Breathing in Ashtanga:

Langhana Kriya - the

reduction, exhalation,
principle
from Srivatsa Ramaswami's Complete Book of vinyasa
yoga

Based on the teaching of T. Krishnamacharya

(Ramaswami was a student of Krishnamacharya's for 30+

years).

"In some of these back bends, it may be easier and more

desirable to use a smooth exhalation rather than an
inhalation. People who are obese, old and therefore less
supple, anxious and tense, or have some medical
conditions, such as hypertension, would do well to adopt
exhalation, or langhana kriya, during these back bends".

LANGHANA KRIYA: literally, activity ofreduction;

exhalation

"Please note that all the vinyasas in this (backbending)

sequence can also be done with langhana breathing if,
and only if, you are tense, old, obese, or have somewhat
elevated blood pressure."

Ramaswami - from The Complete Book of Vinyasa

Yoga p143

"Though the default breathing in all the back-bending

movements in this sequence is inhalation, because of the
pressure this places on the abdomen, some find it easier
to use the langhana mode of breathing (exhalation). Each
method of breathing confers different benefits".

Ramaswami - from The Complete Book of Vinyasa

Yoga p146

We get so used to the idea in Ashtanga Vinyasa that

breathing can and should be only be one way, inhale
going up exhale going down, that anything else is....
unnatural.

Also that the inhalation and exhalation should be equal..

That there should be no kumbhaka (retaining the breath

after the inhalation or out after the exhalation).
"In addition, for the even-numbered vinyasas, rechaka
(exhalation) should be performed and, for the odd, one
should do puraka (inhalation). On the whole, the method
for doing rechaka and puraka is the same for all the
vinyasas and asanas ahead". Pattabhi Jois Yoga Mala
(Mysore 1950s)

"In each section for each particular asana, we have

included a description and an enumeration of its vinyasas.
The vinyasas in which the head is raised are to be done
with puraka kumbhaka and the ones in which the head is
lowered must be done with recaka kumbhaka. Uthpluthi
(raising the body from the floor with only the support of
both hands on the floor is called uthpluthi) should be
done on recaka kumbhaka for a fat person and on puraka
kumbhaka for a thin person".

Krishnamacharya Yoga Makaranda (Mysore 1934)

A close reading of Pattabhi Jois' teacher

Krishnamacharya's early texts however shows there is a
lot more subtly, more variation ,dependent on several
parameters.

My own recent exploration of of moving in and out of a

posture through an inhalation or through an exhalation as
been curious, an education, revelation. Simon Borg-
Olivier, talks about breathing naturally in the beginning,
not even thinking about the breath but leaving it to it's
own devices, later he talks about long slow inhalations of
thirty seconds or more while vinyasa may or may not be
taking case, likewise with exhalation.

Or perhaps breathing into the abdomen during 'exertion'

(lifting to handstand)...

"Simply breathing into my abdomen (firmed by posture),

or rather breathing with my diaphragm into the abdomen
causes an increase in the intra-abdominal and intra-
thoracic pressure which straight away puts strength into
my arms. Here I simply breathe into the abdomen as my
legs are lifting and the instant strength comes to the
body. It doesn’t feel like a strain to lift the body. Whereas
you can lift up to a handstand with just brute force."
Simon Borg-Olivier How to lift to Handstand

See also this post from Simon

Breathing (Part 1): How to breathe to help your spine,

internal organs and energy levels

But Krishnamacharya too wrote concerning 'reverse'

breathing, of, for the old, the obese, the tense. perhaps
switching the standard breathing around such that we
might exhale where we generally tend to inhale, and inhale
where we generally tend to exhale, particularly if/when
challenged by 'back bends'.
Here then, Krishnamacharya's, and his long term student
Ramaswami's, treatment of Langhana kriya, 'the
exhalation principle'.

