4.3 Pranayama: Concept, Types & the Prescribed Breathing Practices
Key Takeaways
- Pranayama is Prana plus Ayama - extension or expansion of the vital force - not merely breath control; Patanjali defines it at PYS 2.49 as the cutting off (gati-vichchheda) of the movement of inhalation and exhalation.
- The three components are Puraka (inhalation), Rechaka (exhalation) and Kumbhaka (retention); Antar Kumbhaka follows inhalation and Bahya Kumbhaka follows exhalation.
- Sahita Kumbhaka is retention accompanied by inhalation or exhalation; Kevala Kumbhaka is spontaneous retention with neither, and Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2.74 treats it as true Pranayama.
- Preparatory practices prescribed at Level 3 are sectional breathing (abdominal, thoracic, clavicular), yogic deep breathing and Anuloma Viloma / Nadi Shodhana.
- The four Pranayamas prescribed for the Level 3 practical - Ujjayi, Sheetali, Sitkari and Bhramari - are all to be performed WITHOUT Kumbhaka.
4.3 Pranayama: Concept, Types & the Prescribed Breathing Practices
Item 1.17 asks for the meaning, definition, types and significance of Pranayama; practical items 5.6 and 5.7 name what you must demonstrate. Note immediately that the Level 3 practical list is short and specific, and that every technique on it is prescribed without Kumbhaka — a detail candidates routinely ignore and examiners routinely check.
Meaning and definition
Pranayama = Prana + Ayama. Prana is the vital force; Ayama means extension, expansion or lengthening — not restraint. The common gloss "breath control" is therefore a translation of the technique rather than of the word. A second reading takes Pranayama as Prana + Yama (restraint), which is defensible but secondary; the tradition prefers Ayama.
Patanjali
Tasmin sati shvasa-prashvasayor gati-vichchhedah pranayamah — PYS 2.49
"That being accomplished" (tasmin sati) — i.e. asana being established — Pranayama is the cutting off (gati-vichchheda) of the movement of inhalation (shvasa) and exhalation (prashvasa).
Patanjali then gives four varieties (PYS 2.50–2.51):
| Type | Sanskrit | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bahya Vritti | External — retention after complete exhalation |
| 2 | Abhyantara Vritti | Internal — retention after complete inhalation |
| 3 | Stambha Vritti | Suspended — a single, sudden checking of the breath wherever it is |
| 4 | Bahyabhyantara-vishayakshepi | The fourth, which transcends both the external and internal spheres and arises spontaneously |
All are regulated by Desha (place), Kala (time) and Samkhya (number), becoming Dirgha (long) and Sukshma (subtle). The results: Tatah kshiyate prakashavaranam — the covering of the inner light is thinned (2.52) — and Dharanasu cha yogyata manasah — the mind becomes fit for concentration (2.53).
Hatha Yoga
Svatmarama's framing is physiological: "Chale vate chalam chittam" — when the breath moves, the mind moves; when the breath is still, the mind is still (HYP 2.2). Hence the practical claim that regulating breath regulates mind.
The components
| Component | Sanskrit | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Inhalation | Puraka | Filling |
| Exhalation | Rechaka | Emptying |
| Retention | Kumbhaka | Holding, "like a pot" (kumbha) |
Kumbhaka divides two ways, and the distinction is heavily examined:
| Division | Types | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| By position | Antar / Abhyantara Kumbhaka | Retention after inhalation |
| Bahya / Bahir Kumbhaka | Retention after exhalation | |
| By manner | Sahita Kumbhaka | Retention accompanied by deliberate inhalation or exhalation — i.e. all practised retention |
| Kevala Kumbhaka | Retention alone — spontaneous, requiring no inhalation or exhalation |
HYP 2.71–2.74 is explicit that Kevala Kumbhaka is the goal: "when Kumbhaka is performed without Rechaka and Puraka, it is called Kevala Kumbhaka … nothing in the three worlds is unattainable to him." Sahita is the practice; Kevala is the attainment.
The classical ratio taught for Sahita practice is Puraka : Kumbhaka : Rechaka = 1 : 4 : 2, approached gradually and never forced. A beginner's safe working ratio is 1:0:2 — that is, exhalation twice as long as inhalation with no retention at all — which is also exactly what the Level 3 practical prescribes.
