Pranayama in the context of "Hatha yoga"

Kriya Yoga (Sanskrit: क्रिया योग) is a yoga system which consists of multiple levels of pranayama, mantra, and mudra, intended to rapidly accelerate spiritual development and engender a profound state of tranquility and God-communion. It is described by its practitioners as an ancient yoga system revived in modern times by Lahiri Mahasaya, who claimed to be initiated by a guru, Mahavatar Babaji, circa 1861 in the Himalayas. Kriya Yoga was brought to international awareness by Paramahansa Yogananda's 1946 book Autobiography of a Yogi and through Yogananda's introductions of the practice to the West from 1920.

Conscious breathing encompasses techniques directing awareness toward the breathing process, serving purposes from improving respiration to building mindfulness. In martial arts like tai chi and qigong, breathing exercises are said to strengthen diaphragm muscles and protect organs, with reverse breathing being a common method. Meditation traditions, including yoga and Buddhist meditation, emphasize breath control. Yoga's pranayama is believed by practitioners to elevate life energies, while Buddhist vipassanā uses anapanasati for mindfulness of breathing.

In music, circular breathing enables wind instrument players to produce a continuous tone. Singers, too, rely on breath control through consciously managed breathing stages. The Buteyko method in physical therapy focuses on breathing exercises for conditions like asthma, emphasizing nasal breathing and relaxation. In psychology, Integrative Breathing combines various techniques to address specific needs, particularly in cases of drug abuse disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ashtanga yoga (Sanskrit: अष्टाङ्गयोग, romanized: aṣṭāṅgayoga, "eight limbs of yoga") is Pātañjali's classification of classical yoga, as set out in his Yoga Sūtras. He defined the eight limbs as yama (abstinences), niyama (observances), āsana (postures), prāṇāyāma (breath control), pratyāhāra (withdrawal of the senses), dhāraṇā (concentration), dhyāna (meditation), and samādhi (absorption).

The eight limbs form a sequence from the outer to the inner. The posture, asana, must be steady and comfortable for a long time, in order for the yogi to practice the limbs from prāṇāyāma until samādhi. The main aim is kaivalya, discernment of Puruṣa, the witness-conscious, as separate from Prakṛti, the cognitive apparatus, and disentanglement of Puruṣa from its muddled defilements.

Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of postures, often connected by flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by breathing exercises, and frequently ending with relaxation lying down or meditation. Yoga in this form has become familiar across the world, especially in the US and Europe. It is derived from medieval Haṭha yoga, which made use of similar postures, but it is generally simply called "yoga". Academic research has given yoga as exercise a variety of names, including modern postural yoga and transnational anglophone yoga.

Postures were not central in any of the older traditions of yoga; posture practice was revived in the 1920s by yoga gurus including Yogendra and Kuvalayananda, who emphasised its health benefits. The flowing sequences of Surya Namaskar (Salute to the Sun) were pioneered by the Rajah of Aundh, Bhawanrao Shrinivasrao Pant Pratinidhi, in the 1920s. It and many standing poses used in gymnastics were incorporated into yoga by the yoga teacher Krishnamacharya in Mysore from the 1930s to the 1950s. Several of his students went on to found influential schools of yoga: Pattabhi Jois created Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, which in turn led to Power Yoga; B. K. S. Iyengar created Iyengar Yoga, and defined a modern set of yoga postures in his 1966 book Light on Yoga; and Indra Devi taught yoga as exercise to many celebrities in Hollywood. Other major schools founded in the 20th century include Bikram Yoga and Sivananda Yoga. Yoga as exercise spread across America and Europe, and then the rest of the world.

In Hinduism, Kundalini (Sanskrit: कुण्डलिनी, romanized: kuṇḍalinī, lit. 'coiled snake', pronunciation) is a form of divine feminine energy (or Shakti) believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the Muladhara. It is an important concept in Śhaiva Tantra, where it is believed to be a force or power associated with the divine feminine or the formless aspect of the Goddess. This energy in the subtle body, when cultivated and awakened through tantric practice, is believed to lead to spiritual liberation. Kuṇḍalinī is associated with the goddess Parvati or Adi Parashakti, the supreme being in Shaktism, and with the goddesses Bhairavi and Kubjika. The term, along with practices associated with it, was adopted into Hatha Yoga in the 9th century. It has since then been adopted into other forms of Hinduism as well as modern spirituality and New Age thought.

Kuṇḍalinī awakenings are said to occur by a variety of methods. Many systems of yoga focus on awakening kuṇḍalinī through: meditation, pranayama, the practice of asana, and chanting of mantras.

Anuloma Pranayama (Sanskrit: अनुलोम प्राणायाम) is one of several Pranayama or breath exercises used in the Hindu practice of hatha yoga.

Similar to the practice of Nadi Shodhana (commonly called alternate nostril breathing and known in some circles as Anuloma Viloma) is the practice of inhaling through both nostrils together and exhaling each breath alternately between the left and right nostrils. The thumb of the right hand is used to manipulate the right nostril, while the pinky and ring finger are used to control the left nostril.Inverted Anuloma breath is called Pratiloma and involves inhaling through alternating nostrils and exhaling through both together. The practice of a kumbhaka or retention is encouraged as students advance at the practice; first at the end of the inhale and eventually the end of the exhale.

The Buteyko method or Buteyko breathing technique is a practice used to help regulate breathing , primarily as a treatment for asthma and other respiratory conditions.

Buteyko asserts that numerous medical conditions, including asthma, are caused or exacerbated by chronically increased respiratory rate or hyperventilation. The method aims to correct hyperventilation and encourage shallower, slower breathing. Treatments include a series of reduced-breathing exercises that focus on nasal-breathing, breath-holding and relaxation.