Breath & Meditation

Pranayama — Breathing on Purpose

A few simple breathing practices that do more for a stressed system than any pose.

Katrin Aas · 20 March 2026 · Velaiva, Turku

Pranayama is the practice of shaping the breath deliberately — lengthening the exhale, balancing the nostrils, breathing into the lower ribs. It is the least visible part of yoga and often the most immediately useful.

How to practise it

1. Extended exhale: breathe in for four, out for six. Do this for two minutes to settle the system.
2. Box breath: in for four, hold four, out four, hold four. Steadying before something stressful.
3. Alternate nostril: close one nostril, breathe; switch. Balancing and quietly focusing.
4. Low-rib breathing: send the breath sideways into the lower ribs, not up into the shoulders.
5. Never strain. Pranayama is done at the edge of ease, never past it.

Common mistakes

• Forcing long breaths before the body is ready, which creates tension instead of calm.
• Breathing high into the chest and shoulders when stressed — the opposite of what helps.
• Practising retention aggressively. Holds should feel comfortable, not like a competition.

The breath is the one automatic system you can also steer by hand.

In the studio, and at home

Two minutes of extended exhale before bed, or before a hard conversation, is pranayama doing its quiet job — no mat, no class, just the breath you already carry.

The breath is the one automatic system you can also steer by hand. Learn a couple of simple practices and you carry a portable off-switch for the stress response.