes through a slightly restricted throat. This creates a soft sound, which helps us stay aware of our breathing and maintain a focused mind. It also allows us to have better control of our breath, as we can breath slower and smoother. Ujjayi (victorious breathing) should flow easily and smoothly without much effort. It should feel like coming home. I practice it every time I get a bit distracted, such as when driving, or as a quick preparation for meditation.
Swasa Breath—Uncontrolled Breath
Swasa breath is a scattered breath or rapid breath, such as you might do when angry. To bring the breath back into balance in this case, practice ujjayi (victorious breath) and hold the exhalation while connecting the mulabandha (root control center) to the ground. This will help ground your energy as well as bring space into the thinking mind, thus creating relief from strong emotions or tension.
Deerga Swasa—Expanding Your Lungs
Deerga swasa is a three-part breathing exercise that helps create space in the lungs so that you can breathe more deeply and smoothly and utilize the maximum lung capacity. It is a great preparation for your physical yoga practice. It is very calming to the mind, creating a sense of control and relaxation. The deep breathing oxygenates and detoxifies the body.
Method of practice: Bring your awareness to the breath, and breathe through the nostrils, keeping the breath soft and deep. Allow a deep exhale to empty the breath from the lungs. Then, as if you were filling a jug where the water begins filling from the bottom, begin your inhale in the belly. This is the first stage. Then bring the breath up into the lower chest and allow your ribcage to expand. This is the second stage. In the third stage, slowly keep breathing up into the upper chest all the way into the collarbones and the back of the body.
Pause briefly with the body full of breath, and then begin exhaling in the reverse order: upper chest, lower chest and lower abdomen. Bring your abdomen in towards the back to complete the exhalation. Keep the spine tall as you exhale and just use the breath to relax the shoulders, jaw, and forehead. Do so without any force or tension. You will find more space as you repeat this. Repeat five times.
Another variation of this is four-part breathing. It is similar to three-part breathing, but we add an emphasis of breathing into the back, which includes the lower back and especially the space between the shoulder blades.
Begin by inhaling into the belly, then up to the lower chest, then to the back, and eventually to the upper chest. This expands the lungs not only all the way from bottom to top, but also front and back. Really focus on bringing the breath into the back of the body. Work on doing this exercise slowly with lots of awareness on every part of the breathing process.
Kumbhaka—Breath Retention
The practice of pranayama involves controlling the way we breathe, the speed of our breath, and which nostril we breathe through, as well as periods of pauses during which we retain (or hold) our breath. BNS Iyengar, one of my Indian teachers, considered the practice of kumbhaka to be the real practice of pranayama, as it is this control of breath—the place where we do not waste our breath—that is the practice of prolonging our life and controlling our mind.
Anytime kumbhaka is offered, make sure you take it only to your comfort level. If you find that you are gasping for air after a round of kumbhaka, please reduce or eliminate it. If you have high blood pressure or are pregnant, avoid the practice of kumbhaka.
Viloma—Three-Part Breathing
Viloma pranayama is deerga swasa with pauses. Make sure you are comfortable with deerga swasa before moving on to viloma. As with deerga swasa, viloma is a great pranayama practice to do before your asana, as it will expand your lungs and help settle the mind.
Method of practice: Exhale completely, and begin your inhale. After you have inhaled a third of the way, pause for two seconds. Inhale another third and pause for two seconds. Inhale all the way, tuck your chin to the throat (jalandhara bandha), and hold for two to five seconds. Release and exhale slowly. Repeat this three times or more. As you practice this pranayama, you will get used to expanding your breath even more. Be sure to practice at a comfortable rate. If after your pause, you find that you are gasping for air, reduce the length of pause time or stay with deerga swasa for now.
The second step is to do the same practice while you exhale. Inhale completely and begin your exhale. After you exhale a third of the way, pause for two seconds. Exhale another third and pause for two seconds. Exhale all the way out, activate mulabandha and uddiyana bandha, and hold for two to five seconds.
The third stage is a combination of the first two stages—taking pauses while inhaling as well as while exhaling. Please, do make sure you are comfortable with each step before progressing onto the next one. This is a fantastic practice that can be done anytime, and it is a great preparation for nadi shodhana as well as yoga asana (physical yoga).
Balance Your Brain and Emotions
We have the power to control our brain, mind, emotions, and energies by controlling our breath. Simple practices of breathing through one nostril at a time can help manipulate the energy in our bodies. These are simple practices that can create great change, and help us find balance and reduce stress in a quick way.
Learn about Your Breathing Patterns
Place your fingers underneath both nostrils, and take a few quick sharp exhales. Notice which nostril seems more open, or dominant.
