The final part of The Witness Space’s look at a 2018 narrative review of yogic breathing will examine some of the research conducted on its health benefits. (This post is purely to inform, not suggest medical treatment.)
First, what effects does it have on cardiovascular diseases? Practising sukha pranayama for five minutes at six breaths per minute – which would be something like inhale four seconds, hold two seconds, exhale four seconds – saw a “significant reduction” in heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure.
Pravana pranayama – a new one to me, consisting of sitting cross-legged, thumb and index fingers connected in gyan mudra, and focusing on both the breath and mentally saying “Om” (the seed mantra of the universe) – had much the same effect in a different study.
Another study showed an immediate fall in HR, SBP and pulse pressure in hypertensive subjects following 27 rounds of breathing through the left nostril. And six weeks’ unspecified pranayama training combined with antihypertensive meds reduced blood pressure significantly compared to the meds on their own.
Then there’s yogic breathing and respiratory disorders. Asthmatics breathing out for twice as long as breathing in through a device called a Pink City Lung exerciser (which sadly does not appear to be pink) for 15 minutes a day for two weeks showed more improved lung functions than a control group.
One study reported that two (unspecified) five-minute yogic breathing exercises a day helped control cigarette cravings.
And diabetics practising a “comprehensive yogic breathing program”, called Sudarshan Kriya Yoga – see below, taken from this study – had a non-significant trend to better glycemic control, but a significant improvement in quality of life.
Ujjayi Breaths, also known as Victorious Breath or Ocean Breath, is a slow and deep breathing technique. The sound is produced by a slight contraction of the muscles of the larynx and partial closure of the glottis. This creates resistance in the airway and allows the airflow rate to be controlled so that the breathing cycle can be extended. It is a technique of slow, deep breathing with a frequency of 4–6 breaths per minute.
Three-step pranayama - breathing in a certain ratio of inhalations, holding the breath and exhaling. For each cycle, the position of the arms and the number of breaths are determined. Duration about 10 min.
Bhastrika or "Bellows Breath" - very energetic, fast, intense breaths, 15–20 cycles. The breaths are combined with a quick movement of the arms up and down. The movement of the arms are used to increase the force and depth of exhalation and exhalation. Duration is about 5 min.
Immediately before the Sudarshan Kriya (SK), the “Om” is chanted three times with prolonged breath.
Rhythmic breathing technique (Sudarshan Kriya): during this technique there are no pauses between exhalation and inhalation, breaths are rhythmic and repeated in three different rhythms: slow 8–20 breath cycles per minute, medium 40–50 breath cycles and rapid 60–80 breath per one cycle.
Slow pranayama breathing helped manage perception of pain in one study, and improved sleep quality for chemotherapy patients in another.
The authors noted one case of a collapsed lung in someone practising kapalabhati, also known as breath of fire. The healthy 29-year-old woman was taken to hospital from a class where she was learning how to teach yoga.
Bonus clip
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