The 8 Limbs of Yoga - Pranayama, the 4th Limb
The Eight Limbs of Yoga - 4th Limb: Pranayama
We’ve previously explored the first three limbs of yoga;
1st Limb: Yama – Ethical guidelines or moral disciplines (how we relate to the world)
2nd Limb: Niyama – Personal observances or self-discipline (how we relate to ourselves)
3rd Limb: Asana - Physical postures that we practice in classes
Today, we’re diving into the 4th limb of yoga: Pranayama, the art of conscious breathing.
What is Pranayama?
Pranayama comes from the Sanskrit words prana (lifeforce or vital energy) and ayama (extension or control). It’s the practice of regulating the breath to cultivate physical vitality, mental clarity, and emotional calm.
Pranayama is the bridge that connects the body, mind, and spirit both on and off the mat.
We spend time in class focusing on our breath, during our grounding meditation, the practice of flowing with the breath and during Savasana but there are also ways of practicing Pranayama off the mat and between your yoga classes.
The breath is so much more powerful than we even realise and yet it’s something we can easily just take for granted and not even notice.
The breath is the quiet grounding presence between body and mind, a gentle rhythm that soothes the nervous system, softens the edges of our emotions, and guides us home to stillness.
With each conscious inhale, we invite space and clarity and with every exhale, we release tension we didn’t even realise we were holding.
In this simple act of breathing with awareness, we remember our innate ability to return to balance, again and again. A powerful yet soft return to the peace that is always within us.
With everything that’s going on in the world and the busy lives we lead, using the breath as our anchor becomes a place of safety and a gentle homecoming.
How to Practice Pranayama Off the Mat
You don’t need a yoga class to experience the benefits of conscious breathing. Here are a few simple ways to integrate Pranayama into your daily life:
Morning Reset: Before getting out of bed, place one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly and take 5 slow, deep breaths, noticing your abdomen rise and fall. Inhale and filly your belly with the breathe and then exhale noticing your hands drawing inwards.
Stress Pause: Whenever you feel tension, try box breathing: inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4. Repeat 4 times.
Energy Boost: If you need a little energy boost, sit tall and practice Kapalabhati (skull-shining breath) with 20 rapid exhalations to invigorate your body and mind.
Mindful Transitions: Use the breath to anchor yourself during daily tasks, commuting, queuing for your coffee/lunch, or before a meeting, by taking a few slow, intentional breaths. Visualise the cold breath entering your body and the warm breath leaving.
Gentle Homecoming: Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth, audibly sighing it out. Let the exhale be longer than the inhale and as you inhale, think of gathering yourself in presence and as you exhale, imagine letting go of all the tension and everything that came before this breath.
If you’ve practiced with me, you’ll know that this is my favourite technique to practice at the beginning and end of our classes. It’s such a beautiful way to come home to ourselves.
Making Space for the New Energy: Take a deep inhale and then exhale slowly and keep exhaling until there is nothing left. Exhaling fully clears out the old, making space for the new, both physiologically and energetically. It’s like emptying a cup before filling it again.
The science behind the need to exhale fully: As we all know, when we breathe, we’re not just taking in oxygen, we’re also expelling carbon dioxide (CO₂), a natural by-product of metabolism. The balance between these two gases is what keeps our blood chemistry stable and our cells functioning optimally.
If we don’t exhale fully, several things can happen:
Carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and bloodstream.
This can disrupt the delicate balance of oxygen and CO₂, making it harder for oxygen to move from your lungs into your blood.
Gas exchange becomes less efficient.
Oxygen enters the bloodstream in the alveoli (tiny air sacs in the lungs). When you only take shallow breaths or don’t exhale completely, some of the “old” air stays trapped, reducing the space for fresh, oxygen-rich air to reach those alveoli.
The diaphragm doesn’t reset fully.
A complete exhale helps the diaphragm rise to its natural resting position. This “resets” your breathing cycle, allowing your next inhale to be deeper and more oxygen-rich.
Nervous system regulation.
A slow, full exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system (the body’s “rest and digest” response), which lowers heart rate, reduces stress hormones, and promotes calm and clarity.
If you’ve ever noticed how much calmer and more grounded you feel after our yoga classes, it’s not just down to the movement, it’s also because you’ve spent intentional time with the breath; your lifeforce energy.
Even just a few minutes a day of mindful breathing can help you feel grounded, focused, and more present in every moment 💫
Next time, we’ll explore the fifth limb: Pratyahara, (withdrawal of the senses) - something I talk about a lot during our grounding and savasana meditations ✨🧘♀️🧘♂️