🍃 Breathing is Practicing

Elodie Abadie • 26 mai 2025

🍃 Breathing is Practicing ✨

In a world that’s always rushing forward, the simple act of conscious breathing becomes revolutionary.
Before we speak of aligned postures or dynamic flows, there is the breath.
Always there. Quiet. Often ignored — yet essential.

In the yogic tradition, Pranayama is one of the foundational pillars, along with asanas (postures) and meditation.

But what exactly is Pranayama?
Why is it so powerful?

And how can we truly integrate it into our practice and teaching?
In this article, let’s explore the art of breath, its benefits, techniques, and its central role in the yoga path.

🕉 What is Pranayama?

The Sanskrit word Pranayama is composed of:

  • Prana – the vital life force, the breath of life, what flows in and around us.
  • Ayama – to extend, to expand, to direct.


👉 So Pranayama isn’t just about “breathing deeply.”
It’s the art of observing, extending, and refining the breath to shift our inner state.
It’s not about controlling — but rather about inhabiting the breath with awareness and respect.


🌬 Why is breath so central in yoga?

The breath is the bridge between the conscious and unconscious functions of the body.
We don’t have to think to breathe — but we can decide to change how we breathe. That’s what makes it such a powerful tool.


Here’s what breath impacts:

  • 🧠 Autonomic nervous system:
  • Slow, steady breathing activates the parasympathetic system (calm, regeneration).
  • Fast or shallow breathing stimulates the sympathetic system (alertness, action).
  • 💓 Heart rate & cardiac coherence
  • 🧘‍♀️ Mental & emotional state: clarity, focus, calm
  • 🌀 Energy flow (prana) through the nadis (subtle energy channels)


To breathe is to return to presence, create inner space, and regulate your internal landscape.
It’s a tool for grounding, cleansing, and awakening.


✨ The Benefits of Pranayama

Both ancient yogic wisdom and modern science agree:
 Pranayama works deeply on the body, mind, and energy.


🧠 Mental & emotional benefits:

  • Reduces stress and anxiety
  • Enhances concentration and memory
  • Increases emotional stability and self-regulation
  • Prepares the mind for meditation


💪 Physical benefits:

  • Improves lung capacity
  • Enhances oxygenation of the tissues
  • Regulates heart rate and blood pressure
  • Strengthens the diaphragm


🔮 Energetic & spiritual benefits:

  • Purifies the nadis (energy channels)
  • Balances solar and lunar energies
  • Cultivates inner awareness
  • Deepens access to meditative states


🌱 Key Pranayama Techniques

Here are 4 essential breathing practices to explore:


1. Abdominal (belly) breathing – grounding & calming
Perfect for beginners. This breath roots you in your body, slows the heart rate, and soothes the mind.
 When to use it: At the beginning of a class, during relaxation, or in stressful moments.


2. Nadi Shodhana – alternate nostril breathing
Purifies the energy channels (nadis), centers the mind, and balances the system.
 Benefits: Calms the mind, improves focus, balances left/right brain activity.
 When to use it: Before meditation, or anytime you need clarity and balance.


3. Kapalabhati – breath of fire / purification
A dynamic breath with abdominal pumping. Energizing and clearing.
 Benefits: Boosts energy, stimulates digestion, sharpens the mind.
 When to use it: In the morning or before dynamic practices (⚠️ avoid if pregnant, hypertensive, or with heart conditions).


4. Cardiac coherence – rhythmic breathing (5-5-5)
Inhale 5 sec – exhale 5 sec – repeat for 5 minutes. A go-to for emotional balance.
 Benefits: Soothes the nervous system, reduces stress, improves sleep.
 When to use it: At the end of a session, before sleep, or during emotional tension.


🧘‍♀️ How to integrate Pranayama into your practice (and teaching)

🌟 In your personal practice:

  • Start with 5 minutes of mindful breathing each morning.
  • Adapt your technique to your current state (tired, tense, scattered, needing energy).
  • Observe. Feel. Adjust. The breath is a living being.


🌟 In your classes:

  • Begin with a short guided breath to center your students.
  • Offer simple techniques with clear explanations and time to feel.
  • Don’t jump into intense breathwork without preparation (e.g. Kapalabhati, Bhastrika).
  • Always allow a moment of integration after any Pranayama.
    🗝     Pro tip: Link breath to movement in your cues.
     Ex: “Inhale, gently lengthen your spine. Exhale, soften your shoulders.”


💬 In Summary

  • Pranayama is not a bonus — it’s the heart of yoga, the bridge between body, mind, and energy.
  • It works deeply on our physiology, mental state, and emotions.
  • A regular breath practice soothes, energizes, balances, and awakens.
  • Integrating Pranayama into your practice or your classes opens the door to real transformation.


🔗 Want to go deeper?

At YogaDanse.eu, we place breath at the center of every training —
not as a rigid technique, but as a living art, subtle, embodied, and powerful.


🌬 In our teacher trainings, you’ll learn how to:

  • Use breath as a tool for grounding, cueing, and energy regulation
  • Design sessions that flow from breath
  • Teach accessible yet transformative techniques to all types of students


📖 Explore our programs: www.yogadanse.eu


And you — what’s your favorite breathing technique?
💬 Share it in the comments or join the conversation with us on Instagram!


Namaste 🪷

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