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Part 1: The Breath as a Bridge: An Introduction to Prāṇāyāma Welcome to this seminar on prāṇāyāma, which will be conducted in four sessions. The first session is about the breath itself. The second will address prāṇa. The third will cover the theory of prāṇāyāma, and the fourth will explore different prāṇāyāma techniques. The breath holds special importance in yoga because it represents a border case—the border between a natural, uncontrolled function and one we can consciously control. Our bodies have various nervous systems, including the autonomic nervous system, which governs functions like digestion and is not directly accessible to our will. The breath is fundamentally part of this automatic system. We do not consciously command ourselves to inhale and exhale 21,600 times a day; we breathe while sleeping and even while unconscious. However, we also possess the unique ability to control the breath. The first step is simply to observe it, which we will practice today. From there, we can learn to interfere with, change, and control our breathing pattern. A brief, momentary interference—like holding the breath for a few seconds—will not create lasting change. But when we consciously maintain a specific breathing pattern for a longer duration, as we do in prāṇāyāma, this consciously controlled pattern begins to influence other, typically uncontrollable patterns. First, it affects the breath and the heartbeat, which are strongly connected. Through the heartbeat, other functions—nervous system activity, digestion, and more—are influenced. This explains the profound effects of prāṇāyāma techniques on the psychic and mental levels, effects that are otherwise difficult to comprehend. I often observe in yoga classes that beginners are thrust into prāṇāyāma without first exploring their natural breath. I do not find this advisable; it is like building a house without a foundation. I always begin by cultivating awareness of the breath. Instead of instructing students with dogmatic rules like "a slow breath is better," I find it more beneficial to encourage self-exploration. I ask questions to make them aware of how they are actually breathing, which is what we will do today. When students repeat this exploration over time, they can observe their own changes through practice. Once a proper foundation of breath awareness is established, one can then seriously consider altering it through prāṇāyāma patterns. Therefore, in beginner classes, I always start with observation and discussion of different breathing ways, and later, during prāṇāyāma practice, I periodically return to the question: "How is my breath now?" The first posture we teach is Ānandāsana, the blissful pose. This involves lying on the back, but the question is: how? I will demonstrate beginner-level instructions to inspire your teaching. Although you are all practitioners and teachers, I invite you today to try to forget that, be honest with yourself, and truly experience. Practical Exploration: Ānandāsana and Breath Awareness Please lie down on your back. Ensure you have some space to your left and right. Extend your arms and make yourself comfortable. Close your eyes and relax. Take a deep breath and, while exhaling, let all tensions flow away. Feel your breath. Do not influence it; just let it flow naturally. We will now explore how different arm positions influence the breath. 1. Place your arms beside your legs, touching them. Observe the feeling in your belly and chest. Does it feel free or restricted? 2. Move your arms to the sides at a 45-degree angle downward (not a right angle). Again, observe your breath. Compare it to the previous position. 3. Move your arms to the sides at a 90-degree angle, pointing left and right. Observe the influence on your belly and chest breathing. 4. Move your arms further to a 45-degree angle upward, diagonally. Relax the shoulders. Observe the influence. 5. Finally, bring your arms overhead, parallel to each other, as relaxed as possible. Observe your breath in this position. You have now experienced the breath in five different arm positions. Please choose the one you feel is most beneficial for relaxed, deep breathing. This chosen position is your Ānandāsana. Ānanda means bliss, so this is your blissful pose. Now, start stretching and activating your body in your own way. Roll to your side and come up into a sitting position. Observations on Ānandāsana I asked you to choose the position where your breath flows best. The choices varied: some chose the second position (arms at 45 degrees down), some the third or others. I think only one person chose the first position. What does this tell us? First, there is no single, universal Ānandāsana. It is individual. People have different needs to relax and feel that their breathing is good. This helps us let go of a dogma. When we move the arms to the side—as we do in āsanas like stretching upwards—it physically affects the shoulders and chest. Those who chose a higher position likely feel a certain restriction in chest breathing and consciously choose a position that opens the chest. Standing Exploration of the Yogic Breath Let's come to a standing position. In Level 1 practice, we have a beneficial exercise: raising the arms. We will do the Level 1 variation: inhaling as we raise the arms to the sides (either straight or slightly crossed), and exhaling as we lower them. I ask students to observe four phases: 1. From the start until the arms are at shoulder height. 