Pranayama

Hinduism

Bhagavad Gītā

Pranayama is mentioned in verse 4.29 of the Bhagavad Gītā, which describes practitioners offering the prana breath into the apana (breathing out) and the apana into the prana, while restraining the movement of both through the practice of pranayama.

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Pranayama is the fourth "limb" of the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga, as mentioned in verse 2.29 of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Patanjali, a Rishi, discusses his specific approach to pranayama in verses 2.49 through 2.51, and devotes verses 2.52 and 2.53 to explaining the benefits of the practice. Patanjali does not fully elucidate the nature of prana, and the theory and practice of pranayama seem to have undergone significant development after him.

In verse 1.34, pranayama is introduced as a method aimed at stabilizing the mind. The practice involves two primary techniques: exhalation, known as pracchardana, which entails expelling air from the stomach through the nostrils, and retention, known as vidharana, which focuses on the controlled restraint of breath. Pranayama supports advanced practitioners in gaining control over the mind and complements meditation, aiding in achieving a light body and steady mind by regulating breath.

Yoga teachers including B. K. S. Iyengar have advised that pranayama should be part of an overall practice that includes the other limbs of Patanjali's Raja Yoga teachings, especially Yama, Niyama, and Asana.

Hatha yoga

The Indian tradition of Hatha yoga makes use of various pranayama techniques. The 15th century Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a key text of this tradition and includes various forms of pranayama such as Kumbhaka breath retention and various body locks (Bandhas). Other forms of pranayama breathing include:

• Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing), also called Anuloma Viloma
• Ujjayi ("Victorious Breath"), a modern technique used in Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga
• Sitali (breathing through the rolled tongue),
• Bhastrika ("Bellows Breath"),
• Kapalabhati ("Skull-shining Breath", a Shatkarma purification),
• Surya Bhedana ("Sun-piercing Breath"),
• Bhramari (buzzing like a bee), a soothing technique.

B. K. S. Iyengar cautions that pranayama should only be undertaken when one has a firmly established yoga practice and then only under the guidance of an experienced Guru.

According to Theos Bernard, the ultimate aim of pranayama is the suspension of breathing (kevala kumbhaka), "causing the mind to swoon". Paramahansa Yogananda concurs, writing, "The real meaning of Pranayama, according to Patanjali, the founder of Yoga philosophy, is the gradual cessation of breathing, the discontinuance of inhalation and exhalation".

Yoga as exercise

Modern vinyasa yoga such as was taught by Sharath Jois (grandson of Pattabhi Jois, founder of Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga) coordinates the breath with the vinyasa transition movements between asanas.

The yoga scholar Andrea Jain states that pranayama was "marginal to the most widely cited sources" before the 20th century, and that the breathing practices were "dramatically" unlike the modern ones. She writes that whereas pranayama in modern yoga as exercise consists of synchronising the breath with movements (between asanas), in texts like the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, pranayama meant "complete cessation of breathing", for which she cites Johannes Bronkhorst 2007.

Experimental studies

The yoga guru Swami Kuvalayananda began the experimental study of pranayama in 1924. The anthropologist Joseph Alter describes the attempt to apply science to the practices of yoga as an "accidental confusion in meaning" of domains (yoga and medicine) that explore different "ways of knowing". Given Kuvalayananda's interest in prana, from 1929 he experimented on the effect of pranayama on the respiratory system. He sought to show that pranayama developed the nadi channels of the subtle body, rather than simply exchanging the gases oxygen and carbon dioxide, but the way he did this was to measure the rate of removal of carbon dioxide and later of oxygen consumption. Many further studies, by Kuvalayananda and many others, followed. Among the examples given by Alter was the 1979 study by Kesari, Vaishawanar, and Deshkar, which sought to discover the effect of asana and pranayama practice on the clearance of the waste products urea and creatinine from the body. Alter writes that the many experiments almost all studied "anatomical, physiological, or biochemical variables" and gathered empirical data. For instance, a 1956 study by Kuvalayananda and Karambelkar sought to find out what happened to the acidity of the urine following prolonged bhastrika pranayama. Alter adds that although the work had "empirical form", it was driven by "an ontological question about the nature of nature", as Kuvalayananda and his colleagues at Kaivalyadhama saw the biological variables as epiphenomena to the "meta-material power inherent in Yoga."

Physiological studies of pranayama have continued into the 21st century. For example, a 2018 systematic review by Andrea Zaccaro and colleagues examined 2,461 research articles on the effects of pranayama and breath control more generally on the cardio-respiratory system and the central nervous system. Only 15 articles met their eligibility criteria, that included voluntary control of breathing and specific focus on pranayama. They found "interesting albeit limited evidence of a relationship between physiological parameters and psychological/behavioral outcomes in healthy subjects undergoing slow breathing techniques."

Buddhism

According to the Pali Buddhist Canon, the Buddha, prior to his enlightenment, practiced a meditative technique involving pressing the palate with the tongue and forcibly restraining the breath. This is described as both extremely painful and not conducive to enlightenment. In some Buddhist teachings or metaphors, breathing is said to stop with the fourth jhana, though this is a side effect of the technique and does not result from purposeful effort.

The Buddha incorporate moderate modulation of the length of breath, Ānāpānasati, as part of the preliminary tetrad in the Anapanasati Sutta. Its use there is preparation for concentration. According to commentarial literature, this is appropriate for beginners.

Indo-Tibetan tradition

Later Indo-Tibetan developments in Buddhist pranayama which are similar to Hindu forms can be seen as early as the 11th century, in the Buddhist text titled the Amṛtasiddhi, which teaches three bandhas in connection with yogic breathing (kumbakha).

Tibetan Buddhist breathing exercises such as the "nine breathings of purification" or the "Ninefold Expulsion of Stale Vital Energy" (rlung ro dgu shrugs), a form of alternate nostril breathing, commonly include visualizations. In the Nyingma tradition of Dzogchen these practices are collected in the textual cycle known as "The Oral Transmission of Vairotsana" (Vai ro snyan brgyud).