What are the 7 types of pranayama?

The seven most taught are nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing), ujjayi (ocean breath, a soft constriction in the throat), bhramari (humming bee breath), sama vritti (equal breathing, the root of box breathing), dirga (the three-part breath into belly, ribs and chest), kapalabhati (skull-shining breath, sharp exhales) and bhastrika (bellows breath, forceful in and out). The first five are slow and calming; the last two are fast and activating. Lists of five usually drop bhastrika and dirga.

What is the best pranayama for beginners?

Sama vritti, equal breathing: in for four, out for four, through the nose, then lengthen both to five and six as it gets comfortable. It teaches the slow nasal diaphragmatic breath every other practice is built on, has no holds and no risk. Nadi shodhana is the classic second step. Leave kapalabhati and bhastrika until the slow practices are easy.

Who should not do pranayama?

The fast practices, kapalabhati and bhastrika, and long breath retentions are not for anyone pregnant, with high blood pressure, a heart condition, epilepsy, glaucoma, a hernia, recent abdominal surgery or panic disorder, and not on a full stomach. The slow practices, equal breathing, nadi shodhana, ujjayi, bhramari and the three-part breath, are safe for nearly everyone. If a practice makes you dizzy, stop and breathe normally; that is the body asking for slower, not more.

What is the most powerful pranayama?

Tradition names bhastrika and kapalabhati for energy and nadi shodhana for balance. Measured by what research can show, the strongest effects on anxiety, blood pressure and heart rate variability come from the slow practices at around six breaths a minute, and sama vritti or ujjayi at that pace deliver them daily with the least risk. Powerful and forceful are not the same thing.

Which pranayama purifies all the 72,000 nadis?

In the yogic texts, nadi shodhana, whose name means channel purification, is the practice said to clear the 72,000 nadis, the subtle channels of the tradition. That is a description from within the tradition, not physiology; there is no anatomical counterpart to the nadis. What alternate nostril breathing measurably does is force slow nasal breathing and hold attention, and both of those calm the nervous system.

Is pranayama the same as breathwork?

Pranayama is the original breathwork: the yogic system of breath regulation, thousands of years old, from which box breathing, 4-7-8 and most modern techniques descend. Breathwork today is the wider word for any deliberate breathing practice, including the fast Western styles. If you practise yoga the pranayama vocabulary is worth learning; if not, the same practices under their plain names work exactly the same.

Is there an app for pranayama?

Braele, for iPhone, guides the counted practices: equal breathing, box (sama vritti with retention), 4-7-8, a deep three-part breath, and any ratio you build yourself. A living orb sets the pace, haptics mark each phase and a voice calls the counts, so you can practise with your eyes closed. Box breathing and the physiological sigh are free forever; no account, no ads, works offline.

Pranayama

Yogic breathing, for beginners

Pranayama is the yogic practice of regulating the breath, and the source of almost every breathing technique with a name: box breathing is sama vritti with retention, 4-7-8 is a yogic ratio, alternate nostril breathing is nadi shodhana. This page explains the seven main practices, says which to start with and which to leave for later, and gives you a guided timer for the counted ones.

Tap a practice and breathe along right here. Free, no download needed.

The seven practices

What each one is

Sama vritti, equal breathing

In and out for the same count, through the nose, no holds: four and four to begin, then five and five. This is the practice to learn first, because it is the slow nasal diaphragmatic breath everything else assumes, and because five in, five out is six breaths a minute, the rate at which heart rhythm and breath fall into step. Add a retention after the inhale and after the exhale and it becomes box breathing.

Nadi shodhana, alternate nostril breathing

Thumb closes the right nostril, inhale left; ring finger closes the left, exhale right; inhale right, switch, exhale left. One round. Five to ten rounds, slowly, is a practice. The hand work keeps the breath slow and gives attention a job, which is most of why it calms. Tradition calls it channel purification; physiology calls it slow nasal breathing with a focus task. Both are right about the effect.

Ujjayi, ocean breath

Breathe through the nose with a slight narrowing at the back of the throat, so each breath makes a soft sound like the sea, or like fogging a mirror with the mouth closed. The narrowing slows the breath and gives you something to hear, which is why it is the breath used throughout a yoga flow. Pace it at five in, five out.

Bhramari, humming bee breath

Inhale through the nose, then hum on a long, low exhale with the lips closed, feeling the vibration in the face. Six to ten rounds. The hum makes the exhale long without effort, and the vibration is oddly settling; it is the practice many people find works best for a racing mind at night.

Dirga, the three-part breath

Inhale into the belly, then the ribs, then the upper chest, as three stages of one breath; exhale in reverse, chest, ribs, belly. It is deep breathing taught by regions, and the best way to find out that you have been breathing into your chest only. The 4-2-6 timer above paces it.

Kapalabhati, skull-shining breath

Sharp, quick exhales driven by the belly, with the inhale passive, at one or two a second, for thirty to sixty pulses. Activating, warming, and not for beginners: it lowers carbon dioxide fast and can bring dizziness. Morning only, empty stomach, seated, and none of the conditions listed below.

Bhastrika, bellows breath

Forceful inhale and forceful exhale, both driven by the diaphragm, at about one breath a second, in rounds of ten to twenty. The most stimulating practice in the set and the one with the longest list of cautions. If you want energy in the morning without the risk, the 2-2 energizing pattern on the techniques page is the gentle version.