2. The movement from shoulder height to overhead. 3. The movement from overhead back down to shoulder height. 4. The movement from shoulder height back down to the sides. Close your eyes, relax your breathing, and with the next inhalation, begin. Feel as if the breath is moving the arms. Continue for a few cycles, observing what happens in each phase. Afterwards, sit down. What did you discover? Typically, in the first phase (raising to shoulder height), you feel the effect in the belly. In the second phase (raising overhead), you feel it in the chest. The exhalation follows the reverse pattern. This is one way to experientially understand what we call the yogic breath. The students discover it for themselves; you don't need to tell them. Some may have special sensitivities and find new aspects. The most important quality of a good teacher is to always be open to learning from students. So, when we inhale, the breath movement typically starts in the belly and moves up to the chest. When we exhale, it goes down—first felt in the chest, then in the belly. We did this standing. When we finish relaxation lying down, we stretch. Even in Level 1, we have a simple arm movement, which is essentially the same principle. I personally feel the sideways movement opens the chest more. This is how students can gain a natural, felt understanding of the yogic breath. Detailed Breath Observation in Ānandāsana Now, we will observe different aspects of our breath in a lying position. Please lie down in your chosen Ānandāsana. Close your eyes and relax. I will ask several questions; we will discuss the answers afterward. Do not influence your breath. There is no judgment about being "good"; just observe reality. 1. Speed: How slow or quick is your breath? You can even count in seconds: how long does one full breath (inhalation + exhalation) take? 2. Depth/Volume: Connected to speed, how deep is your breath? Is it like small ripples or big waves? 3. Location: Place your hands on your belly, feeling the navel. Observe the movement there. Then bring your awareness to your chest. Observe the movement there. Is there little movement or deeper movement? Now, place one hand on your belly and one on your chest to compare. Are you more of a belly breather or a chest breather? 4. Ratio: Let your arms rest on the ground. Compare your inhalation and exhalation. Which is longer, or are they about the same? 5. Regularity: However your breath is flowing, observe its pattern. Is it regular and even, or are there irregularities—times when it deepens, stops briefly, or feels agitated? 6. Capacity Experiment: Let's feel our maximum capacity for a few breaths. Inhale as deeply as you can, then exhale completely so practically no air remains. Continue this for a few cycles of very deep inhalation and exhalation. Be active and feel what happens. Then, stop the effort and let your breath return to normal. Once it has calmed, compare this resting breath to the deep one. How much of your full capacity do you typically use? A quarter? Half? 7. Transitions: Bring even finer awareness to the points between the breaths. After inhalation, does exhalation begin immediately, or is there a pause? After exhalation, is the transition into the next inhalation smooth, or is there a pause? If you find a pause, how long is it? Guided Imagery and Breath We will do a short yoga nidrā with guided imagery. Observe your breath throughout. Imagine you are walking barefoot on soft, green grass. Feel the contact with Mother Earth. You see the ocean and walk toward it. You reach the beach and step onto sand. The sun is strong, and the sand is quite hot and soft, so you sink in a little with each step. Observe your breath. You come to the water and step in, first just your feet, then up to your knees. Feel the fresh, cool water. Walk a few steps in it. Observe your breath. You come out of the water onto a path made of stone and concrete. You climb this path, feeling the rough, hard touch under your soles. Observe your breath. The path leads you back to the meadow. Step onto the grass again, feeling its softness. Walk and observe your breath. Now, become aware of your physical body lying on the ground. Feel your breath. With your next inhalation, begin to gently stretch and activate your body. Roll to one side and slowly come up to a sitting position. Discussion of Observations This exploration is something I do in beginner classes, perhaps not always in such a long form. It is crucial because when we want to work on ourselves, we must first realize our starting point. From there, we can see progress over time. Let's discuss what we observed: 1. Breath Duration: I asked you to estimate the duration of one complete breath. Answers ranged from three to seven seconds. According to medical science, the average breath for a non-practitioner is about four seconds. This gives you an idea of your baseline. A slow breath is often connected to its intensity and volume. 