Breathing

Yoga practitioners view breathing as the link between mind and body. They consider yoga’s approach to proper breathing, known as yogic breathing, as a way to control emotions and the body’s physical responses to them. The underlying goal of all types of yoga is to merge proper breathing technique with correct postures—to make breathing and movement work together to purify mind and body.

Benefits of Yogic Breathing

Proper yogic breathing can:

Tone chest and abdominal muscles
Eliminate toxins and boost metabolism
Strengthen the immune system
Reduce tension and anxiety

Prana

In yoga, energy (also known as life force) is called prana. Proper breathing allows the body’s prana to flow more efficiently, which leads to better health. The practice of proper breathing is pranayama and includes four stages:

Inhalation: Intake of air via nose, mouth, or both
Retention: Holding of the breath
Exhalation: Release of air via nose, mouth, or both
Suspension: Continued emptiness of the lungs after exhalation

Yogic Breathing for Beginners

The different types of yoga emphasize various stages of pranayama, so there is no one “correct” way to perform yogic breathing. At the same time, all approaches to yogic breathing share a few common traits:

Breathe through the nose: The nose filters and warms the air before it enters the lungs. Nose breathing also slows the respiration rate.
Breathe deeply: Fill the lungs as completely as you can.
Use the right postures: The most effective breathing occurs in postures in which the lungs can expand fully (see Yoga Postures).

Though beginners tend to focus entirely on forming postures correctly, breathing and body positioning are intertwined and equally important. Only by breathing properly will you be able to extend fully into postures and in turn gain the full range of yoga’s benefits.

Special Types of Yogic Breathing

There are many types of proper yogic breathing. Each uses a different approach to attaining one of yogic breathing’s benefits (such as to increase concentration or purge toxins). Though you can use these breathing techniques when performing any yogic posture, with practice you’ll get a feel for which types of breathing suit certain postures best. Here are four of the most common types.

Single Nostril Breathing

Beginners often learn to focus on breathing by breathing through only one nostril. Single nostril breathing, known as vishnu mudra, is done by keeping the thumb, ring finger, and pinky of your predominant hand extended and allowing the pointer and middle finger to rest on the palm.

To breathe through the left nostril only: Place the right thumb along the right side of the nose, closing the right nostril.
To breathe through the right nostril only: Place the pads of the pinky and ring finger along the left side of the nose, closing the left nostril.
Once you’ve chosen a nostril: Inhale for four counts and exhale for eight on one side. Switch nostrils and repeat this pattern about 10 times.

You can also alternate nostrils mid-breath. For example, inhale through the left nostril for four counts, close both nostrils and hold for 16 counts, exhale through the right nostril for eight counts. Repeat by inhaling through the right nostril, holding, and exhaling through the left.

Shitali Pranayama: The Cooling Breath

Shitali pranayama, or the “cooling breath,” cools the body and helps to release toxins. To perform this breath:

Curl the sides of your tongue to form a “straw” between your lips.
Inhale slowly through your straw for a count of seven.
Close your mouth and hold your breath for the same count.
Exhale through your nose for the same count.
Repeat about five times.

Kapalabhati: The Breath of Fire

Rapid breathing with fast exhalations is called kapalabhati, or the “breath of fire.” It cleanses the body of toxins.

Take a deep breath and fill your lungs with air.
Force the air out from your lungs through your nostrils by contracting your abdominal muscles rapidly in succession about 25 times.
Relax the abdomen and breathe naturally.
Repeat three times. If you become light-headed or dizzy, stop the exercise.

Ujjayi: The Breath of Victory

Ujjayi (oo-jai-yee), meaning “uprising victoriously,” is a type of yogic breathing that requires you to make a quiet, low sound deep within the throat. Its purpose is to help you be mindful of your breathing by actually hearing the breath as it takes place. Ujjayi is also believed to have powerful cathartic effects on the mind, which gives it its other name—the “psychic breath.” To perform the ujjayi breath:

Constrict the throat during inhalation and exhalation, while breathing through the nose.
Allow your vocal cords to vibrate deep in your throat, as they might when snoring.
Try to make the inhalation and the exhalation even in pitch and tone. If you’re doing the breath correctly, only you—not the yoga instructor or others near you—should hear the sound.

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