Starting

A first month of pranayama

1
Week one: sama vritti, five minutes
Seated, spine long, nose only. Four in, four out, then five and five when that is easy. Start the Sama vritti timer above; the orb sets the pace so the counting stops being work. Same time each day.
2
Week two: add nadi shodhana
Five rounds of alternate nostril breathing before the equal breathing. Slow, no holds, no forcing. If one nostril is blocked, skip it that day; there is nothing to push through.
3
Week three: add a retention
Turn sama vritti into box breathing: in four, hold four, out four, hold four. The holds are where pranayama starts to feel like a practice rather than an exercise. Shorten them the moment you feel any strain.
4
Week four: choose your evening breath
Bhramari or 4-7-8 before bed, four to eight rounds. By now the morning practice is a habit, and an evening one closes the day. Kapalabhati and bhastrika can wait until all of this is easy, and for many people they can wait forever.

What the research shows

A 2020 review of pranayama's effects on the nervous system found that the slow practices consistently increase heart rate variability and parasympathetic activity, and that the fast practices do the reverse, raising arousal. Trials of slow yogic breathing report lower anxiety, lower blood pressure and better sleep after weeks of daily practice, in line with the broader 2023 review of breathing practices for stress and anxiety. Claims beyond that, about prana, nadis and cures, are the tradition's language, not findings.

Who should skip what

The slow practices are safe for nearly everyone. Kapalabhati, bhastrika and long retentions are not for pregnancy, high blood pressure, heart conditions, epilepsy, glaucoma, hernia, recent abdominal surgery or panic disorder, and never on a full stomach. Dizziness during any practice means slower, not more; sit, breathe normally, and come back the next day with a gentler version.

Pranayama and the rest of this site

Every technique here has a plain-English twin: sama vritti is coherent breathing, sama vritti with retention is box breathing, dirga is deep breathing, and the yogic exhale-longer-than-inhale ratio is behind 4-7-8 and the 4-6 calming breath. The breathing techniques page compares them all by goal; the breathwork page puts the fast practices in context.

Questions

What people ask

What are the 7 types of pranayama?: The seven most taught are nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing), ujjayi (ocean breath, a soft constriction in the throat), bhramari (humming bee breath), sama vritti (equal breathing, the root of box breathing), dirga (the three-part breath into belly, ribs and chest), kapalabhati (skull-shining breath, sharp exhales) and bhastrika (bellows breath, forceful in and out). The first five are slow and calming; the last two are fast and activating. Lists of five usually drop bhastrika and dirga.
What is the best pranayama for beginners?: Sama vritti, equal breathing: in for four, out for four, through the nose, then lengthen both to five and six as it gets comfortable. It teaches the slow nasal diaphragmatic breath every other practice is built on, has no holds and no risk. Nadi shodhana is the classic second step. Leave kapalabhati and bhastrika until the slow practices are easy.
Who should not do pranayama?: The fast practices, kapalabhati and bhastrika, and long breath retentions are not for anyone pregnant, with high blood pressure, a heart condition, epilepsy, glaucoma, a hernia, recent abdominal surgery or panic disorder, and not on a full stomach. The slow practices, equal breathing, nadi shodhana, ujjayi, bhramari and the three-part breath, are safe for nearly everyone. If a practice makes you dizzy, stop and breathe normally; that is the body asking for slower, not more.
What is the most powerful pranayama?: Tradition names bhastrika and kapalabhati for energy and nadi shodhana for balance. Measured by what research can show, the strongest effects on anxiety, blood pressure and heart rate variability come from the slow practices at around six breaths a minute, and sama vritti or ujjayi at that pace deliver them daily with the least risk. Powerful and forceful are not the same thing.
Which pranayama purifies all the 72,000 nadis?: In the yogic texts, nadi shodhana, whose name means channel purification, is the practice said to clear the 72,000 nadis, the subtle channels of the tradition. That is a description from within the tradition, not physiology; there is no anatomical counterpart to the nadis. What alternate nostril breathing measurably does is force slow nasal breathing and hold attention, and both of those calm the nervous system.
Is pranayama the same as breathwork?: Pranayama is the original breathwork: the yogic system of breath regulation, thousands of years old, from which box breathing, 4-7-8 and most modern techniques descend. Breathwork today is the wider word for any deliberate breathing practice, including the fast Western styles. If you practise yoga the pranayama vocabulary is worth learning; if not, the same practices under their plain names work exactly the same.
Is there an app for pranayama?: Braele, for iPhone, guides the counted practices: equal breathing, box (sama vritti with retention), 4-7-8, a deep three-part breath, and any ratio you build yourself. A living orb sets the pace, haptics mark each phase and a voice calls the counts, so you can practise with your eyes closed. Box breathing and the physiological sigh are free forever; no account, no ads, works offline.

The counted practices, in your pocket

Braele paces equal breathing, box, 4-7-8, the three-part breath and any ratio you build, with a voice that calls the counts, haptics you can follow eyes-closed, and a streak that has a rest day built in. Box breathing and the physiological sigh are free forever on the App Store.

Downloadon the App Store