Yogic Breathing: Types, Benefits, & Techniques

Yogic breathing, also called pranayama, is a practice of controlling the breath. Yogic breathing is one of the eight limbs or core practices of yoga. It is often timed with movement and yoga poses but can also be used as a motionless meditation or mindfulness tool. Research shows that yogic breathing can improve both mental and physical health. What Is Yogic Breathing? Pranayama is a means to control the breath, and can be used to focus the mind during yoga, or meditation. There are three parts to yogic breathing: inhalation, exhalation, and retention. Practicing pranayama is thought to elevate your life energy, resulting in improved mental and physical health. Pranayama is a Sanskrit word, where “prana” is “life force” and “yama” means to “gain control”.

Yogic breathing techniques are used for: Mindfulness Progressive muscle relaxation Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) Hatha yoga Body scan meditations Breathwork classes 9 Yogic Breathing Techniques There are nine different techniques of pranayama. Some techniques are used to calm the mind, while others build up energy. All techniques of pranayama involve three stages of breath: inhalation, retention, and exhalation, however, each technique emphasizes the stages differently. Some differences between the techniques include, the depth of the inhalation, the length of each retention and the forcefulness of the exhalation. Here are nine yogic breathing techniques: 1. Three-Part Breath (Dirga Pranayama) The three part breath is used to relax and calm your mind, and can be done while laying down or sitting up. Dirga means complete, because this type of breath focuses on the fullness of the breath and using all of your lung capacity.1 Three-part breath is one of the most practiced techniques in yoga classes everywhere, and is an easy way to start practicing pranayama. Part one of the three-part breath involves: Prepare your environment: Find a place where you can be comfortable without distractions. Silence your phone, turn off your tv, and minimize any other distractions. Make yourself comfortable: Find a comfortable position sitting or laying down. Fix your gaze or close your eyes. Start to observe your natural breath cycle: Begin to notice your inhalation and exhalation without trying to change anything. Begin to deepen your breath: Inhale and exhale deeply through the nose. On each inhale, fill the belly up with your breath. Imagine the breath going all the way down and expanding your belly. On every exhale, expel all the air out from your belly through your nose. Draw your bellybutton back towards your spine to make sure that the belly is totally empty. Repeat: Repeat these steps of deep belly breathing for about five breaths. Part two of the three-part breath involves: Inhale deeper: Fill the belly up with air just as you were previously. Then when your belly is full and you feel like you’ve done a full breath, inhale a little more breath and let that air expand into the rib cage and feel the ribs widen and separate. Exhale completely: Let the air go first from the rib cage, feeling the ribs slide together, and then exhale the air from the belly, drawing the navel back towards the spine again. Repeat: Repeat this deep breathing into the belly and rib cage for about five breaths. This is the second part. Part three of the three-part breath involves: Inhale to your heart: Fill the belly and rib cage up with air as you did previously. Then breathe in just a little more air and let it fill up your chest, causing your chest to expand and rise. The goal here is to have the area around your heart full of air. Exhale completely: On the exhale, let the breath go beginning with the chest and then moving down through the ribs and finally exhaling fully from the belly, emptying all the air from each area completely. Begin to flow: Continue at your own pace, and when you feel comfortable, allowing all three parts to come together easily without pausing in between each step. Continue for about 10 breaths. If you find yourself getting distracted through the process, just bring your attention back to the breath. Make any necessary adjustments or modifications as needed. 2. Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Shodhana) Alternate nostril breathing is another type of pranayama that focuses on relaxation and grounding. This type of breathwork involves inhaling through one nostril and exhaling out of the other one. Alternate nostril breathing helps balance the right and left hemispheres of the brain and can also manage and improve some physical health conditions.2 It can be helpful to use a guide or watch a video the first time you practice this technique, as you will physically use your hands to close off one nostril. To practice alternate nostril breathing, you should: Prepare your environment: Find a place where you can be comfortable without distractions. Silence your phone, turn off your tv, and minimize any other distractions. Make yourself comfortable: Find a comfortable position sitting or laying down. Fix your gaze or close your eyes. Position your hands: Let your left hand fall into your lap and bring your right hand in front of your face. Bring your right pointer and middle finger to rest on your forehead between your eyebrows. Inhale and exhale: Close your eyes and take a cleansing and take a deep inhale, followed by an exhale. Begin alternate nostril breathing: Use your right thumb to close your right nostril. Inhale: Inhale through your left nostril. Close left nostril: Close the left nostril with your ring finger. Hold your breath: Hold your breath with both nostrils closed. Open right nostril: Open your right nostril and release the breath. Begin to flow: Repeat, alternating nostrils each time. Practice 5-10 times or until you feel more calm. 3. Ocean’s Breath (Ujjayi) Ujjayi breathing is often referred to as victorious breath or ocean’s breath because it sounds similar to ocean waves. Ujjayi breathing is a constricted breath which builds heat in the body. Ujjayi breath can be used to relax the body’s stress response and increase oxygen consumption and metabolic rate.3 This type of pranayama is most often seen in Vinyasa yoga, where the breath matches the flow of poses. To practice the ocean’s breath technique, you should: Prepare your environment: Find a place where you can be comfortable without distractions. Silence your phone, turn off your tv, and minimize any other distractions. Make yourself comfortable: Find a comfortable position sitting or laying down. Fix your gaze or close your eyes. Constrict your exhale: When you feel ready, bring your awareness to the back of your throat and start constricting that area on the exhales. Imagine you are trying to fog up a mirror with your exhale. You should hear a rushing or hissing noise. Constrict your inhale: Once you feel that you have the exhale down, practice this constriction on your inhale as well. Again, you should hear a rushing or hissing noise. Practice with mouth closed: Next, continue this constriction, but with your mouth closed. Inhale and exhale with the same throat constriction, trying to keep the inhales and exhales the same length of time. Begin to flow: Practice around 10 times or until you feel heat in your body. 4. The Cooling Breath (Sheetali Kumbhaka) Sheetali, also known as Sitali or Shitali, pranayama is known as the cooling breath because it uses a cooling technique on the inhalation. Sheetali is believed to be able to cool both the physical body, as well as the mind and emotions as well. This can be used when you’re overheated in warm weather, during an intense workout, or during heated emotional experiences. To practice the cooling breath technique, you should: Prepare your environment: Find a place where you can be comfortable without distractions. Silence your phone, turn off your tv, and minimize any other distractions. Make yourself comfortable: Find a comfortable position sitting or laying down. Fix your gaze or close your eyes. Position your tongue: To practice this breath, you need to be able to curl up the outer edges of your tongue. If you aren’t able to do this, you can also practice this breath through pursed lips. Inhale: Stick out your curled tongue and Inhale through it, or purse your lips and inhale through them. Exhale: Exhale through your nose. Begin to flow: Repeat 5-10 times. Each time you practice this breath, work on repeating a few more times. Overtime you should be able to flow for a few minutes. 5. The Hissing Breath (Siitkari Kumbhaka) Sheetkari (or shitkari or seetkari) is known as the hissing breath. Much like Sheetali, this breath also cools the body and mind. The difference between the two is how the breath is done; sheetkari is an alternative to sheetali for people who cannot fold their tongue. To practice the hissing breath technique, you should: Prepare your environment: Find a place where you can be comfortable without distractions. Silence your phone, turn off your tv, and minimize any other distractions. Make yourself comfortable: Find a comfortable position sitting or laying down. Fix your gaze or close your eyes. Position your mouth: To practice this breath, place the tip of your tongue on your upper palate behind your teeth. Clench your teeth together and open your lips so your mouth isn’t closed. Inhale: Breathe in slowly, filling up your belly. You should hear a hissing sound. Exhale: Exhale through your nose. Begin to flow: Repeat 5-10 times, or as much as you feel calm. 6. The Humming Breath (Brahmari) Brahmari, which is Sanskrit for bee, is known as the humming breath because