Pranayama is the fourth limb of yoga and is usually translated as breath regulation or extension of life force. Prana in Sanskrit means “life force,” or the energy that flows through all living things. When we breathe, we are giving ourselves life. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali describes this breath work as practices that regulate the inhale, the exhale, and the pauses between them. Breathing in life force from the environment, sharing life force with the space around you, and letting yourself be sustained by it.
For me, Pranayama is a calming sense of control. I think the link between out breath and our nervous system is fascinating. Breathing, like blinking, is something we can do consciously or subconsciously. It can happen automatically, or we can control it. There are so many automatic processes happening within us, and yet, we have the ability to control how we take in the air in our external environment to influence our internal environment. We can break up the automaticity of the autonomic nervous system. Maybe I’m just a nerd, but I think that is so cool.
What Pranayama Looks Like in Therapy
Breath is one of the few parts of the nervous system we can influence, and it is also directly related to our heart rate. When we are anxious, the breath often becomes shallow and fast. It happens subconsciously and automatically - our senses perceives a stimulus, our brain interprets it as a threat, our body responds by taking in more air to oxygenate the blood to fuel the muscles for fight-or-flight so we can stay safe and survive. We naturally start hyperventilating.
Slowing the breath down, especially by lengthening the exhale, is associated in research with greater parasympathetic (rest-and-restore, or rest-and-digest) activity. Slower breathing = slower heart rate = a sense of safety.
In therapy, Pranayama is always offered as an option, never a requirement. We might use simple techniques such as box breathing, trying a steady breath with a longer exhale, or other variations depending on what the client is experiencing.
Case Example
A conservatory-trained musician came to therapy because her performance anxiety had become unmanageable. Before performances, her hands shook, her chest felt tight, and she reported that her mind went blank. Between performances, she contemplated quitting, thinking she wasn’t cut out for live performance despite loving her craft. Like most of my clients, she wanted tangible takeaways that could help her in-the-moment while we took time in therapy to explore deeper fears and worries.
I taught her various Pranayama strategies - Lion’s Breath, box breathing, and alternate-nostril breathing, to name a few - to see what resonated with her. In session, she noticed an immediate shift in her body, including a sense of calm that encouraged her to practice Pranayama on her own between sessions. Together, we developed a specific version of ratio breathing that coincided with an 8-count that she could practice before, during, and after rehearsals while keeping time in her head with the musical pieces she was preparing to perform.
Try This
Breathe in for a count of four, hold for a count of four, breathe out for a count of four, and hold for a count of four. Repeat for two minutes. This is called box breathing. If that feels too intense, just count to three for the inhalation, exhalation, and holds. Notice how your body responds. Once the two minutes are completed, take some time to notice how you feel, both physically and emotionally. Did anything change? How do you feel about what might have changed?
Next Steps
Learn more about how breath work fits into yoga-informed psychotherapy:
If performance anxiety is affecting your work, music, or daily life, reach out by sending me a message: