INTRODUCTION TO CONSCIOUS BREATHING

KEY WORD: pranayama = pra- (English “fore”) = before; ana = to breathe; āyāma = stretching,
extending

KEY symbols for the handout: R = right, L = left; IN = inhale, EX = exhale

CONSCIOUS BREATHING PROP NEEDS

Minimum
3-4 firm blankets ear plugs wash cloth Ace bandage and/or eyebag

Also recommended
thera-band ace bandage bolster swimmer’s nose clip
cotton balls Nerf football Rolled-up pair of old socks
1 lb. fishing weight (2) weighted bags (2 10-lb., 1 five-lb.) pair of tennis balls wrapped in old
sock

FOUNDATION = Balance-Stillness-Presence
In order to quiet the brain in preparation for breathing, we need to establish what I call the
“foundation” This foundation consists of three elements, which are: Balance-Stillness-Presence.
Physical imbalance and movement disturb the brain, even though their effects may occur below
the level of consciousness. So it’s essential before starting your practice to be as neutral as
possible (whether reclining or sitting), then once in neutral, to remain as physically still as
possible, and finally to avoid “spacing out” and stay present to your breath as much as possible.
At the same time, as the brain quiets down, we need to bring out our Witness.
Typically we’re taught how to judge, analyze, criticize, etc. but never just watch. This is
the role assigned to the Witness, which is present-oriented (not concerned with past/future);
neutral/objective; self-reliant (not dependent on approval/support of others). The Witness doesn’t
judge or direct, it simply reflects and accepts. What is the VALUE of witnessing, “just
watching”?
•It CLARIFIES habitual tendencies. It helps you learn who you are as a breather (and by
extension, as a person). By understanding the conditioning of the breath, you get an insight into
the conditioning of consciousness.
•It TRANSFORMS the breath. Bare witnessing quiets body/mind and affects the breath
in significantly positive ways. The simple act of witnessing changes the breathing pattern and
gives us a foretaste of what liberated breathing is like.
•It ultimately LIBERATES the authentic breather from its conditioning.

WHAT SPECIFIC THINGS SHOULD THE WITNESS OBSERVE?

Don’t do anything to change your breath, but notice if/how breath changes on its own as
the session progresses. The act of observation
 will create its own appropriate change. LISTEN with the inner “yoga” ear (follow the ear canals
imaginatively to where they “join” at the back of the head).
•TIME or SPEED: is the breath slow or fast? Does the breath feel hurried or relaxed,
deliberate?
•TEXTURE or STEADINESS: is the breath smooth and even from beginning to end, or
are there “rough spots,” jerks, pauses? Also, do the two lungs seem to fill/empty evenly or does
one move more quickly/slowly than the other?
•SPACE or RANGE: what is the “range” of the breath? Does the it feel full or shallow?
When you breathe, does the breath seem to “fill” the entire torso/body, or is the breath restricted
to certain areas of the lungs?
•REST: be sure to observe not only the IN/EX but also the brief pauses between the EX.
What are these pauses like? What effect do these pauses have on your consciousness? The
breathing pause is the “silence” of who we essentially are. IN/EX are sounds we make moving
through silence.

QUESTIONS
The Witness is watching the Breather: Who is the breather? If “I” am the breather, for
example, then who breathes for me when “I” am asleep? How would you define yourself as a
breather? What images do you hold of yourself as a breather? How closely do these images
co-incide with how you actually breathe?
Where is the breather? In essence, in my body, the breather is everywhere because I
breathe in response to a need that pervades my entire physical/emotional self. But my body
cannot be separated from its environment (the skin is simply a thin “film” separating inner/outer),
and so the breather expands out into the world, becomes the world.
When you breathe then, breathe with the awareness of the entire body, of the entire
Universe. Breathe with the awareness that the breath is being continually delivered to every cell
in the body, that each cell is a “breath sponge,” and an intelligence that breathes in harmony with
the needs of the body and the Universe.
It’s important to define the instructions you give /the goals you set yourself in breathing.
What do you think you have to do (consciously or unconsciously) in order to breathe? All this
doing must be inhibited. What is your (unconscious) “philosophy” of breathing?
In your asana practice, note functioning of diaphragm in various asanas. Note change in
breathing with change in position. As you go about your daily business, notice the variations in
normal IN/EX. What is your general breathing like as you respond to changes in the
environment, both inner/outer. Use a timer to check the breath periodically throughout day.

PRELIMINARIES
•1. Pre-Corpse exercises.
Stick Pose (yashtikasana, aka “pond seal,” tadagi mudra).
“Skull” rubbing (kapala dhauti), rubbing the skin at the nose bridge (between the
eyebrows) with a thumb to soothe the frontalis muscle, in turn to quiet the brain.
Tapping the sternum: curl the fingers of both hands into a claw-like shape. Tap down and
up on your sternum, “tap fast,” briskly, vigorously and firmly, “like little hammers ... one hand
following closely after the other. Go down and up twice, then pause to feel the results (if any),
repeat if necessary a few more times, being sure to pause after each tapping (source: Carola
Speads)
•2. Corpse Pose (shavasana), to learn to establish the foundation and call on the witness.
PROPS: “brain bag” and 1-2 blocks; bolster for knees, weight for groins, wrists/shoulders if
needed.
•3. “Pot” awareness. “Pot” (Sanskrit = kumbha, ghata) is what the yogis call the torso.
Learn to breathe as if the IN filled the entire inner space of the torso, from the perineum to the
shoulders, not just the lungs. PRACTICE: a) use your hands to successively contact three torso
“layers”: pubis > navel, navel > lower ribs, lower ribs > collar bones. b) partner exercise to find
the “roots” of the diaphragm, i.e., the crura which attach the back of the diaphragm to the lumbar
spine. c) the back exercise: one partner in Child’s Pose (bāla), the other presses successively up
the back from the sacrum > waist > back ribs > skull base.
•4. Unspoken (ajapa = so’ham/sa’ham = he/she I am)/wild gander (hamsa) mantra
(repeated quietly to yourself). PRELIMINARIES for ajapa (both exercises from Speads):
•a) SIBILANT “S”: SAAAA/HISSING: Curl your tongue into a narrow “U” shape inside
your mouth. Inhale through your nose, then exhale through the tongue U-channel, “aim for a
long, loud, steady [hissing] sound,” project it straight forward. Don’t force your breath out, “let it
flow freely.”
Check the effect the sound has on your abdominal muscles. Occasionally as you hiss, rest
your hands on your belly and feel “how much or how little your muscles are contracting.” Also
you can check your chest with your hands, ideally it shouldn’t collapse as you hiss.
•b) ASPIRATE “H”: HAAAA: Hold a palm fairly close to your mouth, then exhale
through your mouth with a “soft, barely audible, continuous haaaa sound.” The breath should
stream out of your mouth, “slowly, as gently as possible.”

USEFUL TECHNIQUES
• HAND SEALS (hasta mudra)
a. Traditional HAND MUDRAS said to specifically aid breathing by authors Mudras of
India, Cain and Revital Carroll:

SANSKRIT ENGLISH
NAME MEANING BENEFIT(S) HOW-TO
cin consciousness facilitates deep breathing touch index tip to thumb tip, other
(pronounced “chin”) fingers in relaxed extension, rest
hands palms up
jnana wisdom opens lower lobes of lungs same as cin, but palms down
bhramara bee improves health of lungs curl index tip to thumb base, touch
thumb tip to first crease of middle
finger, extend ring, pinky
dhyana meditation facilitates deep breathing rest the R fingers on L fingers, palms
up, touch tips of thumbs lightly
kubera god of wealth clears front sinuses touch tips index/middle fingers to
tips of thumbs, curl tips of ring/pinky
fingers into palms
mahashirsha grand head clears front sinuses like kubera, except pinky extends away from
 hand; curl tip of tongue back to upper palate
(jihva mudra)

b. MODERN HAND MUDRAS: press the fingerpads

PRESS THE PADS OF WHERE FELT EFFECTS
a. ring and little fingers Pelvis Quietness
b. middle fingers Around the diaphragm area Balances a-c, harmony
c. thumbs and index fingers Upper chest, head Brightness, lucidity
d. all fingers, both hands Everywhere Feeling “filled” with air

• Channel Purification (nadi shodhana; nadi = channel, shodhana = purify)

• Skull Brightener (kapalabhati; kapala = skull, bhati = brighten)
• Great Seal (maha mudra; maha = great, mudra = seal)

RECLINING/SITTING PRACTICE SUPPORTS

RECLINING SUPPORTS (2-4 blankets)
Broad Three-step
Narrow (aka Accordion) Modified Bridge

Why recline to start? Most Westerners, because we’re so accustomed to sitting on chairs,
don’t sit well on the floor, at least not well enough for a proper breathing practice. Reclining then
removes any postural imbalances we may have in sitting, and allows us to focus exclusively on
the breath.

Sitting (transition between reclining and floor sitting): Chair

Sitting
Back supported directly by wall > Back supported by bolster against wall
Back supported by blocks wedged between wall and sacrum/scapulas
Cross legs held by 2 straps serving as “yoga girdle” (yoga patta)

Traditional elements: Questions?

What matters: Direction faced while practicing (East/North)?
Time of practice: at the junctions (sandhi)? Sunrise, noon, sunset, midnight, 3 am?
What’s the effect of ratio breathing? Is 1:2 the ideal ratio for IN:EX?
Tongue seal (body [kaya] mudra)–what does it do?
Gazing (drishti)–what effect does Nose Tip gaze have? Mid Forehead?
Gesture (hand [hasta] mudra)–what effect does Gesture have?
Body supports–is it useful to “breath into” different parts of the body?
Visualization–common images: Sun/Moon; traditional elements (earth, water, etc.)

Traditional breaths
What does “skull cleaner” really accomplish? How does speed change the effects of the
breath?
What effect does Bee have?
 What effect does Cooling have?

Other elements
Feel breath flowing over nostrils. Where does it touch? Direct breath to specific spots on
nostrils, or let breath touch entire lining of nostril. Does it matter where the breath touches the
inner linings of the nostrils?

BREATHS
KEY: To indicate a breath followed by a pause = + PAUSE

FULL BREATHING (Traditional name: Ujjayi, Conqueror’s breath)

both nostrils open on IN and EX (FULL BREATHING)
pause 5-15 seconds at the end of EX (FULL BREATHING + PAUSE)

“HALF” BREATHING
horizontal = both nostrils half closed (with nose clip) (HALF HORIZONTAL)
vertical = one nostril plugged (with cotton ball) (HALF VERTICAL)

INTERRUPTED BREATHING (Traditional name: Viloma, Against the Hair or Grain)

IN (full)/EX (interrupted)
IN (interrupted)/EX (full)
Both interrupted

Sources. Carola Speads, Breathing: The ABCs (tap the sternum, aspirate “H,” sibilant “S”); Ilse Middendorf, The
Perceptible Breath (vowels, fingerpads); Cain and Revital Carroll, Mudras of India (traditional mudras)

BOOKS ON BREATHING AND PRANAYAMA

Donna Farhi. The Breathing Book. Holt, 1996.

Gay Hendricks. Conscious Breathing. Bantam, 1995.
BKS Iyengar. Light on Pranayama. Crossroad, 1981.
Harish Johari. Breath, Mind, and Consciousness. Rochester, VT: Destiny, 1989.
Dennis Lewis. The Tao of Natural Breathing. Mountain Wind, 1997.
Ilsa Middendorf. The Perceptible Breath. Paderborn, West Germany: Junfermann, 1990.
Swami Rama, R. Ballentine, A. Hymes. Science of Breath. Honesdale, PA: Himalayan International Institute, 1979.
Sandra Sabatini. Breath: The Essence of Yoga. London: Thorsons, 2000.
Michael Sky. Breathing: Expanding Your Power & Energy. Bear & Company, 1990.
Carola Speads. Breathing: The ABC’s. Harper Colophon, 1978.
Andre Van Lysbeth. Pranayama: The Yoga of Breathing. London: Mandala, 1979.
Nancy Zi. The Art of Breathing. Glendale, CA: Vivi, 1994.