The Yoga of Breath: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama

by Richard Rosen

Discover the basics and benefits of breath control—pranayama—and how to incorporate it into your yoga practice

For several thousand years, yogis have drawn on the powerful practice of pranayama, a technique of controlling the breath to maximize  prana  or life energy. Pranayama has been practiced to rejuvenate the body and as a means of self-study and self-transformation. While most yoga practitioners today focus on  asanas , or body postures, a growing number of people are learning the complementary practice of pranayama to deepen and enrich their practice. 

The Yoga of Breath  is a guide to learning the fundamentals of pranayama and incorporating them into an existing yoga practice. Rosen's approach is easy to follow with step-by-step descriptions of breath and body awareness exercises accompanied by clear illustrations. The book also covers the history and philosophy of pranayama, offers useful practice tips, and teaches readers how to use props to enhance the exercises.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Self Help, Bodies, How To

320 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2002

Reviews

[Suba · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to be honest, when I first opened Rosen's book and saw it to be similar to Iyengar's monumental book, Light on Pranayama, and I was immediately turned off: it's just another regurgitated pranayama book. But, because I am doing a pranayama study I was going to read it all the same: I'm thankful I did.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama is a perfect companion to Iyengar's. Rosen, like Iyengar, takes the practitioner gently by the hand and guides them gradually through the forest of pranayamic practices. What Rosen's book does is give a greater emphasis on the preparatory exercises to the classical pranayamas. For those that just want to jump into the fire, this is not your book. But, if for some reason you feel incline to have a solid understanding and ground before jumping into the flames, then this is a good book to get.

While there are plenty of good things to be found in Rosen's book, two things i found particularly beautiful were his emphasis on the witness: that aspect of the mind that steps back and with full awareness witnesses the goings of the body, breath, emotions, mind, energy, and consciousness itself. This is something Iyengar touches upon but never fully develops in his pranayama text. To help us touch in, listen, and ultimately cultivate our ability to experience this witness Rosen gives us three beautiful chapters on Shavasana (corpse pose). I dare say, these three chapters alone are worth the cover price.

The second thing i love in Rosen's book is his willingness to play with the posture, breath, activities of consciousness, and so forth. This is something i myself have come to learn over the years – to play with the stillness, the movements. Once we have achieved familiarity and comfort in our practice, be that asana or pranayama, we can gain a greater relationship with our body which in turn allows the energy to move more freely and with greater intensity. We come to learn from doing subtle tweaks here and there how much we can actually effect/affect the prana.

Rosen's four stages of pranayama, what he calls the "4 Cs" is a very nice way to approach and understand the pranayamic process:

Clarification: understanding basic principles, practices, obstacles, et cetera.
Cooperation or what I understand to be Communication: putting into practice, learning about and working with the body
Comprehension: gaining a deeper understanding of how the asanas, mudras, bandhas, visualization, and breathing techniques influence the prana
Completion: attaining a level of mastery of pranayama and accomplishing its general and specific aims

In the end, the reason why I gave this book four stars instead of five is that Iyengar's book still fulfills, for the most part, everything Rosen's beautiful text does. If you have the money though or really wish to gain a better foundation in your pranayamic practice, I highly suggest you purchase A Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama

[Chintushig Tumenbayar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Амьсгал авах ямар чухал болохыг хоромхон зуур амьсгаагаа түгжихэд бид мэдэрдэг шүү дээ. Үүнтэй ижил чухал хэрнээ огт анзаарагдахгүй амьдралын чанарыг дордуулж байдаг зүйл нь буруу амьсгал авах аж.

Бид ядарч бухимдсан үедээ буруу хэвшил амархан даддаг ба энэ нь цаашлаад урт хугацааны эрүүл мэндийн доголдол үүсгэдэг жишээ амьсгал авахдаа амаараа бус хамраараа авах, хамрын хоёр нүхийг ашиглан цээжэндээ бус хэвлий хүртлээ бүтэн амьсгаа авч удаанаар гаргах хэрэгтэй аж. Хамрын зүүн нүхээр ганц амьсгаа авбал баруун тархинд илүүтэй хүчил төрөгч очдог ба үүнээс үүдээд зөвхөн нэг тархиараа хэт харалган шийдвэрүүд гаргах явдал ихэсдэг. Мөн амьсгал авах нь бидний биеийн энергийн 30 хувийг ашиглан гүйцэтгэдэг тул илүү чанартай, efficient солилцоо хийх хэрэгтэй байна.

[Khinna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been adding daily yoga practice to my life. This book is a great introduction to pranayama practice (daily breathing) for beginners.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Rosen seems to use a lot of words, doesn't he, lot of extra and not necessarily enhancing material and comments, in my opinion. The Going further sub-sections were valuable in diagnosing and suggesting remedies for poor alignments. I also found the Notes and Glossary appendices interesting and helpful.

[Geoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, I tried, but I could not bring myself to finish it and I stalled on it too many times. The beginning starts out fine and the author does warn you ahead of time, that he is going to take you into pranayama slowly. Very slowly. Which I thought would be fine, but it turns out, that it really was, just to slow for me. Two other major gripes, is how wordy the author gets with his bodily descriptions. At times it seems necessary, and at other times, it just seems down right annoying. Be sure that you know your anatomy *very* well before getting to far into this book. There should have been a warning about this in the introduction or somewhere else at the beginning. Here is an example of what I mean, from page 98: "Spend a minute or two with arms resting on the floor, the heads of the humerus bones sinking deep into the scapulars. Next rest your index fingers on the manubrium, your pinkies on the xiphoid, and the middle and ring fingers on the body of the sternum. How much space is there between your sternum and your scapulas? Watch the fingertips rise and fall with inhales and the exhales. Then fan the entire bone away from its midline, push the manubrium up toward the head, the xiphoid down toward the navel. Remember that you're raising the top sternum not the bottom. Most beginners, when asked to open the chest, will poke the bottom sternum and the lower front ribs forward. This actually sinks the upper chest and overarches the lower back." If you enjoyed reading that paragraph, great, this is the book for you! However, if reading that makes your eyes glaze over (I've read it four or five times at least!), then this book might not be your cup of team. It's around here where I decided to give up and look for something a little more practical. I may come back to this book in the far future when my patience and anatomy experience have increased exponentially.

[sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe that only a very small portion of this book is actually useful and that you'll wade through hundreds of pages to find it. Your time is probably better spent on youtube. Regarding the claims I will wait for the double blind study results from non yoga practicing scientists. If you're interested in the history of Pranayama this might serve as an introduction. I was interested at one point but you can only digest so much of this unsubstantiated material before losing patience. Yes, let's all agree that breathing is important and that most of us breath sub-optimally. For years, while studying classical guitar, I over recruited my scalenes to breath under tension during multi-hour practice sessions and eventually it caught up to me in a painful, debilitating way. I did eventually learn to use my diaphragm and intercostals and relieve my neck issues but I didn't need elaborate single nostril breathing patterns and the like to get there. Look for American Posture Institute breathing practices for some simple, pragmatic advice and save weeks of time.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

The earlier parts of the book, devoted to cultivating awareness of the body and the breath, were helpful and interesting. However, when I got to the section on specific pranayama exercises, I found myself rebelling at the level of restriction. While I can see the benefits of controlling the breath to that level, I'm just not in a place in my life right now where I am interested in counting the length of my inhales and exhales. I'm pretty much in a "just breathe" mood, so I'm putting this book down for now.

[Quinns Pheh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inefficient breathing and emotional distress causes more pain. It is the result of a vicious cycle of poor breathing. However, you could learn pranayama to take control of your breath and state of mind. With patience and dedication, you will start taking better breaths, ensuring that your body and mind are energised throughout the day. The author also suggests to practice pranayama in pairs. A friend that you practice with, and to provide feedback about any changes in your breathing to improve efficiency.

[Allen Herring · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a manual on how to get in touch with one's body and how to breath. As someone who deals with ptsd-breathing, this book has been refreshing. It is a book that has become a reference manual for me. It is a book that encourages patience and practice. It is not a get-quick fix to your breath or your body; rather it is an honest travel guide on your interior journey. I will be reading this book and returning to the practices suggested - forever.

[Matt Kelland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't get on with this, though it may be something I come back to later. It's very detailed, with a lot of focus on the traditions and the lineage of the learning. There's a huge section on how to do Corpse pose, which is a great foundation but I lost interest. I feel like this is something I need to learn in person, not from a book.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers many aspects of Pranayama including some rather nice exercises for improving breathing

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very long and comprehensive guide to Pranayama. 6/10.

[Shelley Schanfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful guide which I will use for the next year deepening my pranayama practice.

[Emmanuel Ayeni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blink explains the rudiments of Yoga as regards breathing and how to balance

[PaviG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This book has so many great techniques and tips. I loved reading it

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will want to re-read this again!!

[Jo Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A requirement for my yoga teacher training program, this was very enlightening. It has enhanced my practice of yoga, as well as provided a good foundation for meditation practice.

[clay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed the Forward more so than the book itself. Even though it is chocked with valuable info, I felt as if the 'travel' analogy was a bit forced and the amount of props required for most of the exercises scared me off.

[Charlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Hatha-Yoga seeks to nourish and preserve the physical vehicle and transform it into a divine body (divya-deha) or diamond body (vajra-deha), "lustrous and brilliant with a divine smell and diseaseless," with miraculous powers (siddhi) of its own." p. 31

[Jobie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for beginners for breath work. It starts with witnessing your breath. He goes into great detail about this and the importance of it. He's also very funny. He's easy to read and has great drawings that help explain things.

[limber tender · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intelligent, aware guide to developing a safe, effective pranayama practice

[Bill]

Taking a crack at this one again from the library. I like what I had read before.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed information about the power of Pranayama. There are also references to Yoga Sutras and Upanashads, that I find useful.

[Keri English · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to get into, but worth it. Everything you never knew you were afraid of in regard to breathing!

[Jocelyn B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite books. It's time to re-read it!