Four Types of Pranayama Worksheet

The Role of Breath in Yoga

  • How important is the breath to health? We can go three weeks without food, three days without water but we cannot go three minutes without breathing. The aim is to learn to breathe optimally for good health.
  • We all know how to breathe—we've been doing it since birth. But do you breathe correctly? Many of us breathe in a shallow manner, only filling the top two thirds of our lungs. This is called a “chest breath.” The shoulders rise and the chest expands with each inhalation. In yoga there is great emphasis on breathing and breathing correctly.
  • Pranayama is yogic breath control. Yogis and Yoginis (female Yogis) use breath training to manipulate their prana or life force. To break down the word, prana is “that which is infinitely everywhere” and ayama is “stretch or extend” and is the action of pranayama. The best way to describe prana is a life force or energy that is everywhere and can be manifested through the breath. Prana is not oxygen or the breath itself, but the life energy that fills all living things—a universal energy.

Four Common Yoga Breaths

1. Sama Vritti Pranayama (Box Breathing)

Sama Vritti Pranayama also known as box breathing or square breath is a simple breathing technique. Close your eyes and breathe in through your nose,  counting to 4. Feel the air filling your lungs. Retain your breath  and  count to 4 again, exhale to the count of 4, Hold the exhale for another 4 counts. Repeat  these steps 2-4 minutes or until you feel calm and centered.

2. Full Complete Breath

Inhale through the nose, filling the entire abdominal cavity with air. The feeling should be that you are filling your lungs in three-dimensional space: bottom to top, forward and back, side to side. Retain the breath for a few beats, and then slowly exhale through the nose, emptying lungs completely. Often if you extend the length of your exhales for a few breaths that will help the inhales to deepen and for your breath to come into a nice deep and complete rhythm. 

3. Alternate Nostril Breath

In this Breathing Technique, you inhale through one nostril, retain the breath, and exhale through the other nostril in various ratios. The left nostril is the path of the Nadi called Ida and the right nostril is the path of the Nadi called Pingala. Alternate Nostril Breath restores, equalizes and balances the flow of Prana in the body.

In Anuloma Viloma (Alternate Nostril Breath), you adopt the Vishnu Mudra (see image below) with your right hand to close your nostrils. Tuck your index and middle finger into your nose. Place the thumb by your right nostril and your ring and little fingers by your left.

  1. Close the right nostril with your right thumb and inhale through the left nostril. Do this to the count of four seconds.
  2. Immediately close the left nostril with your right ring finger and little finger, and at the same time remove your thumb from the right nostril, and exhale through this nostril. Do this to the count of eight seconds. This completes a half round.
  3. Inhale through the right nostril to the count of four seconds. Close the right nostril with your right thumb and exhale through the left nostril to the count of eight seconds. This completes one full round.
  • Typical ration is 1:2. Inhale 4, exhale 8 (4-8-4-8). Working up to Inhale 8, Exhale 16 (8-16-8-16). Start by doing three rounds, adding one per week until you are doing seven rounds. 
  • *Alternate nostril breathing should not be practiced if you have a cold or if your nasal passages are blocked in any way. Forced breathing through the nose may lead to complications. In pranayama, it is important not to force anything. If you use the nostrils for breath control, they should be unobstructed. If they are not, practice throat breathing.

4. Ujjayi Pranayama: Victorious Breath

Ujjayi Pranayama (ooh-JAH-yee prah-nah-YAH-mah) breath or victorious breath is soothing to the nerves, cools the head, helps digestion and brings mental clarity. Inhale through the nose keeping the lips closed. Soften the tongue and jaw and fill the lungs from the bottom up. Slowly exhale allowing the air to flow over the vocal cords with a slight constriction of the throat creating a "Ha" vibration in the back of the throat. This will create a humming/whisper noise. Sounds like Darth Vadar. Think of trying to clean your glasses by breathing on them. That will give you a little sense of what this breath is like. Allow yourself to become aware of the rhythm of your breath. The audible sound should only be heard by you or possibly those close by but not so loud that the class can hear.