Breath Control

Breath Control & Yoga Pranayama Book – Breath of Fire Breathing Exercise – Ch 1

Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama

Yoga Breathing Exercise #1: The Breath of Fire

 

Free Online Yoga Video of Breath of Fire

 

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Video is from the article: Breath of Fire Video – Free Online Yoga Videos


What Is The Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:

The first Yoga breathing exercise we will explore lies at the heart of Kundalini Yoga practice, it is the  legendary Breath of Fire Yoga Pranayama.

As mentioned above this breathing exercise is absolutely essential to the practice of Kundalini Yoga.  The roots of this pranayama are impossible to trace but I would like to thank my teacher Ravi Singh under whose expert guidance I learned this technique.

Breath Control

Tools Required for Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:   

Just your nose :-D.

Benefits of Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:

Primary:

  • Quickly oxygenates your blood, thus helping the body detoxify itself and remove waste more effectively.
  • Builds lung capacity and helps purify the respiratory system.
  • Generates heat and increases your level of energy by activating the energy flows in your body.
  • Syncronizes your entire system under one rhythm, thus promoting greater internal harmony and health.

Secondary:

  • Balances and strengthens the Nervous System.
  • Magnifies the benefits of exercises done in conjunction with this breath.
  • When done forcefully, the pulsating of the diaphragm massages the internal organs, thus improving the digestive system.

Cautions for Practicing Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:

  • If you feel dizzy when practicing Breath of Fire, you should stop and substitute normal breathing.  If you suffer from vertigo, you should use caution in practicing this breathing exercise.
  • If you are menstruating you should not practice Breath of Fire, use Long Deep Breathing instead.
  • You should be careful practicing Breath of Fire if you have high blood pressure, heart disease or suffer from stroke or epilepsy.  Also, if you have acid or heat related gastric issues such as ulcers you should use caution.

How To Do Basic Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:

  • To practice this breathing exercise sit up in a comfortable position.
  • Elongate your spine upwards, lengthen your neck and subtly bring your chin back and in like a soldier at attention.  This will align the spine with the back of your head.
  • Close your eyes.
  • Rest your hands in any comfortable position.
  • Relax your stomach muscles.
  • Now begin to breathe rapidly through the nose with equal emphasis on the inhalation and exhalation.  It will be like very fast sniffing.  Keep the breath shallow, just at the tip of the nose.  Proceed at a comfortable pace and establish a steady rhythm.  Pay no special attention to the chest or diaphragm other that staying relaxed.  You will find the stomach pulses on its own in rhythm to the breath.  That’s it, continue for 1 minute.

How To Do Intermediate Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:

  • Perform the breathing at a faster pace.
  • Increase the duration of the exercise to 3 minutes

How To Do Advanced Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:

  • Build up the pace and power with which you do the breathing.
  • Build up the time for this pranayama to 11 minutes.

Secret of Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama:

So the trick question is, “How many breaths are you taking when doing the breath of fire yoga pranayama”?  This will be of some special concern to those who believe in the idea that each of us is born with a preset number of breaths and once we finish our quota – the fat lady sings.  So for those folks it would be rather alarming to practice this exercise regularly, as they would be drastically reducing their life span – but, thankfully they need not worry.  The beauty of this breathing exercise, aside from its lengthy list of benefits, is that it registers to the brain as only 1 breath.  So put your worries aside and enjoy the practice of this pranayama which I have found to be one of the real gems of Kundalini Yoga.

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137 replies
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  1. salman
    salman says:

    I am doing BOF from one month but seeing some other videos on youtube has made me confused.
    i increased my timing uptil 11 min by ur method but then i knew it is must to pull in and out navel point during exhalation and inhalation respectively.when i tried to do it like this way,i’m barely able to do it for half min and some time one min.also i feel pain in my stomach muscles.
    whats wrong with this technique ?
    is BOF an abdominal breathing exercise really ?

    Reply
  2. Joe
    Joe says:

    I had never practice yoga before, but really want to do it… What kind of yoga do you recomend for a 43 man, who has suffer a femur fracture 2 years ago (but i usually run 5 miles weekly now) and with no other health problems?… I also feel that I lost my “internal path in live” leading to a not armonius enviroment in my family and a “stagnation” in my life

    Reply
  3. Trupti Mehta
    Trupti Mehta says:

    Paddy,

    If there are no heat issues that is fine to do. 1000 Kapalbhati is also okay.
    Listen to your body carefully and see how you feel. Increasing to 15+ mins is fine as long as you feel fine doing so….