2. Breath Volume: I described it as small ripples or big waves. Many of you reported "small waves." The issue is that a quicker breath often has less intensity (volume). A slower breath typically has greater intensity. For reference, in the book Anatomy of Hatha Yoga, a short breath cycle of five seconds (inhalation + exhalation) results in about five complete breaths per half-minute and an alveolar ventilation of 4,200 milliliters per minute. A very full breath, with a 10-second inhalation and 10-second exhalation (three breaths per minute), results in a ventilation of about 14,000 milliliters per minute. This relates to our experiment with maximum deep breathing. Part 2: The Breath: A Bridge Between Body, Mind, and Nature The relationship between 4,000 and 14,000 breaths per day is significant. This breathing profoundly influences the gases in our blood. Through deeper breathing, oxygen increases from 100 to 125 mm Hg, and carbon dioxide decreases from 46 to 35 mm Hg. Thus, deeper breathing has a powerful physical effect. More importantly, it has a mental effect. We must be aware that our breath changes constantly. We observed the breath while lying down relaxed, but how does it change during daily activities? Our actions influence the breath, as seen in our breathing pattern. Our mental state also influences it, sometimes so strongly that the breath stops. Observe your breath when angry, or when relaxed and happy. It is very clear that our daily activities and mental states are reflected in our breathing. Let that be known. Now, let us use this knowledge the other way around. Our way of breathing also influences our mental condition. You already have a natural anti-stress technique: simply calm the breath down, and your mental state changes. Through yoga practice, we develop a habit of slower, deeper, and more relaxed breathing, which ultimately influences our whole life. This is also the key to explaining the strong effect of certain āsanas. Take the simple exercise of raising the arms. We discussed how it influences chest and belly breathing, but more importantly, how it calms us mentally. I always tell students: if you are really angry, do this exercise ten times. Close your eyes, raise and lower the arms ten times. Now, try to be angry. It is not possible anymore. That is the power of such a simple exercise. Yoga need not be complicated. It can be difficult and demanding, but it should be effective. It is so simple your grandmother can do it, yet it works. In India, I once taught a VIP, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan. Such a person has no time; the Western lifestyle is stress. When I first met him to arrange everything, he said, "I have no time. Teach me just one exercise." That is an interesting challenge. I chose this one exercise. I taught him only this. Two or three months later, when we started regular classes, he was so happy. He said, "This one exercise has helped me already so much. Now please teach me more." Often, under external pressure, we think our yoga system is not good enough, not challenging enough, too simple. But in simplicity lies power. We must first discover the value of what we have. The first thing to learn is this deeper, slower breath. But how do we learn it? Should we constantly control ourselves? Or, as Gajanan said, "I have to slow down my breath"? Please do not try that. Trying to control the breath directly leads to a mess. The way to a normal breath is simple: daily practice. Do not dwell on breathing problems. Let it come, let it grow naturally. Just check from time to time where you are. We observed chest and belly breathing. Who found they are mainly a chest breather? Some say all women are, others say no. Who found they are mainly a belly breather? That is the big majority. Dobře. When you ask these questions in classes of experienced practitioners, the results are not so different. I tell you, many, many have mainly chest breathing. There seems to be an unconscious tendency, especially in women. One possible explanation is that during pregnancy, you cannot breathe into the belly. But is chest breathing actually wrong? Anatomically, air comes from the nose, goes down into the lungs, and the lungs expand, so the chest should expand. So what is wrong with chest breathing? Nothing, they say, except it is not enough; it is not full breathing. They say we are not using the main breathing muscle, the diaphragm. The