Pranayama is a central discipline of Patanjali’s Raja Yoga (Asthanga) and of Hatha Yoga. It occupies a pivotal position between basic practices (like behavior deconditioning, purification and poses) and more spiritual practices.

Pranayama is a universe on its own which has several facets. The word itself can be broken down in two ways:

• Prana – Yama: breath control;
• Prana – Ayama: expansion of Prana.

This discipline regroups several physical and subtle techniques to reach higher states of consciousness.

This new YogĀrkana exploration is split in three parts:

• Preparation for Pranayama: exposes the theoretical and practical bases;
• Techniques of Pranayama: explores the different techniquese;
• Practice of Pranayama: proposes ways to integrate these techniques into a regular practice.