Understanding the Psychophysiology of Slow Yogic Breathing With Sat Bir Khalsa, Ph.D.

One of most fundamental and common breathing practices within yoga is the long, slow, deep breathing pattern.  In a number of studies of yoga practice, slow yogic breathing has been a practice that beginners often immediately begin to adopt and benefit from in their daily lives as a valuable coping and health strategy.  It has also made its way into modern Western medicine as a fairly well know relaxation practice referred to as slow breathing, abdominal breathing or belly breathing.  

Biomedical scientific research on slow breathing has begun to reveal the substantial impact it has on both mental and physical functioning.  On the physical level, it has direct impact on the autonomic nervous system, where it can reduce sympathetic activity, blood pressure and heart rate and increase heart rate variability.  It can also change characteristics of respiratory functioning including changes in the chemoreflex response and improvement in gas exchange.…