question arises: are we talking about men or women? The breast goes in the same way for both, no? We have the rib cage, which gives a certain restriction. The diaphragm transports the breath to the belly, where there is no restriction. This explains why the breath goes down and we feel the main effect in the belly. Naturally, the main activity should be in the belly. From that point of view, you all pass the examination. But my last question: is it only belly breath? My observation is that quite a lot of students have that, especially those from other yoga schools. This is because, obviously, in other schools they emphasize or over-emphasize only belly breathing. Sometimes when you observe students breathing, it is scary. Sometimes there is absolutely no movement. I just think, oh, someone died during the yoga class. Sometimes it is very obvious there is so much block, which also has to do with the student's physical condition. All these muscles are tight, so the breath cannot flow. That is why I say, do not worry too much. Just let them practice āsanas, prāṇāyāma, everything together, and slowly, slowly it will loosen up and deepen the breath. Then there was a question about what is longer, inhalation or exhalation. Who had longer inhalation? Not so many. Longer exhalation? And who had them about the same? I once taught a large class at a police academy with about 240 policemen and women. I asked this question. Such a big group is like a statistic. The result was about 70% had longer inhalation, about 20% had longer exhalation, and about 10% had them the same. This is a really important question to ask. It brings awareness. Now, look at Level 4, Nāḍī Śodhana. The regulation given is: four counts inhalation, eight counts exhalation, and then, of course, the Kumbhaka, which we are not discussing now. This means a basic ratio is given: exhalation should be about double the length of inhalation. How do we get there? The same way. Let it grow slowly, naturally. But bring awareness to it. When, after some months of practice, the students all have equal breaths—inhalation and exhalation the same—then you can be really happy. I would not start with Kumbhaka or stronger Kumbhaka unless this is settled properly, unless the exhalation is really longer. I always say, what is natural? Observe a sleeping child, or a dog or cat. You will see, naturally, the exhalation should be longer. But this is a longer process. We should not interfere too much with our intellect. Just continue practicing and observe how it slowly goes in the natural direction. Then there was a question about the pauses in between. An interesting point: some yoga schools say there should be no pause. They train students that after inhalation should come straight over to exhalation, and vice versa. How was it for you? What did you observe? Who felt a pause after inhalation? Was it shorter or longer? Short. So one can say the majority felt a short pause after inhalation. And after exhalation? Who felt a pause after exhalation? Longer. That is really the natural way of breath. I am actually not so happy with the term we always use, "the yogic breath," as if it were a specialty of the yogīs. I would rather call it the natural breath. When yoga was developed thousands of years ago, people lived in harmony with nature. That meant being much more in harmony with themselves. There was no stress, no pollution, no cars, no newspapers, no internet. Basic things were still very clear to them. Now we do not live a natural lifestyle anymore. That means we have to teach again these things which are actually not yoga—very simple, basic things like how to stand, how to sit, how to breathe. That is not yoga, but nowadays we have to start where we are. I would always emphasize that what we are teaching in breathing is not a specific yoga technique. It is just a way back to nature, to the natural way of breathing. If it were not natural, it would not happen naturally. The last question was: is the breath really even and regular, or is there any kind of irregularity, stop and go? Who felt something like this, some kind of slight disturbance? Only one. Two. Two out of a hundred. That is a good statistic. In yoga classes, if you ask these questions, I have never had any class where at least one person did not have this problem. Let us not forget that today you already practiced āsanas, and we did this observation afterward. You did this in a relaxed position. This was definitely not a stressful situation. So if there is a problem with the breath here, I take it as a medical indication that there is some kind of problem. I would get it checked by a doctor. Most probably, it is caused by some kind of stress, a stress level which has already built up. What I usually advise those with this problem is to make Yoga Nidrā part of their daily practice, and of course, regular practice anyway. Through self-inquiry, try to find out what is causing it. This is a symptom I would