Pranayama And Breathwork: Free Ebook

Box breathing, 4-7-8, cyclic sighing, humming for nitric oxide. Most of today’s popular breathwork is much older than it looks. Each has a close relative in pranayama, the breathing practice of yoga. This free ebook on pranayama and breathwork shows where they came from, what the research says, and how pranayama is learnt.

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Iyengar yoga is the style developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. In the 20th century he did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching, and he pioneered the use of props. His book Light on Pranayama (1981) is still the most detailed guide to yoga breathing in print. It’s the style we teach at Flametree, in Darwin and live online.

Breathwork’s Original Toolkit: The Power Of Pranayama Breath Work. A Flametree Yoga ebook.

What’s inside Breathwork’s Original Toolkit?

About 70 pages, with photos and simple diagrams. Some of what you will find:

New names, older practices. A table that matches the breathwork you have heard of with its older pranayama name.
“I had pranayama for breakfast.” What Stuart told a student who asked how much coffee he’d had.
A fall at Edith River. Stuart’s brain surgery, his very fast recovery, and the humming breath he went back to at home.
The newsreader whose lungs seized up live on air, and why plain breath-watching is a great start, but not the end of the road.
A dive instructor who stopped running low on air, and why Chris’s dive instructors were surprised by how little oxygen she used.
Sonia, 97: “Pranayama only.” Breath practice can go on when the body slows down.
Humming raises nitric oxide in the nose about 15-fold. What that means, and what it does not.
Flametree’s five breaths: the staircase breath (viloma), the humming breath (bhramari), alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana), the ocean breath (ujjayi) and the shining skull breath (kapalabhati). Explained, not taught: that happens in class.
How we do it at Flametree: body first, lying down first, on a blanket. Slow, quiet and through the nose. Calm practices before strong ones.
Who should take care with breath holds and fast breathing, and why.

Key findings on pranayama and breathwork

Breathing on its own lowers stress. A 2023 review of 12 trials, with 785 adults (Fincham and colleagues, Scientific Reports), found breathwork lowered stress and eased anxiety and low mood.
A long out-breath is the stand-out. In a 2023 Stanford trial of 108 adults (Balban and colleagues), five minutes a day of breathing with a long out-breath lifted mood more than mindfulness meditation did.
Slow breathing steadies the heart. A 2022 review of 223 studies (Laborde and colleagues) found slow breathing raised heart rate variability, a sign of a calm, adaptable nervous system, during practice and over weeks.
Humming and nitric oxide. In a 2002 Swedish study of ten healthy people (Weitzberg and Lundberg), nitric oxide in the nose was about 15 times higher while humming than with quiet breathing out.

The executive summary, in full

This is the opening of the book, the whole thing on two pages. The rest is in the free download.

Did you know that most of today’s popular breathwork is much older than it looks? Modern breathwork, the renewed interest in the nose, and “humming for nitric oxide” all have close relatives in pranayama, the breathing practice of yoga.

Chris Lalor, who teaches Flametree’s pranayama classes, is a Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and Yoga Therapist. She has taught Iyengar yoga for more than thirty years, and has practised pranayama every day for well over twenty years.

These breathing techniques are classical, and very old. They have been practised and passed on for thousands of years. Every teacher, Mr Iyengar included, does them a little differently. What he gave us was a careful, step-by-step way of learning them, and that is the way we teach.

The major benefits of yoga that people seek most are more strength, flexibility, calmness and wellness. In classical yoga pranayama is actually a part of yoga. Among other things, pranayama builds energy, calm and stronger breathing.

