Pranayama
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.35|A group practising Nadi Shodhana pranayama (alternate nostril breathing) on the [[International Day of Yoga in Kolkata, India, in 2017 ]]
Article
11 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Hinduism
- ''Bhagavad Gītā''
- ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali''
- Hatha yoga
- Yoga as exercise
- Buddhism
- Indo-Tibetan tradition
- See also
- References
- Sources
thumb|upright=1.35|A group practising Nadi Shodhana pranayama (alternate nostril breathing) on the [[International Day of Yoga in Kolkata, India, in 2017 ]]
Pranayama (Sanskrit: प्राणायाम, "Prāṇāyāma") is the yogic practice of controlling the breath in Hinduism. It is described in Hindu texts such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita; in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, it is one of the eight limbs of yoga. In classical yoga, the breath is associated with the life energy or prana. Later, in Hatha yoga texts, it meant the complete suspension of breathing. The pranayama practices in modern yoga as exercise differ from those of the Hatha yoga tradition, often using the breath in synchrony with movements.