    Regards,
    Trupti

    Reply
  4. Paddy
    Paddy says:

    Dear Anmol
    I do breath of fire for 30 minutes daily.15 in morning and 15 mins in evening.Just wondering if that is too much?.I dont feel
    tired but feel energised.Also do 1000 kabalabhati pranayama breaths daily and was wondering if i increase the amount of kabalabhati is that wise to do so.
    Best Regards
    Paddy

    Reply
  5. Trupti Mehta
    Trupti Mehta says:

    Jeremy,

    You can do breath of fire with most exercises – in general the answer would be yes. However it can be tough with poses that require constriction of the stomach e.g. Bow Pose etc. but there are many who still try :-)

    All the best,
    Trupti

    Reply
  6. Trupti Mehta
    Trupti Mehta says:

    Sendaji,

    Yes, it is okay to do the exercises together and after your jog in the park.

    As for the heat issues – you may want to do Sheetali pranayam and have an anti-pitta diet to reduce the heat – if it continues to be a problem.

    All the best,
    Trupti

    Reply
  7. Senda AP
    Senda AP says:

    Hi Anmol Mehta Ji
    I came across your website while i was desperately looking for yoga teachers close my locality. luckily i found your website. I started the BREATH OF FIRE about a week back and i probably think due to the excess heat it creates..i had a lil problem…everything is ok now. i have started CHAKRA YOGA with BREATH OF FIRE is it ok to do both at the same time? and also i do these exercise after jogging for a while in a park is that ok?
    Thank you very much in advance…have a great day:)

    Reply
  8. Jeremy
    Jeremy says:

    Hello Anmol!,
    I have a question.I saw that the breath of fire technique is used also with certain hatha yoga postures,can i use it for all postures as well? is this recommended?
    Thank you!!

    Reply
  9. Anmol Mehta
    Anmol Mehta says:

    Hi Candy,

    The hardest part of Breath of Fire, is getting the inhalation and exhalation to be equal and to allow the stomach to pulse on it’s own, by concentrating only a the fast “sniffing” at the tip of the nose.

    Too much inhalation or exhalation, will then require you to stop, reset and start over. This is fine as it takes time to get the hang of this pranayama.

    So keep an eye on the 2 aspects I mentioned above, and it will come in time.

    Best,
    Anmol

    Reply

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] Hold this posture doing Breath of Fire or Long Deep Breathing.  You will feel it working your lower back, arms, shoulders, neck and hamstrings. […]

  2. […] For our purposes I want you to practice this pose using powerful Breath of Fire.  This will further increase the benefits of Downward Facing Dog for nerve fitness and Pranic Power.  In addition, if your arms or legs tire, take a break, continue the Breath of Fire if you can and then come into the pose once again. You may repeat that several time if necessary. […]

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  4. Increase Your Energy in A Number of Natural Ways - SweetTalk on the Spot says:

    […] Breathe Fire. If, like most people, you breathe shallowly, carbon dioxide may build up in your blood and make you drowsy. The Breath of Fire, a yoga breathing technique, flushes out excess carbon dioxide, replacing it with energizing oxygen. “This [exercise] will wake you right up.” Breathing through your nose, inhale deeply and then exhale in 20 to 30 short, rapid bursts, drawing in your stomach muscles to force out each burst. Repeat three times, taking a few breaths between each cycle so you don’t get dizzy. […]

  5. Plank Pose Is the Yoga Pose of the Week (source: About) | Yoga Beginners says:

    […] Breath of Fire – Powerful Kundalini Yoga Breathing Exercise | Free … […]

  6. Meditation Techniques For Beginners » Blog Archive says:

    […] The Pranayama (breathing exercise) used for most of this set is the Breath of Fire, which is described in Breath Control & Yoga Pranayama Book – Breath of Fire Breathing Exercise – Ch 1.  Here is also a video demonstration of Breath of Fire Breathing Exercise to help make sure you doing it correctly. […]

  7. […] Hold this position, with normal breathing or do Breath of Fire while holding this pose. […]

  8. […] You will also need to learn the Breath of Fire breathing exercise, which is taught in the following video:  Breath of Fire Kundalini Yoga Pranayama.   This breathing exercise is a fundamental breathing technique in Kundalini Yoga and is used in conjunction with the yoga poses in the set below.  If at any time you feel it is difficult to keep up with breath of fire during the exercise, please switch to long deep breathing or normal breathing instead. […]

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