take a little more seriously. I think we have gone through these observations. Let us have a ten-minute break, and then we will explore the connection between breath and āsanas. Of course, I forgot something: the astral traveling we did at the end. We were first walking on grass, on hot sand, then in water, on concrete, and back on grass. Every time I asked, how is your breath now? Who would like to speak about that? It was a nice feeling. The breath went into the chest, and the chest was spreading, broadening. When? At which stage? On the grass, and when I was in the water and on the concrete, the chest was stretched and the water went into the pubic area. So then, in the water and also on the stone, the breath was like drawing inward, going into the area of the navel. It finished with the grass, so again the breath went up. Someone else? Did you feel a difference in the breath? I realized that the sea influences me in the most peaceful way. I have this problem that my inhalation is longer than my exhalation. But when I entered the sea, my exhalation became longer than my inhalation. When we came back to the stones, it changed again; inhalation was longer. When we came to the grass, it relaxed again, but not as deeply as in the sea. That is all. Someone else? Anyone else? I have a little problem with the grass. Here in České hluzné haly, if you do not go to the golf course, I have experienced that under the grass there is also some kind of clay and gravel, and you do not have anything solid to step on. I really had a problem with this grass because when walking in a Czech forest or somewhere in the middle, you never know what you might step on—strange stones or something. But of course, we are drawing our attention in such a way that no matter what we step on, we should make our breath as fluent and even as possible. So that is it, I think. But that was not the grass that was the problem, but the mental idea of what could be in the grass. In reality, there was no problem, but our mind easily creates one. I have done this in several yoga classes. Most students always find it most unpleasant to walk on concrete and like best to be on grass. With hot sand and cold water, it depends on the temperature. As a general rule, when it is natural—like grass and water—we are more relaxed and our breath is more natural. When it is man-made, like walking on concrete, something also gets stiff in our breast. This is a very important indication for us to consider the surroundings in which we live. In modern society, we are not in nature all the time. When living in the middle of concrete, our breast becomes more concrete. To go out into beautiful nature is an important part of balancing our life. But now comes a very important thing. Have you been on the grass? Have you been in the water? On the concrete? Not at all. You were lying here. All that was just imagination. And already it works. This speaks to the power of our mind. We can use this to help ourselves. Just by changing our mind, something really changes physically, even in our breath. Now I would like to come to the last part I announced, about the āsanas. Let us think of our yoga practice in the system of Yoga in Daily Life. I would say we have basically three different ways of breathing in the āsanas. Which ones? They are saying inhale, exhale, Kumbhaka. Okay, that is basic; I do not mean that. I mean how we actually breathe in different ways while practicing different āsanas. For every āsana, it is written how we should breathe. I say there are three basic patterns. Think of Level One. When we stretch out, we inhale; when we relax, we exhale. Very generally, in Level One, we have mainly not āsanas as static postures, but as movements. You could say it is just gymnastics. As I mentioned yesterday, there are three principles we follow that make it yoga. I always explain these in the very first class. First, every movement is slow (with very few exceptions). Second, every movement is coordinated with a natural flow of the breath. Third, whatever we do, we do it with full awareness. I know what I am doing, and I observe how it feels. When it does not feel right, I simply stop. Practicing with such awareness already makes the āsana class like a meditation. Here we are on the point: the coordination of breath and movement. This makes the movement harmonious. We follow the breath in the movement. The breath helps the movement, and the movement helps the breath. When I do this for a longer time, something loosens up and the breath becomes deeper. Example: the spinning movement. In the beginning you are stiff, but as you continue, it opens up more and more. Your breath becomes deeper, and now the movement follows the breath. If you observe finely, your movement also becomes slower because the breath becomes slower. There is an interaction between the physical part and the breath. Both together work on the mind. It is a holistic way of practice, but only if our mind is