The left nostril represents the moon, the feminine, the abstract, the passive, and the right side of the brain. It is conducive to creating art, meditating, relaxing, and connecting with intuition.
The right nostril represents the sun, the masculine, the analytical, the active and the left side of the brain. It is conducive to active states, such as working, exercising, eating, and making plans.
As you can already imagine, we have the power to control our brain, our mind, and the type of mood we want to be in. Most people breathe through one nostril at a time and switch the nostril only every ninety to one hundred twenty minutes or so.
Our nostril dominance may be influenced by what we do and how we feel. Notice that when you are very hungry, your right nostril is more dominant. When you are sleepy, you may find that your left nostril is dominant. If you like to sleep on your side, notice that when you lie on your right side, you sleep more calmly. Sleeping on the right side allows easier breathing through the left nostril, and thus activates the abstract, spacey right side of the brain, which allows for better sleep.
Learning to read your nostrils will help you be aware of where your head is, and with the control of the breath, you will have the ability to control your mind.
Surya Bedhana—Sun Dominant Breath Control/Right Nostril Breathing
This practice will increase the sun effects—the analytical, masculine, active, thinking mind.
Method of practice: Hand setup—with your right hand open, fold the index and middle fingers in, so you are left with the thumb on one side and the pinky and ring finger on the other. Place your hand on your nose, with the thumb on one side and the pinky and ring finger on the other. The fingers will serve to open and close the nostrils.
Close the left nostril with your right pinky and ring fingers pressing under the bony part of the nose. Breathe slowly and steadily through your right nostril five to twenty-five times. Release, take a few breaths, and repeat as needed.
Breathe through the right nostril only, for five to twenty-five breaths.
Chandra Behdana—Moon Dominant Breath Control/Left Nostril Breathing
This practice will increase the moon effects—the artistic, feminine, passive, abstract mind.
Method of practice: Use the same hand setup as with surya bedhana. Close the right nostril with your right thumb pressing under the bony part of the nose. Breathe slowly and steadily through your left nostril five to twenty-five times. Release, take
a few breaths, and repeat as needed.
Breathe through the left nostril only, for five to twenty-five breaths.
Nadi Shodhana—Alternate Nostril Breathing or Balancing Breath
Sometimes known as alternate nostril breathing, nadi shodhana is a helpful tool for bringing the body and mind into balance. Classically, it aims at balancing the energies in the body and allowing a powerful flow of energy through the spine to the rest of the body and beyond. On a simple practical level, nadi shodhana is a great tool for balancing our mind and emotions.
There are a variety of teachings that include different ratios or breathing. Some recommend even inhales and exhales, and slowly increasing the length of the kumbhaka (retention). Many aim at reaching the ratio of 1:4:2. This means that the exhalation is twice the length of the inhalation and the kumbhaka is four times the length of the inhalation. For now, all kumbhaka in the nadi shodhana practices will be at the top of the inhalation only. No exhalation kumbhaka for now. Some practice examples are 2:8:4 or 4:16:8.
We will combine the advice of a few teachings (always seeking to maximize the best techniques), and start with no kumbhaka first, and then slowly add it in.
Method of practice: Use the same hand setup as with surya bedhana. Alternate the release of thumb on one side and the pinky and ring finger on the other side to control which nostril is open. We will begin with inhale and twice as long exhales, but with no kumbhaka. Start with 2:4, when easy, move onto 3:6, then to 4:8.
This completes one full round. Practice this for six rounds.
Once this is easy move on to practices with kumbhaka.
Since there are a variety of practices with kumbhaka, I recommend starting with 4:4:6. If this is too much lower it to 4:2:6 or even 2:2:4.
Here is an example of progression from easier to harder, but remember to stay with what is good for now even if it is the easiest. No need to rush, and no need to ever achieve the longer practices. You may find that as you meditate more, and practice asana more, your pranayama practices will improve as well.
Here is the instruction for practicing 4:4:6. It will be the same for all other options just with different numbers.
Again, only raise the count when it is comfortable, and recognize that not every day will be the same. Some days you will do much better, and others less. That is okay. The important thing is that you show up and practice!
Practice six rounds to begin with, and eventually do twelve rounds each time. You will obviously progress much faster if you do twelve rounds each time you practice. Sure it takes time—so again, it is better to do three rounds than none.
Nadi shodhana is one of the most important practices in this book for your body, mind, and spirit. It is a link between our yoga asana, breath, energy, and mind training. Make sure you practice it at least three times a week for a minimum of three rounds, and ideally four—five times a week for twelve rounds each time.
Kapalabhati—Breath of Fire
Kapalabhati (breath of fire), or the skull-shining breath as it is literally translated, is an invigorating, energizing, heating, and purifying breathing technique. It is a very active, forced exhalation with a passive inhalation.