from Yoga Makaranda

Langhana kriya

"In yogabhyasa, there are two types of kriyas — langhana

kriya and brahmana kriya. One who is obese should
practise langhana kriya. One who is thin should practise
brahmana kriya and one who is neither fat nor thin should
practise yogabhyasa in both.
Brahmana kriya means to take in the outside air through
the nose, pull it inside, and hold it in firmly. This is called
puraka kumbhaka.
Langhana kriya means to exhale the air that is inside the
body out through the nose and to hold the breath firmly
without allowing any air from outside into the body. This is
called recaka kumbhaka.
In vaidya sastra, they describe brahmana kriya as
meaning a prescribed diet and langhana kriya as meaning
to fast. But in yoga sastra it does not have this meaning.
Without understanding these intricacies and secrets of
yoga, some people look at the books and try to do
yogabhyasa (like looking for Ganesa and ending up with a
monkey). They get disastrous results and bring a bad
name for yoga sastra. We need not pay any attention to
their words". P28-29

from Yogasanagalu

"Normally during yogasana practice, inhalation and

exhalation is performed via the trachea deeply, subtly and
with sound. This is common practice with everyone.
“anuloma ujjayi”

from"Special Direction - 2. ASANAS

"When practicing the above listed yogasanas people with

heavy bodies must do more rechaka while people with
lean bodies must be doing more puraka. These are called
langhana kriya and brahmanakriya, respectively".

"Samakaya
This is an important characteristic of the eight step yoga
practice. In our land of Bharata, there are three types of
people: sthoola, krusha and vakra. Sthoola is obese type,
krusha is lean and emaciated and vakra is crooked and
curved. Crooked body is an abnormality and a disease.
Obese body type have a tendency to breathe short and
shallow. Although the lean can breath deeply, they get
tired quickly. The crooked body type have a difficult time
in stretching the limbs. Without bending and stretching,
such body type do not get proper blood and oxygen
circulation. This also applies to obese and lean type.
Practicing yoga with deep breathing variations known as
langhanakriya and brahmanakriya can eliminate these
body variations and impart strength and beauty.
Recently, we are seeing people who are extremely obese
and suffering from heart diseases. We are also seeing
people who are lean due to lack of proper nutrition. Some
have experienced a hard life of growing up on the streets
from childhood and have become crooked. Primary
reason for these are overeating, eating only dry food or
other unhealthy practices.
Yoganga practice with appropriate vinyasa will eliminate
and normalise all three types of body variations".

"While practicing yoganga, according to samakaya or

vishamakaya state correspondingly Brahmanakriyala-
langhanakriya or samakriya vinyasa must be performed.
Samakriya means, equal inhalation and exhalation.

Yoga Beneath the Surface - Srivatsa Ramaswami and

David Hurwitz

DAVID: In general, should we make our inhale and exhale

of equal ( in length) when moving into and out of forward
bends and twists, but when we stay in a forward bend or
twist, make inhale short and exhale long? Can we say the
reverse about backbends?

RAMASWAMI: Mostly in forward bends, it is easy to

extend your exhalation, and so the abhyasi (one who
practices) can take advantage of the forward-bend
position to lengthen and smooth the exhalation. And in
forward bend, deep or full inhalation is more difficult,
again because of the position: the stomach cannot freely
expand to accommodate fuller breathing and hence we
would do a shorter inhalation.
Can we say the similar things about inhalation, will the
converse be true? Bending back is a different cup of tea.
While it is natural and beneficial to do fuller inhalation
while bending back, for some backbends done while in a
prone position, such as the cobra or locust pose, the
inhalation could restrict the backbend due to the pressure
on the expanding abdomen. So, many people, primarily
the obese and/or tense, are advised to do backbends on
exhalation (langhana kriya). We may therefore say that,
although inhalation is the breathing of choice in
backbends, there are compelling reasons for some
practitioners to use exhalation for these movements.
If we really want to work on our inhalation it may be best
to do it while practicing pranayama in a cozy seated pose
such as vajrasana or padmasana. p64-65

"BRAHMANA AND LANGHANA KRIYA "

DAVID: In the version of the Yoga Makaranda that I have,

Krishnamacharya, in writing about asanas, states,

"Those who are over weight should follow langhana kriya

(activity of reduction) and those who are underweight
should follow brahmana kriya (activity of expansion)...In
brahmana kriya, the breath is held in after inhalation, for
some time, before exhalation. This is known as antah
kumbhaka. In langhana kriya, the breath is held after
exhalation, for some time, before allowing air in. This is
known as bahya kumbhaka."

