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Pranayama is the
yogic
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
practice of focusing on breath. In
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, ''
prana'' means "vital life force", and ''yama'' means to gain control. In yoga, breath is associated with ''prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the ''
prana'' ''shakti'', or life energies. Pranayama is described in Hindu texts such as the ''
Bhagavad Gita'' and the ''
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras ( aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The ...
''. Later in
Hatha yoga texts, it meant the complete suspension of breathing.
Etymology
''Prāṇāyāma'' (
Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...
: ') is a Sanskrit compound. It is defined variously by different authors.
Macdonell gives the etymology as
prana ('), breath, + ''āyāma'' and defines it as the suspension of breath.
Monier-Williams defines the compound ' as "of the three 'breath-exercises' performed during (''See'' ', ', '". This technical definition refers to a particular system of
breath control with three processes as explained by
Bhattacharyya: ' (to take the breath inside), ' (to retain it), and ' (to discharge it). There are other processes of prāṇāyāma besides this three-step model.
V. S. Apte
Vaman Shivram Apte (1858 – 9 August 1892) was an Indian lexicographer and a professor of Sanskrit at Pune's Fergusson College
Fergusson College is an autonomous public-private college offering various courses in the streams of arts and s ...
's definition of ' derives it from ' + ' and provides several variant meanings for it when used in compounds. The first three meanings have to do with "length", "expansion, extension", and "stretching, extending", but in the specific case of use in the compound ' he defines ' as meaning "restrain, control, stopping".
Ramamurti Mishra gives the definition:
Hinduism
''Bhagavad Gītā''
Pranayama is mentioned in verse 4.29 of the ''
Bhagavad Gītā
The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...
'', which states "Still others, who are inclined to the process of breath restraint to remain in trance, practice by offering the movement of the outgoing breath into the incoming, and the incoming breath into the outgoing, and thus at last remain in trance, stopping all breathing. Others, curtailing the eating process, offer the outgoing breath into itself as a sacrifice."
''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali''
Pranayama is the fourth "limb" of the
eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga mentioned in verse 2.29 in the ''
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras ( aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The ...
''. Patanjali, a Hindu 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.
[G. C. Pande, ''Foundations of Indian Culture: Spiritual Vision and Symbolic Forms in Ancient India''. Second edition published by Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1990, p. 97.] He presents pranayama as essentially an exercise that is preliminary to concentration.
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
Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...
,
Niyama
The Niyamas ( sa, नियम, translit=Niyama) are positive duties or observances. In Indian traditions, particularly Yoga, niyamas and their complement, Yamas, are recommended activities and habits for healthy living, spiritual enlightenmen ...
, 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
''Kumbhaka'' is the retention of the breath in the yoga practice of pranayama. It has two types, accompanied (by breathing) whether after inhalation or after exhalation, and, the ultimate aim, unaccompanied. That state is ''kevala kumbhaka'', the ...
breath retention and various body locks (
Bandhas). Other forms of pranayama breathing include
Ujjayi breath
Ujjayi (Sanskrit, "victorious") is a breathing technique employed in a variety of yoga practices. In relation to yoga, it is sometimes called "the ocean breath." Unlike some other forms of pranayama, the ujjayi breath is typically done in associat ...
("Victorious Breath"), Sitali (breathing through the rolled tongue),
Bhastrika Bhastrikā is an important breath exercise in yoga and pranayama. It is sometimes treated as a kriya or 'cleansing action' along with kapalabhati to clear the airways in preparation for other pranayama techniques. Bhastrika involves a rapid and fo ...
("Bellows Breath"),
Kapalabhati ("Skull-shining Breath", a
Shatkarma purification), Surya Bhedana ("Sun-piercing Breath"), and the soothing Bhramari (buzzing like a bee).
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 the scholar-practitioner of yoga ]Theos Bernard
Theos Casimir Hamati Bernard (1908–1947) was an explorer and author, known for his work on yoga and religious studies, particularly in Tibetan Buddhism. He was the nephew of Pierre Arnold Bernard, "Oom the Omnipotent", and like him became a yo ...
, the ultimate aim of pranayama is the suspension of breathing (kevala kumbhaka
''Kumbhaka'' is the retention of the breath in the yoga practice of pranayama. It has two types, accompanied (by breathing) whether after inhalation or after exhalation, and, the ultimate aim, unaccompanied. That state is ''kevala kumbhaka'', the ...
), "causing the mind to swoon". Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowsh ...
writes, "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
The yoga scholar Andrea Jain
Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew.
Origin of the name
The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that r ...
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 while pranayama in modern yoga as exercise
Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has ...
consists of synchronising the breath with movements (between asanas), in texts like the '' Bhagavad Gita'' and the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras ( aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The ...
'', pranayama meant "complete cessation of breathing", for which she cites Bronkhorst 2007.
Buddhism
According to the Pali Buddhist Canon, the Buddha prior to his enlightenment practiced a meditative technique which involved pressing the palate with the tongue and forcibly attempting to restrain 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
In the oldest texts of Buddhism, ''dhyāna'' () or ''jhāna'' () is a component of the training of the mind (''bhavana''), commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions, "burn up" the ...
, though this is a side-effect of the technique and does not come about as the result of purposeful effort.
The Buddha did incorporate moderate modulation of the length of breath as part of the preliminary tetrad in the Anapanasati Sutta
Ānāpānasati (Pali; Sanskrit ''ānāpānasmṛti''), meaning " mindfulness of breathing" ("sati" means mindfulness; "ānāpāna" refers to inhalation and exhalation), paying attention to the breath. It is the quintessential form of Buddhist ...
. 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
Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...
tradition of Dzogchen these practices are collected in the textual cycle known as "The Oral Transmission of Vairotsana
Vairotsana () was a lotsawa or "translator" living during the reign of King Trisong Detsen, who ruled 755-97 CE. Vairotsana, one of the 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava, was recognized by the latter as a reincarnation of an Indian pandita. H ...
" (''Vai ro snyan brgyud'').
Effects
A Cochrane systematic review on the symptomatic relief of mild to moderate asthma
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...
by breathing exercises stated that there was limited evidence they might bring about improvement in quality of life, hyperventilation symptoms, and lung function.
Although relatively safe, Hatha Yoga is not risk free. Beginners should avoid advanced moves and exercise within their capabilities. Functional limitations should be taken into consideration. According to at least one study, pranayama was the yoga practice leading to most injuries, with four injuries in a study of 76 practitioners. There have been limited reports of adverse effects
An adverse effect is an undesired harmful effect resulting from a medication or other intervention, such as surgery. An adverse effect may be termed a "side effect", when judged to be secondary to a main or therapeutic effect. The term complica ...
including haematoma and pneumothorax
A pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve i ...
, though the connections are not always well established.
See also
* Pranahuti
References
Sources
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*
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* Zaccaro, Andrea et al. (2018).
How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing
'' Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
* Benefits an
Power of Pranayama
– Kaivalyadhama
{{Meditation
Mind–body interventions
Physical exercise
Hatha yoga
Spiritual practice
Eight limbs of yoga
Meditation