Preparatory Breathing Practices (practical 5.6)
These are prescribed and are the foundation on which the four Pranayamas sit:
1. Sectional breathing (Vibhagiya Pranayama)
| Section | Region | How it is felt |
|---|---|---|
| Abdominal / diaphragmatic (Adham) | Lower lobes | The abdomen rises on inhalation, falls on exhalation; the chest stays quiet |
| Thoracic (Madhyam) | Middle lobes | The ribcage expands laterally; the abdomen stays quiet |
| Clavicular (Adhyam) | Upper lobes | The collarbones and upper chest lift; the smallest and least efficient section |
2. Yogic deep breathing (Mahat Yoga Pranayama)
The three sections combined into a single continuous wave: abdominal → thoracic → clavicular on inhalation, releasing in the reverse order on exhalation. This is the single most useful teaching tool in the whole syllabus, because it makes tidal volume visible to the student.
3. Anuloma Viloma / Nadi Shodhana
Alternate-nostril breathing. In its Level 3 preparatory form it is practised without retention: inhale left, exhale right, inhale right, exhale left — that is one round. Nasagra Mudra (Vishnu Mudra) is used, with the index and middle fingers folded to the palm or resting at the eyebrow centre and the thumb and ring finger controlling the nostrils. Its purpose is Nadi Shuddhi — purification of the channels — and it is the prerequisite for all further Pranayama in the Hatha scheme.
The four prescribed Pranayamas (practical 5.7)
The syllabus lists the concept of Puraka, Rechaka and Kumbhaka and then exactly four techniques, each explicitly "Without Kumbhaka."
| Pranayama | Technique | Principal effects | Contraindications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ujjayi | Partial constriction of the glottis producing a soft continuous sound at the throat, breathing through both nostrils | Slows and lengthens the breath; creates a mild positive expiratory pressure; calming; classically said to remove Kapha from the throat and stimulate digestive fire | Practise gently in raised intracranial pressure; avoid forceful throat constriction in cervical pathology |
| Sheetali | Tongue rolled into a tube, inhale through the tube, exhale through the nose | Cooling; reduces thirst, hunger, and Pitta; useful in hyperacidity and hypertension | Low blood pressure, asthma, bronchitis, chronic constipation, cold weather, respiratory infection |
| Sitkari | Teeth lightly together, tongue behind the teeth or curled up, inhale through the teeth with a sit sound, exhale through the nose | Cooling, as Sheetali; the alternative for those who cannot roll the tongue (tongue-rolling is genetically variable) | As Sheetali, plus dental sensitivity and gum disease |
| Bhramari | Ears closed with the thumbs or index fingers, a soft continuous humming on exhalation like a female black bee | Powerfully calming; raises nasal nitric oxide; reduces blood pressure, anxiety and insomnia; used before Dhyana | Acute ear infection, ear discharge, severe hypertension in the sitting-with-closed-ears form; not to be practised lying down |
Why no Kumbhaka at Level 3? Because retention raises intra-thoracic pressure and produces a Valsalva-type cardiovascular response. In a group setting with unscreened participants it is the single most risky thing a yoga teacher can lead. The syllabus therefore certifies you to teach the four techniques safely first; retention belongs to supervised individual instruction.
General contraindications for all Pranayama
Uncontrolled hypertension and cardiac disease (any retention), acute respiratory infection, epilepsy (for rapid or retained forms), glaucoma and raised intra-ocular pressure, hernia and recent abdominal surgery (forceful abdominal forms), and pregnancy (Kapalabhati, Bhastrika, all Kumbhaka). Practise on an empty stomach, in a seated meditative posture with the trunk, neck and head in line, never immediately after asana that has left the practitioner breathless.
Summary of Exam-Key Points
- Pranayama = Prana + Ayama (extension), not simply control.
- PYS 2.49: gati-vichchheda of shvasa and prashvasa, after asana is established.
- Four Patanjali types: Bahya, Abhyantara, Stambha, and the fourth (Bahyabhyantara-vishayakshepi).
- Sahita = practised retention; Kevala = spontaneous retention, the goal (HYP 2.71–2.74).
- Prescribed preparation: sectional breathing, yogic deep breathing, Anuloma Viloma / Nadi Shodhana.
- Prescribed Pranayamas: Ujjayi, Sheetali, Sitkari, Bhramari — all without Kumbhaka.
- Sitkari is the substitute for those who cannot roll the tongue for Sheetali.
What does the word 'Ayama' in Pranayama literally mean?
Which form of Kumbhaka is spontaneous, requires neither inhalation nor exhalation, and is treated by the Hatha Yoga Pradipika as the true attainment?
Which four Pranayamas does the Level 3 practical syllabus prescribe, and with what qualification?
A student cannot roll their tongue into a tube. Which prescribed cooling Pranayama should be substituted for Sheetali?
In sectional breathing, which section engages the lower lobes of the lungs and shows the abdomen rising while the chest stays quiet?