What the research says

Breathing practice on its own lowers stress. A 2023 review of 12 trials, with 785 adults, found breathwork lowered stress and eased anxiety and low mood.
A long out-breath is the stand-out. In a Stanford trial of 108 adults, five minutes a day of breathing with a long out-breath lifted mood more than mindfulness meditation did.
Slow breathing steadies the heart. A 2022 review of 223 studies found it raised heart rate variability, during practice and over weeks.
Humming raises nitric oxide in the nose about 15-fold. This is the humming bee breath, bhramari, which yoga has taught for centuries.
Alternate nostril breathing lowers blood pressure. A 2024 review of six trials, with 525 people, found blood pressure fell further than in the comparison groups.
Breathwork helps the lungs. A 2019 review of 11 trials in people with COPD (long-term lung damage) found yoga improved walking distance and lung function, with the gains coming from the breathing-focused yoga.
Gentle comes first, for good reason. In trials, fast breathing and long breath holds brought more unwanted reactions than slow breathing. That is why the strong practices wait.
Not yet tested does not mean wrong. Pranayama has been practised and refined for a very long time. Research is still catching up.

How pranayama does it

The out-breath is the brake. A long, smooth out-breath slows the heart and tips the body towards rest.
Slow, quiet and through the nose. That is where most of the calm comes from.
Half doing, half watching. The sound, the silence, or the hum gives a busy mind something to do. Then it can simply watch.
Body first, lying down first. In the Iyengar way, beginners start lying on a blanket, so the back is supported and nothing strains.
Calm practices before strong ones. Fast breathing and breath holding come later, with a teacher.
Steady breath, steady attention. This is function, not mysticism: a steady breath steadies the attention.

Pranayama and breathwork: diagram matching modern breathwork names to older pranayama practices — New names, older practices. From Breathwork’s Original Toolkit.

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Questions about pranayama and breathwork

What is the difference between pranayama and breathwork?

Mostly the name and the age. Pranayama is the breathing practice of yoga, refined over thousands of years. Much of today’s breathwork is a close relative with a new name: cyclic sighing resembles viloma, the staircase breath, and humming for nitric oxide is bhramari. Pranayama is also learnt step by step, calm practices first, as part of a wider practice.

What are the yoga names for popular breathing techniques?

Box breathing, with the same count in, hold, out and hold, resembles sama vrtti (even-ratio breathing). 4-7-8 breathing resembles visama vrtti (uneven-ratio breathing). Cyclic sighing resembles viloma, humming is bhramari, and alternate nostril breathing is nadi shodhana. The match is by resemblance: what you do with the breath.

Does humming increase nitric oxide?

Yes, in the nose and sinuses. In a 2002 Swedish study, nitric oxide in the nose was about 15 times higher while humming than with quiet breathing out. That is the humming bee breath, bhramari. It is a striking finding, but humming on its own has not been shown to lower blood pressure or fight infection.

Does alternate nostril breathing lower blood pressure?

The trials so far say yes. A 2024 review of six trials, with 525 people, found blood pressure fell further with alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana) than in the comparison groups. Breath holds are not for people with high blood pressure or heart problems, which is one reason pranayama is learnt with a teacher.

Why does a long out-breath calm you down?

Every breath in speeds the heart a little and every breath out slows it again, so a longer, smoother out-breath presses the body’s brake for longer. In a 2023 Stanford trial of 108 adults, five minutes a day of breathing with a long out-breath lifted mood more than mindfulness meditation did.

Why do strong breathing practices come later?

Because, in trials, fast breathing and long breath holds brought more unwanted reactions than slow breathing. In the Iyengar way, beginners start lying down, with slow, quiet breathing through the nose, and the strong practices wait until a teacher can guide them. In pregnancy, fast and forceful breaths and long holds are left out.

Can breathing practice help people with lung conditions?

It can help. A 2019 review of 11 trials in people with COPD (long-term lung damage) found yoga improved walking distance and lung function, with the gains coming from the breathing-focused programmes. Keep any medicine as your doctor advises, and tell your teacher if you wish, so the practice suits you.

Why is pranayama so useful in Darwin’s build-up?

The build-up and wet bring heat, tiredness and short tempers, and pranayama gives calm and steady energy without heating the body. Slow, quiet breathing tips the body towards rest. Flametree’s pranayama classes run at 6.30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in the studio and live online, and Stuart runs breath meditation at Coolalinga. See the timetable.

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Breathwork’s Original Toolkit: Free Ebook On Pranayama And Breathwork