Pranayama: Breath in yoga

Photo by Valeriia Bugaiova on Unsplash

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Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure... Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.  

​- Shunryu Suzuki

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​Want to start at the beginning?
Yoga Sutra 2.49
तस्मिन्सति श्वासप्रश्वासयोर्गतिविच्छेदः प्राणायामः
tasminsati śvāsapraśvāsayorgativicchedaḥ prāṇāyāmaḥ

Having mastered a steady, comfortable position, inhalations and exhalations should be regulated.  This is pranayama.

Patanjali spends a little more time on pranayama in the Yoga Sutras than asana but compared to his discussion of "The Witness" and the constituents of nature (the gunas), pranayama is explained quite simply over five Sutras, which we will cover this month and next.  This month, we’ll discuss what pranayama is and how to practice it.  Next month, we’ll discuss the benefits of pranayama.

From Sutras 2.49 through 2.51, Patanjali explains the various ways to regulate our breath, which is called pranayama.  Prana means “vital energy” and is the force that animates all things, down to the subatomic level.  It is the quality of existence and all things have it, even ones that don’t seem to be alive.  Even elements have electrons moving all the time, through the force which Vedic scholars call prana.

Yama (you may recognize from July's blog) can be defined as control.  However, some scholars are now calling attention to the long a in the middle of pranayama, supposing that this might better be expressed as “prana ayama,” ayama meaning expansion.  Ayama is technically the opposite of yama (an a- prefix in Sanskrit denotes the negative) and truly, an experienced practitioner of pranayama would indeed expand their breathing capacity.  However, I think in either case we can understand that what Patanjali is after is that we learn to regulate our energy through the breath.

Although we can regulate our energy through the food we consume, the thoughts we think and the activities we undertake, Patanjali is focused here on breathing practices we can implement within our practice of Raja Yoga.

Patanjali describes the four types of pranayama we can practice in Yoga Sutras 2.50 and 2.51.  He tells us the modifications we can make to our breath are external, internal and stationary (Sutra 2.50).  This means the exhalations, the inhalations and the pauses in between our exhalations and inhalations.  

It’s important that the practitioner never strain in these practices. BKS Iyengar tells us that these practices “are to be performed, prolonged and refined according to the capacity of the aspirant.” (165)  Swami Satchidananda gives even stronger caution not to strain during pranayama.

Some people think pranayama means holding the breath in as long as we can until the nerves are strained.  No; our breathing should be gentle, slow and fully controlled, without any agitation… It is for our own safety that I say this. (79)

We would be wise to heed the warnings of these masters.  Although simple, altering the breath can have profound effects on the entire bodily system - both for good (improved respiratory function, reduced fatigue, reduced anxiety… more on this next month) and for bad, if performed incorrectly.  For this reason, it’s essential to study pranayama under an experienced yoga teacher.

In Sutra 2.50, Patanjali further describes the practice of pranayama as varying based on three factors.  First, we can experiment with where we place the breath.  

When we are not aware of our breath, we may breathe shallowly - only in the upper area of the lungs.  As our pranayama practice deepens, we learn to send the breath deeper, into the bottom portion of the lungs, where the transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the respiratory and circulatory systems is most efficient.  We can also alter the place of pranayama by where we sense the breath (e.g. under the nose, in the torso, or as a surrounding sensation).

Second, we can adjust our pranayama practice based on time.  Slowly, we work to extend our inhales and exhales.  Third, we can adjust the number of rounds of breath we take.  

To summarize, we can alter our pranayama practice through place (desa), time (kala) and number (samkhya).  Through these regulations, our breathing becomes expansive and subtle.  When we have achieved expansive and subtle breathing, we prepare ourselves to practice the fourth type of pranayama Patanjali mentions in Sutra 2.51.

The fourth type of pranayama is the natural suspension of breath that comes without conscious intention.  It “transcends the concept of the breath existing merely inside or outside the body” (Shoshoni, 30) and allows us to continue on the path toward merging with the Universal Self. 

If you’ve ever experienced a situation where you were so engrossed in your activities that you felt you had forgotten to breathe - this is exactly the type of pranayama Patanajali is referring to in Sutra 2.51.  When a person is so deep in concentration, their breath naturally suspends.  Indeed, there are many stories of Raja Yoga masters who go for minutes (hours! days?!) at a time without breathing.  

Iyengar explains that at the stage wherein one attains this fourth type of pranayama, “the movements of the mind and consciousness cease.” (166) As my teacher, Sonia Sumar, says “breath, mind and emotions all go together.” 

So once the breath suspends, the mind follows.  Because of this, pranayama is an essential step on the road towards meditation and eventually, enlightenment.

Like life itself, our breath is in a constant dance between beginning and ending.  When we learn to rest in the space between these dualities, we become immersed in the cosmic force that never begins or ends but just exists.

Now that we’ve covered how Patanjali tells us to practice pranayama, let’s talk more about the benefits of pranayama next month.

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Do you practice pranayama regularly?  If so, have you noticed the various types of movement and regulation that Patanjali describes in these Sutras? 

​If you don’t practice pranayama, would you like to integrate it into your yoga practice?  How will you do that?