Kundalini Yoga Glossary
Yogic Breathing
The conscious extension of Prana, life force, through breath, worked in three phases: abdominal, chest and clavicular.
Meaning
What Yogic Breathing Means
Pranayama, the root of yogic breathing, comes from Prana, life force, and Ayama, extension, expansion or control. Yogic breathing is this extension of one's life force, made deliberate and conscious rather than left automatic.
The manual describes breath as both gross and subtle: gross in the chemical exchange of oxygen and other elements, subtle in the Prana that energizes mind, body and consciousness. Breathing shares the nature of both the earthly and the heavenly, and is described as both automatic and something we can learn to control.
In Practice
How It’s Used
Because the diaphragm does most of the work in breathing, yogic breathing is worked in three separate phases: abdominal, thoracic or chest, and clavicular. Learning to breathe fully means becoming conscious of each phase in turn, before they overlap into a single continuous movement with practice.
The manual contrasts this with the shallow, irregular breathing common in daily life, which it links to a weak nervous system and higher stress. Breathing no more than 8 times a minute is described as prompting the pituitary gland to secrete, supporting intuition, and breathing below 4 times a minute as making meditation automatic.