also on that. There are techniques like aerobics where you do similar movements with music, you enjoy it, you do and do, and then it was too much. Unfortunately, then it is too late. The problem is, when you do not practice with awareness, you can easily go over your limits. Awareness is very important. We must practice without the inner attitude of "I must be good." We have to kick the competitive mind out of yoga completely. Just be sensitive to what is good for you. I said the movement is coordinated with the natural flow of the breath. In which way would it be naturally coordinated? One principle was already mentioned. When, for example, we open our chest area, then naturally we would inhale in that moment. Part 3: Breath and Movement: Exploring Coordination in Yoga Practice When we are closing a movement, we naturally exhale. Similarly, when we need power—for example, to raise the body from the ground—we inhale. When we go down, we exhale. Consider what happens when you want to go into a stretch. Would you inhale or exhale? Think of a balloon. When it is small and loose, it is soft. When you blow air into it, it expands but also becomes hard and stiff. A gentle touch with a needle would not have affected it before. We must observe very carefully in which context inhalation or exhalation is appropriate. This is something you can let the student experience, not by instructing, "You must do like this and like that," but by letting them try and discover for themselves. Let us do an exercise from level one as an example: the one with the eye on the belly, where we raise the arms and legs. I always call it the Batman exercise. Lie on the ground with arms in front. Inhale, and while you exhale, come up, raising the arms and legs. Then inhale and come back. How does it feel? It is not very good. Now let us try the other way: inhale and come up. Many say it is easier or better. Here, we actually need energy, so it is a very clear example: when we need energy, we inhale. But for stretching, exhalation generally helps. This depends on the context. I just want to bring awareness to this. In every exercise, try to explore it yourself. Sometimes, try the opposite and feel the difference. This is how we coordinate breath with exercise; it is something to explore. I know one lady in Germany, Ilse Mittendorf. I am not sure if she is still living. When I met her, she was already 90 years old many years ago. She dedicated her whole life to exploring the breath, teaching teachers how to teach breathing. That was her life's work. She did not give instructions on how to breathe. Instead, she gave instructions on which movement to do and then asked afterwards, "How did you breathe?" This is exactly the point: bringing awareness to it. We should trust the wisdom within us and within our students. For me, this is an important quality in a teacher: to dare to go into this challenge, not to see everything as dogma and teach it as such, but to explore it personally. Now, you can sit normally. We do not have time for a whole āsana class. This is the pattern we have in the beginning. Practically all exercises in level one, and most in level two, are of this character. When the postures come, it is different. From level five onward, we have only postures. Before that, it is a little mixed. How do we actually breathe in the postures? There is holding the breath, or moving in and out with the breath, or coming into the position, breathing in the position, and then moving out. Basically, these are the two patterns. One is antar kumbhaka: we go inhaling into the position, hold the posture while holding the breath, and then go exhaling out. The other way is that, regardless of how you go into the position, you have normal breath in the position and hold it for a longer time. From this viewpoint, our exercises from level five to level eight nearly always have the same instruction: initially, you go into the posture holding kumbhaka. After practicing this way for some time, you stay for a longer time with normal breath. When we do it with kumbhaka, there is a certain limitation. On one hand, there is already a kind of prāṇāyāma in the āsana, which makes it powerful. On the other hand, the limitation is that you cannot hold the breath for long, so you must repeat it a few times. But āsana means posture, to hold it for a few minutes, not just seconds. Therefore, this is only possible with a relaxed, normal breath. These are the three basic forms of how we coordinate breathing. Let us come into a standing position and do three exercises to realize the different types. Let us do a simple stretch. I will go exhaling to the side, then inhale back. Do you understand why exhalation helps with the stretch? Try the opposite: inhaling as you go to the side. You see, two principles are conflicting. From the physical viewpoint, exhalation helps with stretching, which is why our book instructs it that way. But if you inhale, it has a different effect—it