Prāṇāyāma in Modern Yoga

Abstract

An ancient practice that can be traced to the vedic period, prāṇāyāma (lit. “breath control”) is subject to considerable change within modern yoga. These developments start around 1850 and gain more momentum in the 1880s. From this period on, the development of prāṇāyāma is driven by the influence of newly emerging translations and circulation of print media; alternative religion (transnational occultism in general and theosophy in particular); the transnational field of breath culture and hygiene; and a scientification of the practices. This had an impact as to how the practices were conceived and explained, but also on the practices themselves. However, more traditional aspects of prāṇāyāma as practiced within Pātañjalayoga, hatha yoga, and the sandhyā rite also persist. Along with these, concepts of prāṇa (“vital breath/force” sensu lato, “breath” sensu strictu) and the subtle body (particularly nāḍī physiology, chakra systems, and Kundalini arousal) are still crucial for how prāṇāyāma is explained and understood. In general, one can observe a tendency of practices becoming less austere and rigorous, but easier and more readily to be received by the general public. As a result of this dissemination, hatha yoga’s emphasis on rigorous breath retention (kumbhaka/kevala kumbhaka) is dwindling. Instead, concepts like “rhythmic breathing” (equalizing the length of the breath phases), “deep/full/complete breathing” (inflating/emptying the lungs to their fullest), and prolonged exhalation become the main focal point of modern prāṇāyāma. It is designed to foster health, mental and bodily poise, a still mind, and miraculous powers (siddhis). As in premodern yoga, a main objective of prāṇāyāma is to prepare one for higher meditational states of yoga that necessitate a healthy body, and even more so, a quiet mind. On this path, the (premodern and modern) yogi may acquire miraculous powers or even attain final liberation (kaivalya, mokṣa, jīvanmukti). In light of modern yoga’s overall emphasis on āsana (postures), prāṇāyāma loses some of its centrality and status that it had in premodern yoga. Nevertheless, it is a key practice of modern yoga, and its study fosters understanding of modern yoga’s key concepts like prāṇa, the subtle body, and the achievement and fine-tuning of higher yogic states. As in premodern yoga, prāṇāyāma never stands alone but is linked to various other aspects of the yogic path. Within modern yoga, its link to āsana practice becomes stronger (e.g., in Yogendra combining rhythmic breathing and āsana or in Pattabhi Jois’ Ashtanga Vinyasa flows). Prāṇāyāma’s importance in relation to meditational practices and chanting of mantras (e.g., oṃ, haṃsa) persists in the modern period.