The Benefits of Yogic Breathing
Improving your yoga skills is far from the only benefit of yogic breathing. Mastering controlled breathing offers benefits ranging from stress relief to lower blood pressure.
What Is Yogic Breathing?
Yogic breathing, or pranayama, includes several types of controlled breathing. Pranayama helps regulate prana, a life force or vital energy that affects mental and physical health. Yogic breathing balances prana and enhances the connection between your mind and body.
The breathing practice involves slow deep inhalations and exhalations. Breathing patterns vary depending on the type of pranayama. For example, ujjayi involves breathing in through the nose while constricting the throat, holding the breath for several seconds, then exhaling through the mouth while making a "ha" sound. During nadi shodhana pranayama, you'll breathe through alternating nostrils.
The Mind/Body Advantages of Yogic Breathing
Breath control is a key component of yoga. Synchronizing your breathing with your movements improves awareness of your body, helps you move deeper into poses, and calms your mind. Although yogic breathing is usually associated with yoga poses, controlled breathing can be done anywhere at any time.
Practicing yogic breathing offers many advantages for your physical and mental health, including these benefits:
- Less Stress. Yogic breathing calms your nervous system and may reduce stress hormone levels. A meta-analysis published in Nature in 2023 evaluated the effect of breathwork on stress. The researchers reviewed 12 studies and noted a small-to-medium improvement in stress levels and self-reported anxiety after research participants performed breathwork.
- Better Emotional Regulation. You may find it's easier to control your emotions when yogic breathing is part of your daily routine. Yogic breathing can help you react more calmly to life's challenges, particularly if you take a few deep breaths before dealing with difficult situations.
- Lower Blood Pressure. Practicing yogic breathing could reduce your risk of high blood pressure or lower your blood pressure if you've been diagnosed with hypertension. Performing bramari pranayama (bee breath) significantly lowered pulse rate and diastolic and systolic blood pressure in a research study published in the Journal of Integrated Health in 2022. People with hypertension and participants with normal pressure both experienced the drop in pressure.
- Improved Memory. Wish you had a better memory? Yogic breathing could boost your abilities. Slow yogic breathing improved cognitive skills and enhanced cardiac autonomic activity necessary to complete mental tasks in a study published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2022. Accuracy and reaction times improved after study participants performed memory tasks following alternate nostril breathing, right nostril breathing, or breath awareness.
- Better Sleep. Pranayama offers the perfect natural sleep enhancement. When you perform yogic breathing before you go to bed, you may find it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. Combining the breathing technique with meditation can help stop the endless cycle of obsessive thoughts and worries that can make it difficult to fall asleep.
- Stronger Lungs. Increased lung capacity, a stronger diaphragm, improved endurance, and better control of breathing are important benefits of yogic breathing. Research subjects who practiced yoga saw significant improvements in chest wall expansion in a research study published in the International Journal of Yoga in 2014. Pranayama can also help you manage chronic conditions, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma. According to a study published in Annals of Medicine in 2023, the combination of breathing training, yoga, and aerobic training can help people with asthma improve their lung function.
Ready to explore the many benefits of yogic breathing? We'll teach you how to perfect your breathing technique and poses during our popular yoga classes. Contact our studio for more information.
Sources:
Nature: Effect of Breathwork in Stress and Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Tirals, 1/9/2023
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-27247-y
Journal of Integrated Health Sciences: Immediate Effect of Simple Bhramari Pranayama on Blood Pressure and Pulse Rate of Hypertensive and Normotensive Individuals, Jan - June 2022
Frontiers in Psychology: Slow Yoga Breathing Improves Mental Load in Working Memory Performance and Cardiac Activity Among Yoga Practitioners, 9/13/2022
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.968858/full
International Journal of Yoga: Pulmonary Functions in Yogic and Sedentary Population, July – Dec. 2014
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4097903/
Annals of Medicine: Effect of exercise intervention on lung function in asthmatic adults: a network meta-analysis, 4/25/2023
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07853890.2023.2237031
American Lung Association: Yoga, Tai chia and Your Lungs: The Benefits of Breathing Through Exercise, 9/26/2017
https://www.lung.org/blog/yoga-tai-chi-and-your-lungs
Yoga Journal: Conqueror Breath, 12/8/2021
https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/energetics/pranayama/conqueror-breath/
Healthline: What Are the Benefits and Risks of Alternate Nostril Breathing?, 3/15/2022
https://www.healthline.com/health/alternate-nostril-breathing#when-to-use