is more advanced, physically more difficult, but it awakens the energy more, giving more of a prāṇāyāma effect. Especially in levels one and two, coordination is usually such that you exhale when going into a stretch. Now let us do Dvikonāsana. Bring the arms to the back. We go down into the posture and stay with normal breath. When we stay a longer time with normal breath, as we always do in advanced exercises, it is not the same as staying a little longer and finding it boring. Everyone feels the difference between holding an exercise for ten seconds, one minute, or ten minutes. Something is happening all the time. With every breath, especially every exhalation, you can go deeper into the stretch. Here, you can feel the quality of the exhalation. In a stretch like this, with every exhalation, you can let go a little more, sink into the stretch, and deeper tensions may loosen after some time. I have sometimes stayed two or three minutes in a posture and suddenly a movement comes, meaning a tension I was not aware of releases. This, of course, is also a mental process. Then the āsana becomes more like a meditation. There were great yogīs who meditated in certain advanced āsanas. Now let us do an exercise with kumbhaka. A good counterpose to Dvikonāsana is Haṁsāsana. Stand on your right leg, take hold of the left one, raise the arm, and look at one point. Now, inhaling, go into the posture with kumbhaka; exhaling, come back. Let us try with exhalation. Now try the other side: exhale and hold kumbhaka. How is that? It is demanding and difficult to balance. With inhalation, it is easier and more natural. But the kumbhaka actually makes it easier to hold the position because it is a balancing posture where every movement is a challenge. Now let us try with normal breath. We must do the other side to balance. Then sit down again. How was it with normal breath? It is possible but more complicated and demanding because, with exhalation, your energy is going away. This is always something to explore. Let us take another example. There are four exercises I call the boat group. In level one, we have this, done with normal breath. Honestly, it is not the easiest of the four; it was meant as a slight challenge for beginning students. When I taught classes in India with policemen—who are selected and physically strong—the boat could challenge all of them. It is not easy. What is easier is Aśva Sañcālanāsana from level two, which is a movement. As we do it in the beginning, usually, to practice Ahiṃsā with level one students, I offer this as preparation: first dynamically, then trying the boat. In level four, we have it with kumbhaka, which we cannot hold too long. In level six, we have it with normal breath, where we relax and stay for some minutes, which is quite demanding. This makes you aware that we have the same exercise in all three variations of breathing we spoke about. These are the three basic breathing patterns in our yoga system. Yet there are a few exceptions where a certain prāṇāyāma is directly included in the āsana. We have two nearly identical exercises that include Bhujangiṇī Prāṇāyāma—inhalation through the nose and gentle exhalation through the mouth. Do you remember which ones? Yes, in Śubha Vajrāsana and Matsyāsana, the counterposes for Sarvāṅgāsana. In this position, you can hardly breathe normally, so the book clearly states that this Bhujangiṇī Prāṇāyāma technique is included in the āsana practice. In level two, we also have two āsanas with a special prāṇāyāma. I became aware of this in a seminar with Swāmījī in Austria. After practicing for some hours, he stopped, looked around critically, and said, "I can see in your aura that none of you is practicing prāṇāyāma," at least not properly. Everyone expected we would then practice prāṇāyāma, but instead, we did two āsanas from level two. Please come up. This is Meru Pṛṣṭha Āsana: you go with the upper body to the side without moving the hips and legs, and with a strong exhalation. This strong exhalation is actually which prāṇāyāma? Kapālabhāti, exactly—a strong, quick exhalation with a normal inhalation, emphasis only on the exhalation. Let us do just three times to each side to get a feeling. Here, the breath is naturally coordinated with the movement, so this kapālabhāti prāṇāyāma comes naturally; it does not need to be written. The same is with the other one, Uttitalalāsana, the swinging. The presence of these two prāṇāyāmas in level two makes it so powerful. Let us do one round of this. For me, this is a really refreshing and energizing exercise because kapālabhāti is inside—and this is not a beginner's prāṇāyāma; it is strong. Inhale, exhale, inhale, come horizontal, and stop. Inhale and come up. This gives quite some power to level two, having two strong prāṇāyāma āsanas. Now let us see the other way round: how different postures influence our breath. Which āsanas make our breath slower? Which make it deeper? Which make it quicker? Let