Table Of Content“Richard Rosen’s new book The Yoga of Breath is a welcome addition to
the few pranayama literature issued in the past decade or so; it will help
dedicated yogis keep their spiritual instruments properly strung and finely
tuned.”
—Yoga Journal
“Richard Rosen has written a beautiful and substantial work on pranayama.
It is at once modern and classical. Brilliantly engaging and accessible, it is a
guide to practice that can become a companion for life. I recommend it
unequivocally to students and teachers alike.”
—Patricia Walden, cofounder of the B. K. S. Iyengar Yoga Studio
“Pranayama is a vitally important part of traditional Hatha-Yoga. Richard
Rosen has rendered a most valuable yeoman service by making this widely
neglected practice accessible to Western practitioners. I highly recommend
this work.”
—George Feuerstein, Ph.D., author of The Shambhala Guide to Yoga
“Richard Rosen acts as our pranayama tour guide by honestly sharing his
own travels, both inward and outward. And he has done it the way all great
teachers do: He points to the map and then makes sure we go on our own
journey and don't just keep looking at his finger. The Yoga of Breath shows
us how to find time, how to work with our mind, cultivate patience,
experience more spaciousness, and be playful—all that by breathing in and
breathing out. I'm inspired!”
—Cyndi Lee, director of the Om Yoga Center
ABOUT THE BOOK
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.
RICHARD ROSEN is a graduate of the Iyengar Institute of San Francisco
and has been teaching yoga since 1987. He is a contributing editor at Yoga
Journal magazine and director of and one of the principal teachers at the
Piedmont Yoga Studio (cofounded by Rodney Yee), in Oakland, California.
Many of Rosen’s practice instructions and technical teachings are posted on
the Piedmont Yoga Studio website, www.piedmontyoga.com.
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THE YOGA OF
BREATH
A Step-by-Step Guide to Pranayama
RICHARD ROSEN
Foreword by Rodney Yee
Illustrations by Kim Fraley
SHAMBHALA
Boston & London
2011
To: Laura and Taleen
We know that it is the search that gives meaning to any find and that one often
has to travel a long way in order to arrive at what is near.
—José Saramago, All the Names
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Horticultural Hall
300 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
www.shambhala.com
© 2002 by Richard Rosen Cover design by Jim Zaccaria Cover photograph by Laura Shekerjian All rights
reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rosen, Richard.
The yoga of breath: a step-by-step guide to Pranayama / Richard Rosen; foreword by Rodney Yee.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
eISBN 978-0-83482578-9
ISBN 978-1-57062-889-4
1. Breathing exercises. 2. Yoga, Hatha. I. Title.
RA781.7.R665 2002
613.7′046—dc21
2002017657
CONTENTS
Foreword by Rodney Yee
Acknowledgments
Colloquy of the Vital Breaths (Prana-Samvada)
Introduction: Lions, Elephants, Tigers
PART ONE Clarification
1 The Yoga of Breathing
2 Shining Forth
3 Obstacles and Helpers (Antaraya and Pari-karman)
4 Props
5 Practice Tips
6 Pranayama Journal
PART TWO Cooperation
7 The Witness (Sakshin)
8 Corpse: Introduction to Shavasana
9 Mapping the “Gross Body” in Corpse
10 Quieting the Sense Organs in Corpse
11 Qualities of the Breath: Time, Texture, Space, and Rest
12 Unusual Breathing
PART THREE Comprehension
13 Reclining Supports
14 Posture (Asana)
15 Chair Seat
16 Traditional Seats
PART FOUR Completion
17 Tools (Upaya)
18 Conqueror’s Breath (Ujjayi Pranayama)
19 Against-the-Grain Breath (Viloma Pranayama)
20 Locks and Retention (Bandha and Kumbhaka)
APPENDIX 1 Practice Schedule Outline
APPENDIX 2 Breathing with a Friend
APPENDIX 3 Yoga Props
Notes
Glossary
Recommended Reading
Index of Practices
E-mail Sign-Up
FOREWORD
A COOL BREEZE on the sweat of your brow on a hot summer day—that’s how I
feel every morning when I take my first sips of conscious air. At this point it
takes very little time for this feeling to drop me into a place of delight and
wonder. When did these observations of my breath become such a consoling
friend? For as I tell my students and friends, it is my pranayama practice, not my
asana or meditation practice, that is most precious to me. Every day for the last
fifteen years, I have started my day with pranayama. I reserve time for my
pranayama practice in the morning no matter where I am or what I’m doing—
whether I’m on an airplane or my kids are running in and out of the room—to
completely detach from my surroundings and go inward. I look forward to it
more than I look forward to a good night’s sleep. It is both a great solace and a
wonderful way to understand who I am today before I enter into relationship
with the outside world.
Can I recall the first time I folded a bolster and lay down under the
meticulous instructions of my yoga teacher? I was wondering why the teacher
was being so fussy. I was wondering why the blanket had to be so neat and my
body so symmetrical. I felt as if I were being called to some secret order and
blindfolded as I was being led to the sanctuary. And when I actually began going
into the realm of the breath, my mind didn’t have the steadiness that was
required to notice any of the subtleties of my breath. But I still had miraculous
effects now and again, which were enough to lead me on. I remember ending up
in some states of mind of ethereal peace and states of my body of infinite space
that seemed as if they were from a different galaxy.
Then one day my pranayama teacher looked me in the eyes and said—not
with sternness but in a matter-of-fact tone—“Either take this practice on daily or
let it go.” So at that point I began my daily practice of pranayama, due partly to
my trust of my teacher and partly to a personal intuition that told me this was a
vital practice for me. With each ensuing year my fondness of the practice has
deepened because it is so enticing to be led by my breath instead of my mind, for
