Pranayama is breath work. Prana means life force, ayama means to extend or expand. When we use various pranayama practices, we are expanding and increasing our prana, the vital life force that energizes the mind, body, and consciousness, through the power of the breath. Pranayama practices are part and parcel of Kundalini Yoga practice.

Along with oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide, the breath contains prana. We are regularly taught we can’t live without oxygen; it is also true that we can’t live without prana.

The Breath / Mind Connection

The first and last thing we do in this physical lifetime is breathe. Our breath gives us life when we are born and ends our life when we die.

Breath is life-giving, and like the heart pumping, it never stops throughout our lives. Just like the heart, breathing happens naturally and automatically, yet unlike the heartbeat, we can change the rate of our breathing at any given moment.

The average rate of breathing for most people is about sixteen times per minute. Slowing down the breath directly affects the mind: when we become aware of the breath and take deep, slow inhales and exhales, our mind begins to slow down. This helps ease anxiety, worry, and stress, and brings us into the present moment.

When the rate of breathing increases, or if it becomes rapid and irregular, the mind becomes disturbed and erratic.

By breathing slowly and steadily, the mind will become calm. As we change our rate of breathing, we change our state of mind. Of all the positive changes a person can make, learning to breathe deeply and completely is probably the most effective tool for developing higher consciousness and increasing health, vitality, and connectedness in one’s life.

Principles to Remember:

• Your rate of breathing and your state of mind are inseparable.
• The slower your rate of breathing, the more control you have over your mind.
• The mind follows the breath, and the body follows the mind.

Breath Frequency

8 Breaths per Minute:

• Feel more relaxed
• Relief from stress and increased mental awareness
• The parasympathetic nervous system begins to be influenced
• Elevates healing processes

4 Breaths per Minute:

• Positive shifts in mental function
• Intense feelings of awareness, increased visual clarity, and heightened body sensitivity
• Pituitary and pineal glands begin to coordinate at an enhanced level, producing a meditative state

1 Breath per Minute:

• Optimized cooperation between brain hemispheres
• Dramatic calming of anxiety, fear, and worry
• Openness to feeling one’s presence and the presence of Spirit
• Develops intuition

©The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan

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