Pranayama

Pranayama is the yogic practice of controlling the breath in Hinduism. It is described in Hindu texts such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita; in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, it is one of the eight limbs of yoga. In classical yoga, the breath is associated with the life energy or prana.

Later, in Hatha yoga texts, it meant the complete suspension of breathing.
The pranayama practices in modern yoga as exercise, such as in Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga, differ radically from those of the Hatha yoga tradition, often using the breath in synchrony with movements.

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Source: Wikipedia · Image: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0

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