Which Pranayama When?

Play with your practice to figure out in advance which pranayama help you at what time

I am often asked about pranayama (breath-energy practices) for specific circumstances. Each of the pranayama work with different energies. Some are better than others for helping us create space for skillful choices in different circumstances. For example, if I am already low energy and also stuck there, choosing a further energy quieting and pooling breath like Chandra Bhedana or Sama Vrtti would mire me further, not help me sort myself out and give me energy to make a needed movement out of my stuckness. I find that Sheethali and then Simhasana help, because they change my focus in my being, bringing awareness up and away from my stuck low energy and then outwardly direct myself, expelling some of the stuckness. These are not following any particular pranayama prescriptions and I am not a master of pranayama, just a regular practitioner. Let me know which pranayama are most supportive for you in different circumstances. We will vary because we are different people. Here’s a place from my practice to perhaps try things and find out how they work for you.

Tired

but twitchy - Sama Vrtti (Equal Shelters/Sides)

to rest - Chandra Bhedana (Moon Energy Breath)

to reactivate - Surya Bhedana (Sun Energy Breath) or Kapalabhatti (Skull Polishing Breath)

flat - Plavini (Floating Petals Breath)

Overstimulated

anxious - Sheethali (Cooling Winds Breath) or Sama Vrtti

irritated - Sitkhari (Hissing Breath)

revulsive - Nadi Shodana (alternate nostril breathing)

overly full of self - Nadi Shodana

need to release - Simhasana (Lion’s Breath)

Sad

angry sad - Simhasana followed by Kapalabhatti, then Nadi Shodana

melancholy - Plavini, then Surya Bhedana

grieving - Dirgha Pranayama (Long Breath) with Ujayii (Victorious Ocean Sounds) or Plavini, then Chandra Bhedana

stuck in sad - Sheethali, then Simhasana

Cranky

diffuse cranky - Plavini, then Nadi Shodana

over focused cranky - Sitkhari then Dirgha Pranayama with Ujayii

curious about why we’re cranky - Sama Vrtti to allow space for observation

Restless

Plavini, then Nadi Shodana

Unsure

Dirgha Pranayama with or without Ujayii

Understimulated

Kapalabhatti or Surya Bhedana

Foggy

Kapalabhatti, then Nadi Shodana or Plavini