Pranayama: Cultural Overview and Specific Practices

What pranayama is

Pranayama (prānāyāma) is the name the yoga tradition of India gives to its breath practices. In Sanskrit it joins prana, glossed as "life force, vital energy, vitality," with yama, meaning "control." [1] NCCIH notes that yoga is rooted in Indian philosophy and began as a spiritual practice. [2] In its home setting, pranayama is part of a wider path. It is not a stand-alone health exercise.

This page is the overview. It points to a separate page for each practice, and it describes only what the sources we read describe.

Where it appears in the texts

Pranayama is the fourth of eight "limbs" of yoga listed in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (2.29), and a later verse (2.49) describes it as separating the flow of inhalation and exhalation. [3] The Bhagavad Gita also mentions it (4.29). [4] The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a manual by Svatmarama composed in the 15th century, gives much more detail. [5] For the longer story, see Pranayama in the yoga tradition and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

Two cautions about history. The theory and practice appear to have developed a good deal after Patanjali. [4] And a yoga scholar, Andrea Jain, is reported as saying that pranayama was marginal to the most widely cited sources before the 20th century. [4] Modern forms are not a straight copy of old ones.

Traditional ideas, kept as traditional ideas

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika says that when the breath wanders the mind is unsteady, and when the breath is still the mind is still. [6] It also speaks of nadis (channels) full of impurities that practice is meant to purify. [6] These are traditional explanations. They are not measured body structures, and we do not present them as biology.

Practices named in the tradition

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika lists eight "kumbhaka" practices, including Suryabhedana, Ujjayi, Sitkari, Sitali, Bhastrika and Bhramari. [6] It places Kapalabhati among six cleansing acts, not among the breath practices. [6] Several of these involve holding the breath, which we do not teach.

How modern practice differs

Classes and studies often lift one technique out of its spiritual setting and test it for stress, blood pressure or lung conditions. NCCIH points out that yoga in the United States mostly emphasizes postures, breathing and meditation. [2] A comparison of 73 studies against the traditional texts found that practice details differ, which can change the effects and make studies hard to summarize. [7]

What research shows

Trials mostly come from small groups, cannot be blinded, and often use waitlist or no-treatment comparison groups, so expectation can play a part.

A review of 18 controlled trials of pranayama alone also reported benefits, mostly in respiratory disease, and called for better randomized trials. [13] None of this replaces asthma medicine, which the NHS calls the main treatment for asthma. [14]

Teachers and training

How pranayama teaching is regulated is not described in the sources we read, so we cannot say how it works in any country. Ask a teacher about their training, their lineage and their experience with your health condition. We do not list teachers; how to choose a class has questions to ask.