Pranayama · प्राणायाम
The one autonomic function you can take hold of
You cannot decide to slow your heart, widen a blood vessel or calm your gut. You can decide how to breathe — and because the breath is wired into all of those, it is the handle by which the rest can be reached. That is not a metaphor; it is why pranayama works.
The three channels
Ida, Pingala, Sushumna
The nadis are a map, drawn long before anatomy. What is striking is how well the map holds: the alternating nostril dominance the texts describe is a real, measurable physiological cycle, and the effects they attribute to each side match what instruments record.
Ida — the moon channel
Runs on the left. Cooling, receptive, quietening. Dominant when the left nostril is open, and associated in the laboratory with parasympathetic activity.
Pingala — the sun channel
Runs on the right. Heating, active, outward-moving. Dominant when the right nostril is open, and associated with sympathetic activity and higher oxygen consumption.
Sushumna — the central channel
Runs through the spine. Said to open only when the two flow equally — which is what every balancing pranayama on this page is working toward.
Sama Vritti
4 · 4 · 4 · 4
12 practices
The practices
Ordered from the safest to the most demanding. Work down the list, not across it — and do not begin the last four without a teacher.
Three-Part Breath
दीर्घ प्राणायाम
Filling the belly, then the ribs, then the upper chest, in one continuous inhalation. This is where every pranayama begins, and most people have never breathed this way as adults.
Inhale 4 · exhale 6
02BalancingEqual Breathing
सम वृत्ति
Inhale, hold, exhale and hold for the same count. Known outside yoga as box breathing, and taught to soldiers, divers and surgeons for the same reason it is taught here.
4 · 4 · 4 · 4
03BalancingAlternate Nostril Breathing
नाडी शोधन
Breathing in through one nostril and out through the other, in alternation. The central pranayama of the whole tradition, and the one most often prescribed for blood pressure and sleep.
Inhale 4 · exhale 8 (no retention for beginners)
04CalmingVictorious Breath
उज्जायी
Breathing through a slightly narrowed throat, producing a soft oceanic sound. The one pranayama practised during movement, and an audible measure of whether a practice has become too strenuous.
Equal in and out, or a slightly longer exhale
05CalmingHumming Bee Breath
भ्रामरी
A long humming exhalation with the ears closed. The fastest-acting calming practice in yoga — most people notice the difference within three rounds.
Short inhale, very long humming exhale
06EnergisingSkull-Shining Breath
कपालभाति
Sharp, forceful exhalations through the nose with passive inhalations. Strongly energising and strongly contraindicated for a long list of conditions — read the cautions before the benefits.
Roughly one exhalation per second
07WarmingBellows Breath
भस्त्रिका
Forceful inhalation and forceful exhalation in equal measure. The strongest heating practice in yoga, and the one most often taught too fast to people who are not ready for it.
Equal force in and out, about one breath per second
08CoolingCooling Breath
शीतली
Inhaling through a rolled tongue. The body's own air conditioning — genuinely lowers body temperature, and the standard remedy for summer heat, acidity and anger.
Inhale through the tongue, exhale through the nose
09CoolingHissing Breath
शीत्कारी
The same cooling effect as Sheetali, for the majority of people who cannot roll the tongue. Air is drawn in through clenched teeth instead.
Inhale through the teeth, exhale through the nose
10WarmingRight Nostril Breathing
सूर्य भेदन
Inhaling only through the right nostril, exhaling only through the left. Heating, activating, and the correct choice for morning lethargy, cold weather and low digestive fire.
Inhale right 4 · exhale left 6
11CoolingLeft Nostril Breathing
चन्द्र भेदन
The exact mirror of Surya Bhedana: in through the left, out through the right. Cooling and quietening — the evening practice, and the one for heat, anger and insomnia.
Inhale left 4 · exhale right 6
12CalmingInterrupted Breath
विलोम
Inhaling or exhaling in stages with pauses between. A gentler way into breath retention than holding a full breath, and unusually good at revealing exactly where the breath is restricted.
Inhale in 3 stages · exhale smoothly (or the reverse)