us go through that. Which type of āsanas make our breath slower? Yes, exactly: Ānanda Āsana. The same when lying on the belly. And the tiger relaxation; you can relax in Śaśāṅkāsana or Yoga Mudrā. These are the types of exercises that make our breath slower. Which exercises would make our breath slower and deeper? Śaśāṅkāsana, perhaps? Or Hastauttānāsana? This is more just relaxing. Actually, many exercises of this type. In general, all stretchings, because stretching releases tensions that restrict breathing. When you work on these through stretching, your breath naturally becomes deeper. For example, already in Tāḍāsana when you stretch out, or lying on the belly raising arms and legs, or in Haṁsāsana. Can you agree the breath becomes deeper? So this type of exercise, going into a stretch and coming back, makes the breath deeper and slower. Then we have certain exercises, a few, where the breath becomes deeper but quicker. Are you aware of this? Yes. Yoga Vyāyāma. Can you give examples? Dynamic exercises like Kaṭupranām. Kaṭupranām depends very much on how you practice it. But the term yoga vyāyāma is basically right; vyāyāma is a Hindi term meaning something like gymnastics. In level one, we usually always coordinate movement with breath, but there are a few exceptions—these are exactly the exceptions. There are a few movements where we do not coordinate the breath, for example, bicycle riding. This is a more dynamic exercise; you can do it in a coordinated way, and in the book Yoga for Back Pain it is written one should do it like that, but usually we do it quicker. Other exercises like rowing, grinding, or crow walking. When you do such exercises, you must give time for good relaxation afterwards and ask the students, "How is your breath?" They will say it is deeper but quicker. What do we think about that? We have spoken all morning about the importance of a slow breath, yet we realize some exercises in our system do the opposite. To be very clear, in the strict sense, that is not yoga, because deeper but quicker breaths are typical for sports and gymnastics. But we are not dogmatic. Swāmījī purposely put a few exercises of this type in our yoga system because they are very good to activate the body as a kind of workout in between. Afterwards, we need to give relaxation, and we should not combine too many such exercises, or it would not be yoga anymore. These exercises are also good. I can give an example of my grandfather. In the 1990s, he got quite old and knew nothing about yoga, but every morning he did bicycle riding in bed before getting up. That was his daily workout, strong, even at 88 or 90. A little challenge like that is not bad. But this is the exception to the rule. Then there are some exercises that deepen, especially, chest breathing—for example, shoulder circling, expanding the chest. You can say all shoulder exercises. We have many in level one, like the swimming exercise. In level two, there is Ākaraṇa Dhanurāsana. In levels three and four, there is Gomukhāsana, and the one with both hands in the back—Gupta Padmāsana in level eight. Several exercises work specifically on the chest and deepen chest breathing. Then we have a few exercises that deepen abdominal breath specifically. One easy one is Vyagrāsana. Do this a few times and you will feel your breath improve. Also, the Śalabhāsana variation we already did, lying on the belly raising arms and legs, and, for example, Cakrāsana from level six, commonly called the bridge. This also helps improve abdominal breath. Then we have a few exercises that work on one-sided breath, activating one lung and slightly blocking the other. Which ones would that be? Yes, Trikoṇāsana when practiced as a posture; if you just move in and out, it will not have that effect. One we practiced this morning: the tiger relaxation. And we have a few exercises that work specifically on the deeper pelvic press. One is specific in level seven: Yoga Mudrā with the fists. Let us try for a moment, though it should not be done on a full stomach. Those who had only chai can do it; those who had breakfast, better not. Make a fist here, go down, and observe what happens to your breath. Come up again, relax, and feel your breath. This exercise is nearly like a bandha. In this position, it is hardly possible to breathe, so the main effect happens afterwards when you come out—typical for bandhas. These are the different ways āsanas influence our breathing: both how we regulate our breath in the āsanas and how the postures influence the breath. It is a very interesting field to explore. I just want to bring awareness to it and encourage you to explore it personally in your practice. Sometimes you might also try this with your students. Most students are happy about it because it puts them in an active role—not just being told something and saying, "But I don’t feel anything," but being encouraged to explore themselves. You will be astonished how much wisdom comes from them.