The basics of

प्राणायाम

Pranayama

The regulation and expansion of breath and life force

With Mariya Grinina

What is pranayama

Two words, one practice

Prana

प्राण · life force

The energy that animates you. It moves through every cell, every feeling and every thought. The breath is its most direct carrier.

Ayama

आयाम · to extend, to expand

To lengthen, to widen and to direct. To give something more space and more reach.

A seated figure in meditation with the breath drawn flowing in through the nose to the lungs, framed by a fan of leaves.

Pranayama is the regulation and expansion of breath and life force. As the breath lengthens and widens, you become steadier and more present. As your life force expands, you become more vital and well.

Where it comes from

Ancient roots, living practice

More than 2,500 years

The breath as life force

Ancient Indian texts named it prana, the force that sustains all life. Tantric traditions, Buddhism and Jainism each developed their own ways of working with the breath.

Around 2,000 years ago

The eight limbs

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, written in the early centuries CE, map yoga as a path of eight limbs. Pranayama is one of them.

Today

Still alive

Pranayama is still practiced today, and breathwork is becoming more popular around the world. We now know the breath is one of the most powerful ways to regulate ourselves.

The eight limbs of yoga

The breath is the bridge

Patanjali described yoga as eight limbs. The first ones work with how you live and how you hold your body. The later ones turn inward, toward the mind and union.

Pranayama sits between them. Through the breath, the body and the mind meet.

The eight limbs of yoga drawn as a tree, with Yamas and Niyamas at the roots and Samadhi at the crown.
  1. 1YamaHow you relate to the world
  2. 2NiyamaHow you relate to yourself
  3. 3AsanaThe body, the seat
  4. 4PranayamaThe breath, your life force
  5. 5PratyaharaTurning the senses inward
  6. 6DharanaConcentration
  7. 7DhyanaMeditation
  8. 8SamadhiUnion

The energy map

Three channels, one current

Yoga describes a subtle body of energy channels, called nadis. Three of them matter most in pranayama. Two spiral around the spine, crossing at each energy center, and one runs straight through its center.

A seated woman in meditation. Ida, in soft blue, and Pingala, in soft pink, spiral around the central golden channel, Sushumna, crossing at each energy center from the base of the spine to the crown.

Ida

Your left side · the moon

Lunar and receptive. Cooling, calming and intuitive. It opens through the left nostril.

Pingala

Your right side · the sun

Solar and active. Warming, energizing and focused. It opens through the right nostril.

Sushumna

The center · along the spine

The central channel, from the base of the spine to the crown. When ida and pingala are in balance, energy rises here and you feel awake and calm at once.

This is why we breathe through one nostril, then the other. Each side awakens its own channel, and together they bring you to center.

Your morning practice · on an empty stomach

Five steps to steady energy

1
Awaken alertness

Warm-up breath

  1. Inhale slowly through the nose for a count of 5.
  2. Exhale fully through an open mouth. Let it all go.
  3. Repeat 6 times.
  4. Lengthen the inhale to 8, then to 10.
    5. Inhale 5Inhale 8Inhale 10
2
Purify body and mind

Agni Sara

  1. Inhale, then exhale completely.
  2. With the breath out, draw the belly in and up.
  3. Pump the belly: in and up, then release. In and up, then release. 8 times.
  4. Let go, inhale, exhale and relax.

    5. Each time, release the belly, then draw it in and up as high as you can.

3
Balance the mind

Nadi Shodhana with Kapalabhati

  1. Right hand in Vishnu Mudra: fold the index and middle fingers. The thumb closes the right nostril. The ring finger rests on the left side, and the left nostril stays open.
  2. Inhale through the left nostril.
  3. Switch, and take 3 fast exhales through the right. Inhale right.
  4. Switch, and take 3 fast exhales through the left. Inhale left.
  5. Continue alternating. Finish with 2–3 slow rounds.
Vishnu Mudra: the right thumb closes the right nostril, index and middle fingers folded, ring finger resting on the left side of the nose.
Vishnu Mudra
4
Steady and focus

Vishama Vritti

  1. Inhale through the nose for 4.
  2. Hold at the top for 16.
  3. Exhale slowly for 8.
  4. Hold at the bottom for 4. Repeat.
    5. InHoldOutHold
5
Integrate

Silence

  1. Let the breath return to its natural rhythm.
  2. Sit for a minute with your eyes closed.
  3. Notice your energy: awake, clear and calm.