the sound that comes from the throat during this type of breath imitates a bee. This breath stimulates the vagus nerve, which engages a relaxation response. It is typically practiced to relax or dissipate anxiety. anger, or stress. To practice the humming breath technique, you should: Prepare your environment: Find a place where you can be comfortable without distractions. Silence your phone, turn off your tv, and minimize any other distractions. Make yourself comfortable: Find a comfortable position sitting or laying down. Fix your gaze or close your eyes. Position your hands: To practice this breath, begin by closing your ears with your index fingers by pressing the cartilage attached to your head over your ears. Inhale: Inhale through your nose all the way into your belly. Exhale: On the exhale, focus on making a humming or “hmmmm” high pitched noise. Bring awareness to your body: Notice the vibrations this breath creates. Focus on where you feel them in your body. Begin to flow: Repeat 5-10 times, or as much as you feel comfortable 7. The Bellows Breath (Bhastrika) Bhastrika pranayama, or the bellows breath, focuses on inhaling and exhaling quickly, in order to energize the body. It can also be used for stress management, anxiety reduction, and to increase lung capacity. This pranayama is more advanced and it’s helpful to be comfortable with yogic breathing before trying it. Bhastrika involves rapid inhalations and exhalations, so if you have a medical condition such as asthma, high blood pressure, epilepsy, glaucoma, or are at risk for a stroke you should contact your doctor before trying it. The quick inhales and exhales can also overstimulate you. Take your time when starting with this breath work. To practice the bellows breath technique, you should: Prepare your body: Practice this on an empty stomach. Prepare your environment: Find a place where you can be comfortable without distractions. Silence your phone, turn off your tv, and minimize any other distractions. Make yourself comfortable: Find a comfortable position sitting or laying down. Fix your gaze or close your eyes. Inhale: Inhale fully through your nose. Exhale forcefully: Exhale forcefully through your nostrils, without straining or exerting yourself. When you exhale, draw your bellybutton all the back to your spine and contract your stomach. Inhale forcefully: Immediately inhale forcefully (without overexerting yourself) through your nose all the way into your belly. Begin to flow: Repeat. One round is ten breaths, but you will likely need to work up to this many breaths over time. 8. The Solar Breath (Surya Bhedana) Surya Bhedana is a warming breath and it focuses on your right nostril. The right nostril energizes the pingali nadi, or energy channel, which is associated with sun energy.1 It activates your left brain hemisphere and enhances “doing” or more active energy. To practice the solar breath technique, you should: Prepare your environment: Find a place where you can be comfortable without distractions. Silence your phone, turn off your tv, and minimize any other distractions. Make yourself comfortable: Find a comfortable position sitting or laying down. Fix your gaze or close your eyes. Position your hands: Use your ring finger on your right hand to block your left nostril. Inhale: Inhale slowly and deeply, filling up your belly, through your right nostril. Retain: Retain the breath for a few seconds if you feel comfortable. Exhale: Open the left nostril and close the right nostril. Exhale through the left nostril. Begin to flow: Repeat the steps and focus on working up to being able to do 5 minutes of this type of breathing. 9. The Lunar Breath (Chandra Bhedana) Chandra Bhedana is known as the lunar breath because it channels into the energy channel overseen by the moon. The left nostril is identified in yoga practices by being associated with the moon nadi (energy channel).1 The lunar breath is the opposite of the solar breath and is used for calming and cooling. It can be used for relaxation and to help manage insomnia. To practice the lunar breath technique, you should: Prepare your environment: Find a place where you can be comfortable without distractions. Silence your phone, turn off your tv, and minimize any other distractions. Make yourself comfortable: Find a comfortable position sitting or laying down. Fix your gaze or close your eyes. Position your hands: Use your ring finger on your right hand to block your right nostril. Inhale: Inhale slowly and deeply, filling up your belly through the left nostril. Retain: If you feel comfortable, retain the breath for a few seconds. Exhale: Open the right nostril and close the left nostril. Exhale through the right nostril. Begin to flow: Repeat the steps and focus on working up to being able to do 5 minutes of this type of breathing.