Is this different from the way you were taught?

RAMASWAMI: The Sanskrit word brahmana means "to

grow, to expand;' whereas langhana means "to reduce, to
diminish back to its cause:' So exhalation is considered
langhana and inhalation is considered brahmana kriya.
Actually, inhaltion is expansion of the chest, and holding
the breath keeps the chest expanded, so both will be
brahmana kriya, whereas langhana kriya is the opposite of
it. p70

from The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga - Srivatsa

Ramaswami

The smooth inhalation accompanying expansive

movement is known as brah mana kriya, or expansive
(breathing) action; the exhalation during contraction of
the body is langhana kriya, or reducing or contracting
(breathing) action. When you inhale while making an
expansive movement and correspondingly exhale during
contraction, this is known as anuloma, or "with the grain"
movement/breathing. Anuloma exercise creates harmony
between the tissues of the breathing organs and the
body.
Though anuloma is the general rule, there are situations in
which one might or should exhale during an expansive
move ment. (The converse, however, is never the case
because contractive movements can not be performed
while inhaling.) This might be recommended when the
practi tioner is tense, obese, old, or sti . Take the example
of the cobra pose. From the lying down position, moving
into cobra pose is an expansive movement should be
done on inhalation. But some especially tense peo ple find
this extremely uncomfortable because they tend to stiffen
their muscles and rtually prevent their back om bend ing.
A similar situation may arise with obese people because
the belly tends to add pres sure while inhaling. So, people
with these conditions may breathe out while doing
expansive movements. It is for the student and/or teacher
to determine what type of breathing is appropriate for a
particular vinyasa. One general rule is, "When in c doubt,
do the movement while exhaling:'

xviii

Desk pose Dwipadapitam

"...Please note: Moving into this pose and other variations

of the desk pose should be done on inhalation. However,
there arc some exceptions. In the introductory chapter I
explained that in langhana kriya some expansive
movements are done during exhalation, rather than on
inhalation. Persons who are obese, older, or stiff may use
langhana kriya because the exhalation will relax their
muscles and create less pressure in their abdomen. It is a
trade-off between expanding your chest and working on
your inte al thoracic muscles and doing the exercises
without much pressure. 109

Crocodile pose - Makarasana

"...In this group there are several poses involving back

bending. These back-bend ing movements are generally
to be done while inhaling, as you could see in the
makarasana vinyasas just explained. In the introduction I
discussed viloma breathing (viloma means "against the
grain"), which should be used for back bends in certain
circumstances. In some of these back bends, it may be
easier and more desirable to use a smooth exhalation
rather than an inhalation. People who are obese, old and
therefore less supple, anxious and tense, or have some
medical conditions, such as hypertension, would do well
to adopt exhalation, or langhana kriya, during these
back bends. Because these are belly-down positions,
persons belonging to this group will be more comfortable
and will achieve better results in langhana kriya.
The procedure in langhana kriya is as
follows:
While in the lying-face-down (prone) position, take a
short breath. As you exhale, slowly raise your head, neck,
and torso to the greatest extent possible, without raising
your elbows off the floor. This is makarasana performed in
langhana kriya. Take a short inhalation i n the position,
and while ex
haling lower your trunk". 138

Frog pose - Mandukasana

"...Raising your trunk can be clone in langhana kriya also."

139

Cobra - Bhujangasana

"You may, if required, use langhana breathing."

139

Salabhasana - Locust pose sequence

141

"Langhana kriya may be used."

Bow -Dhanurasana

"Please note that all the vinyasas in this sequence can

also be done with langhana breathing if, and only if, you
are tense, old, obese, or have somewhat elevated blood
pressure."
143

Backbending postures

"Though the default breathing in all the back-bending

movements in this sequence is inhalation, because of the
pressure this places on the abdomen, some find it easier
to use the langhana mode of breathing. Each method of
breathing confers different benefits.
146

Glossary

"LANGHANA KRIYA: literally, activity of reduction;

exhalation"

See also this post perhaps

Fat people can't do yoga. Say What???