Prāṇāyāma & Bandha Practice Techniques Glossary
– Grouped into Primary, Secondary & Ancillary Techniques
Quick Links for this page:
1. Primary Prāṇāyāma Breathing Techniques
2. Primary Support Prāṇāyāma Breathing Techniques
3. Secondary Prāṇāyāma Breathing Techniques
4. Secondary Support Prāṇāyāma Breathing Techniques
5. Ancillary Breathing Techniques
6. Ancillary Support Practice Techniques
7. Ancillary Bandha Practice Techniques
1. Primary Prāṇāyāma Breathing Techniques
Nāḍī Śodhana
– Pūraka Left Nostril
– Recaka Right Nostril
– Pūraka Right Nostril
– Recaka Left Nostril
2. Primary Support Prāṇāyāma Breathing Techniques
Anuloma Ujjāyī
– Pūraka both Nostrils with Ujjāyī
– Recaka Alternate Nostrils (Starting with Left)
Viloma Ujjāyī
– Pūraka Alternate Nostrils (Starting with Left)
– Recaka both Nostrils with Ujjāyī
Pratiloma Ujjāyī
– Pūraka both Nostrils with Ujjāyī
– Recaka Left Nostril
– Pūraka Left Nostril
– Recaka both Nostrils with Ujjāyī
– Pūraka both Nostrils with Ujjāyī
– Recaka Right Nostril
– Pūraka Right Nostril
– Recaka both Nostrils with Ujjāyī
3. Secondary Prāṇāyāma Breathing Techniques
Sūrya Bhedana
– Pūraka Right Nostril
– Recaka Left Nostril
Bhastrikā
– Fast Single Nostril Abdominal Breathing
– Changing Nostril after every Pūraka (Starting with Left)
4. Secondary Support Prāṇāyāma Breathing Techniques
Śītalī
– Pūraka through Mouth with Tubed Tongue whilst Raising Head
– Antar Kumbhaka whilst Lowering Head
– Recaka both Nostrils with Ujjāyī
Sītkārī
– Pūraka through Mouth with hissing sound over Tongue
between slightly opened teeth whilst Raising Head
– Antar Kumbhaka whilst Lowering Head
– Recaka both Nostrils with Ujjāyī
Candra Bhedana
– Pūraka Left Nostril
– Recaka Right Nostril
Bhrāmarī
– Pūraka and/or Recaka through both
Nostrils with Humming Sound
5. Ancillary Breathing Techniques
Ujjāyī
– Pūraka both Nostrils with Ujjāyī
– Recaka both Nostrils with Ujjāyī
(Not taught as a Prāṇāyāma technique per se,
but as a breathing technique in and for Āsana and Mudrā and
as an introductory or preliminary or transitional seated breathing exercise)
Kapālabhāti
– Fast Abdominal Breathing both Nostrils
(Technically a Kriyā so used on its own before or in Āsana, or in Mudrā
or as a seated preliminary technique before Prāṇāyāma
or as an introductory step towards Bhastrikā)
6. Ancillary Support Practice Techniques
Mūrcchā
– Deep Pūraka
– Very Long Recaka
Plāvinī
– Long Antar Kumbhaka
Antar Kumbhaka
– Holding after Pūraka
Bāhya Kumbhaka
– Stopping after Recaka
Samavṛtti
– All components of the Ratio
the same length
Viṣamavṛtti
– Components of the Ratio
not the same length
Anuloma Krama
– Patterns of Antar Kumbhaka
during the Pūraka
Viloma Krama
– Patterns of Bāhya Kumbhaka
during the Recaka
Pratiloma Krama
– Patterns of Antar Kumbhaka and Bāhya Kumbhaka
during the Pūraka and the Recaka
7. Ancillary Bandha Practice Techniques
Jihvā Bandha
– Tongue Curled Upwards and Backwards
Jālandhara Bandha
– Spine held Erect
– Chin Drawn Down and In on Bāhya Kumbhaka
by extending the back of the neck
– Pūraka intensifies the Bandha
Uḍḍīyana Bandha
– After Recaka on Bāhya Kumbhaka
– Abdomen drawn back towards the spine and
as a consequence moved upwards
Mūla Bandha
– After Uḍḍīyana Bandha on the Bāhya Kumbhaka
– Lower Abdomen held in during the Pūraka
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Links to Related Posts:
- Āsana & Mudrā Practice Techniques Glossary
– Grouped into Standing, Kneeling, Lying,
Inverted, Backbend, Seated & Sitting - 108 Prāṇāyāma Practice Pointers
- Collected Practice Theory Posts on Viniyoga
- Collected Practice Theory Posts on Vinyāsa Krama
- Collected Practice Theory Posts on Pratikriyāsana
- Collected Practice Theory Posts on the Breath
- Collected Practice Theory Posts on Śikṣaṇa
- Collected Practice Theory Posts on Rakṣaṇa
- Collected Practice Theory Posts on Cikitsā
- Collected Practice Theory Posts on Laṅghana
- Collected Practice Theory Posts on Bṛṃhaṇa
- Yoga Practice Planning and Theory Questions – Collected & Collated
– Last Updated 12th May 2022
