How to breathe properly in yoga is one of the first things beginners ask, and the answer is simpler than it seems. A handful of rules work in almost any pose, and there are also separate breathing exercises, pranayamas, for calm seated practice.
The app's text below collects those rules, and further down you'll find examples from specific asanas, common mistakes and the order in which to learn the pranayamas.
The breath is the main tool of Hatha yoga. It is the only vital process that runs both on autopilot and under conscious control, so through the breath you can directly influence the state of your nervous system.
Basic principles of breathing in poses:
— Breathe through your nose. Both the inhale and the exhale go through the nose unless otherwise noted.
— Don't hold your breath in poses. Holding it is a sign that the effort is too much. If your breathing becomes ragged, ease into a simpler variation.
— The inhale goes with opening: backbends, raising the arms, lengthening upward. The exhale goes with folding in: forward folds, twists, deepening a pose.
— An exhale longer than the inhale is calming. This is the basis of most pranayamas in the app: for example, inhale for a count of four, exhale for a count of six.
The breath pacer in the app sets the rhythm in phases: inhale — hold — exhale — hold. Start with comfortable values: if a four-second inhale feels like too much, set it to three. Pranayama is never done by force: the sign you're doing it right is that breathing feels easier after practice, not harder.
The best time for pranayama is in the morning on an empty stomach or in the evening before bed, sitting with a straight spine. A few minutes every day changes more than one long session a week.
Breathing in Specific Poses
In Cat-Cow your back arches as you inhale and rounds as you exhale. Seated Forward Fold and Seated Twist share one pattern: the inhale lengthens your spine upward, and the exhale takes you slightly deeper. In Cobra Pose your chest rises with the inhale.
In static strength poses such as Plank Pose, the job is simpler: keep breathing evenly and don't freeze.
Breathing in Flows and Holds
In breath-linked flows such as the Sun Salutation, every movement takes exactly one inhale or one exhale, and the breath sets the tempo, not music or a count. During holds, which in the app's sequences usually run half a minute to a full minute, the rhythm stays the same while your attention moves to sensation: with each exhale you can let go of a little tension wherever you feel the stretch.
Common Mistakes
- Shoulders rising toward your ears on every inhale. Send the air into your belly and lower ribs.
- Breath stopping at the moment of effort, for example as you lift into Boat Pose. Exhale on the effort.
- Mouth falling open on its own. That's a sign to lighten the load.
- Stretching the inhale and exhale by force to breathe "the yoga way." The rhythm should stay comfortable.
The Order for Learning Pranayama
Start with Full Yogic Breath, which teaches you to fill your belly, ribs and chest in sequence. Then add coherent breathing, with even five-second phases and no holds. Holds enter the picture in box and alternate nostril breathing; during pregnancy and with high blood pressure, the app recommends practicing them without the holds.
Hatha Yoga