Pranayama Reduces Inflammation

Healing Breath: Pranayama Reduces Inflammation

Published on February 6, 2017

Breath control techniques are often left out or minimized in modern yoga classes as they can feel awkward and weird. Traditionally, pranayama was practiced to cultivate a vibrant experience of energy and to purify the body and mind—but now science has discovered several positive effects that yogic breathing techniques have on physical health.

In this study, a team of researchers in South Carolina measured the effect of pranayama by looking at participants’ saliva samples to track inflammation biomarkers. They chose a pranayama technique outlined in a text that isn’t as well known to many yogis in the West: Thirumoolar’s “Thirumanthiram.” Despite the fact that he is widely considered a contemporary of Patanjali, the exact dates and details of Thirumoolar’s life are not known. He wrote the “Thirumanthiram,” a collection of over 3000 poems that lay out guidelines for topics related to ethics, yoga, and devotional exercises, around the 10th century CE or earlier. While other techniques and texts have been employed for scientific studies of yoga, the “Thirumanthiram” has not, making it valuable to researchers whose goal is to add to the existing body of knowledge on yoga practices and health.

Researchers chose Poem 568 for this study. This poem, nested in a larger section on pranayama, details a straightforward alternate-nostril breathing exercise.

568: Puraka Kumbhaka Resaka Alternated–Cleansing of Nadis

Purakam is to inhale by left nostril matras six and ten

Kumbhakam is to retain that breath for matras four and sixty

Resakam is to exhale thereafter for matras two and thirty

Thus alternate from left to right and right to left

With Kumbhakam in between.

The title of the poem refers to “nadis,” points in the body through which prana, or life energy, flows. For devotees and practitioners, this exercise would be used to cleanse the body at the physical and subtle levels. On top of that, the text claims that practicing breath control “makes the body light,” “gives supreme strength,” “purif[ies] the body,” and “leads to immortality” and “mastery of death.”

Thirumoolar outlines three parts in this pranayama: “Puraka,” the inhalation technique, “Kumbhaka,” the breath retainment technique, and “Resaka,” the exhalation technique. The matras the poem refers to tell us how to count the breath: a matra is the smallest rhythmic unit in a particular rhythmic pattern of music, roughly the length of a syllable. For its modern-day participants, the study ascribed two counts to an inhalation, eight counts to a hold, and four counts to an exhalation. Participants chanted the sound of “Om” and then practiced this breath technique for 10 minutes in two cycles throughout the session.

The researchers measured biomarkers in saliva that corresponded to inflammation in the body, and found that there was, indeed, a decrease in multiple biomarkers at the end of the study. Inflammation has been connected to ailments from cancer to depression, and recognizing inflammation early is quickly becoming a key part of illness prevention and treatment.

Researchers, who found that the results of the study match others focused on breath, movement, and mindfulness techniques outlined in yogic texts, add to a growing body of modern scientific knowledge focused on ancient yogic practices. These studies have found that pranayama and asana lower stress, reduce blood pressure, alleviate chronic pain, change metabolism and insulin secretion, and even have calming, healing effects on others.

It’s not up for debate: Incorporating breath awareness and simple pranayama techniques into daily life has benefits beyond what practitioners see on the surface. It can change everything from physiological processes to the effects we have on people around us. The technique outlined in the “Thirumanthiram” is just one of the many simple, accessible methods of practicing conscious, controlled breathing. I invite you to try this method, or select another one to practice for just a few minutes every day (a great list is here).

Pranayama can be challenging for beginners, so be sure to check out this article for tips as you incorporate breath control into your life and practice with more regularity. Do you practice any pranayama techniques? What effect have they had on your life?

Share with

Friends

Our Latest

Yoga Articles
  • Best Time to Meditate

    Finding the Best Time to Meditate: Tips and Advice on When to Sit

  • Purusharthas

    Purusharthas: The Four Goals of Life

  • Trimurti

    Trimurti: The Hindu Trinity of Brahma Vishnu Shiva

  • Brahman

    Brahman: Definition, Meaning, and Philosophy

  • Yoga Nidra

    Yoga Nidra: Meaning, Benefits, Videos and Tips

  • Living Like a Yogi

    17 Rules for Living Like a Yogi

  • heart opening yoga poses

    The Best 16 Heart Opening Yoga Poses

  • Negative Energy in a Person

    18 Clear Signs of Negative Energy in a Person

Remove Ads with a

Premium Membership

Viewing ads supports YogaBasics, which allows us to continue bringing you quality yoga content. Sign up for a premium membership to remove all ads and enjoy uninterrupted access to the best yoga resources on the web.

Explore More

Yoga TipsAdviceArticlesPracticesBasicsTechniques

  • Yoga practice community

    How to Find Your Practice Community

  • Five Vayus

    The Five Vayus

  • Forearm Yoga Pose

    The Best 7 Yoga Poses To Strengthen Your Forearm

  • Yoga astrology element

    Yoga and Astrology: Find the Best Practices for Your Sign

  • yoga goals

    26 Yoga Goals to Expand and Deepen Your Practice

  • yoga stretching exercise

    Yoga vs. Stretching: What’s the Difference?

  • writing a yoga journal

    How to Start a Yoga Journal

  • Yoga for Flexibility: Top Tips and Best Poses

    Yoga for Flexibility: Top Tips and Best Poses

  • practicing a yoga lifestyle

    13 Key Tips for Creating a Successful Yoga Lifestyle

3 responses to “Healing Breath: Pranayama Reduces Inflammation”

  1. americanlamboard.com Avatar
    americanlamboard.com

    The basis for all deep breathing practices originates in the science of yoga, specifically the branch of yoga known as pranayama. The word

  2. Manikandan Avatar
    Manikandan

    But I don’t see thirumanthiram had told to breathe in the right nostril. I believe the right nostril is for carbon dioxide and how one can breathe through right nostril and make kumbakam ?
    I almost read and understood that in the pranayama chapter, I couldn’t findout the that the inhaling through right nostril is untold.
    I think there was a misconception in reading the end of the line in that particular poem.

  3. Vijay kumar Avatar
    Vijay kumar

    Inhale in left nostril and exhale through right nostril. 1:4:2 is ratio of thirumoolar pranayama ,hale:holding:exhale.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ali McGhee Avatar
About the author
Ali went to her first yoga class eight years ago and never looked back. She completed a 200-hr teacher training at the Baptiste-affiliated Breathe Yoga in Pittsford, NY, and a subsequent Baptiste Level One Training. She’s studied Restorative Yoga at the Asheville Yoga Center, and teaches Baptiste Yoga at Go Yoga in Asheville, NC. An eternal student, Ali and soaks up knowledge wherever she can get it, particularly when it comes to yoga philosophy, mythology and history. Ali has a PhD in English literature from the University of Rochester, and serves as a contributor and editor for Sensible Reason, a millennial arts and culture magazine (sensiblereason.com), and The Asheville Grit (ashevillegrit.com). When she’s not writing or teaching, Ali takes her yoga off the mat by constantly feeding her imagination and her sense of curiosity, primarily through cooking, hiking and traveling.
Yoga Basics