Do not practice kapalabahti if you are pregnant or menstruating, or if you have high blood pressure or have had recent abdominal surgery, as it is very active in the core area; it creates heat, and can raise the heart rate.
Method of practice: Inhale three-quarters of the way in. Then take sharp exhales through the nose, allowing the inhalation to be passive. The exhalations are done by pressing the lower belly inward, towards the back—or pumping the belly to the back—and thus forcing the air out of the nose. If you are a beginner, please place your hands on your lower belly to help with the pumping motion. It is not easy for everyone to isolate the belly movement at first.
Begin slowly, maybe with one exhalation per second or two. No need to do very quick kapalabhati. It is more important to take a powerful exhale and really move the belly in. You can begin with a round of twenty exhales. Then take a few slow calm breaths and go for another round. Practice two to four rounds.
If this is comfortable enough, consider taking a big inhalation after your last sharp exhale, and do a round of kumbhaka for a count of ten. Then release the breath slowly. Take a restful breath and start again.
Over time, increase the number of exhales in every round. Starting with twenty, then thirty, and maybe fifty. Ultimately, you may increase to one hundred twenty sharp exhales with a kumbhaka of fifteen seconds. Again, this may take years of practice for some, or just a few weeks for others. Some sources recommend not going beyond one hundred twenty exhales per round. The kumbhaka at the end is optional and many schools of yoga do not do it. I find that there is a beautiful feeling of energy running through the body when the kumbhaka is included. Some say they feel “high” while they take the kumbhaka.
This is one practice I do almost daily, either before my asana practice or simply in the morning, as it helps the bodily systems to wake up. Like nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing), I recommend practicing this at least three to four times a week, for a minimum of two rounds.
Sitali (Seetali) Pranayama—Cooling Breathing
In the old days, yogis did not cool themselves with external resources; they did not eat ice cream, drink ice water, or turn on the AC. Instead they practiced sitali pranayama (cooling breathing) to lower the body temperature. Sitali breathing calms the mind, reduces stress by calming the fight or flight response, and may help to lower blood pressure and calm the nervous system.
Method of practice: Begin by exhaling completely. Curl the tongue between the lips as if you were pretending to be a fish, and then inhale. Allow the air to pass through the curled tongue. Lower the chin and hold the breath (kumbhaka) for a count of ten or however long is comfortable for you. Then exhale slowly and rest for a breath. Repeat six to twelve times.
Variation: For those who cannot roll the tongue into the curled position, there are two options. The first is to roll the tongue into the mouth, so that it rests on the roof of the mouth. The other option is to practice sitkari (cooling breath 2, below).
Practice sitali especially when hot, or emotionally unbalanced. It is also a great practice for anytime there is inflammation, including asthma, or even to cool down from hot flashes.
Sitkari—Cooling Breath 2
Sitkari is another pranayama that has a cooling effect similar to sitali. When you practice sitkari (cooling breath 2), the air passes through the teeth, rides over the tongue, and cools the body.
Method of practice: Open your lips while keeping your upper and lower teeth touching lightly. Inhale through the mouth with a hissing sound, filling the lungs completely. Then part the teeth, close the mouth, and perform kumbhaka. Lower the chin to the throat while you do this. After a count of about ten, exhale completely through the nose.
No need to do this and sitali; one of them is sufficient. Same as with sitali, practice this especially when hot, or emotionally unbalanced. It is also a great practice for anytime there is inflammation, including asthma.
One-to-Two Breathing—Relax and Repair
Scientists as well as yogis have studied this breathing technique of one-to-two breathing. They found that when the exhalations are longer than the inhalations, the parasympathetic system is activated, which activates the immune system and calms the nervous system. It also induces muscular relaxation and is very effective in stress management. Some women find this to be helpful during menopausal hot flashes.
It is very easy to practice this breathing technique, and even ten rounds can make a huge difference. You can use it anytime you need to slow down, become calm, relax, or fall asleep. Yes, this actually helps a lot with insomnia. When you have trouble sleeping, you can practice this in bed on your back for ten rounds, and then roll onto your right side for better sleep.
Method of practice: This can be done sitting or lying down on your back. If on your back, you can have a blanket rolled under your knees for comfort. Breathe in through both nostrils at the same time for a count of four and then out for a count of eight. Note that any length of breath is fine as long as you keep the ratio 1:2 (2:4. 4:8, 8:16 etc.).
Though at first pranayama may be challenging, and many times, we feel that breathing is less important than the physical yoga poses, please do not underestimate these practices, and give them the time they deserve. These pranayama and breathing practices are a wonderful bridge into meditation. Practice them individually or as preparation for either your asana practice, or for meditation. They are the oxygen and energetic food for your body and soul.