Prāṇāyāma: FAQs Answered

On February 1, 2021, I logged online to the Yoga Alliance Digital program to present to 630 people practices that are nearest and dearest to my heart. My nervousness easily dissipated as we all tapped into techniques that felt sweet and nourishing as nectar. Prāṇāyāma practice usually entails observing inhalation, exhalation, and breath retentions during specific breath-work techniques. These can be energizing, relaxing, or balancing in effect. Specifically I teach with gentleness so that breath retentions are easeful. I often compare the experience of natural breath retention to the feeling one has atop a mountain at sunset, or some other awe-inspiringly, breathtakingly, beautiful view, where one inhales after a long gasp of elated wonder and is filled with beauty. The term prāṇāyāma means vital life expansion and so I aim to teach with that purpose in mind. Classically, prāṇāyāma has been practiced with the purpose of preparing for the subtle experience of meditation. In our practice hosted by Yoga Alliance, we focused on four classical techniques namely: Bhastrikā, Kapālabhāti, Nāḍī Shodhana and Bhramari Breath, pausing between the techniques to witness changing sensations, emotions, qualities of mind, before naming potential benefits. I followed with a gentle meditation. Following this session, there were some questions after class that we didn’t have time to answer. I will answer them here as I imagine they represent…