Your yoga practice and your goal for that given session determine how you breathe, says Claudia Cummins in her Yoga Journal article "Breathing for Relaxation." The breath work you do in yoga is referred to as Pranayama, a compound Hindu word made of "life force" (prana) and "control" (yama). Together, they stand for the word "breath." You'll find yoga classes dedicated solely to mastering the different forms of Pranayama. One basic deep-breathing exercise for yoga is called Deergha Swasam.
Step 1
Sit in a comfortable position with your legs crossed. Use a blanket to sit on if it feels better. You might also choose to sit in a chair with your feet resting on the ground. Maintain a natural but erect posture. Close your eyes.
Step 2
Breathe in slowly through your nose as you imagine your lungs filling with air from your lower abdominal section through your rib cage until the oxygen reaches and floods your upper chest.
Step 3
Exhale through your nose. Imagine the air leaving your lungs in the opposite order in which it went in -- upper chest, rib cage and abdomen. Make an extra effort at the end to push the last bit of air out by contracting your belly.
Step 4
Take this breathing method to your next yoga pose, inhaling as you get into the posture and exhaling as you return from it. In the beginning, you might run out of breath before you complete the move. By all means, breathe as many times as you need. Eventually, you'll build your lung capacity and take in enough air to allow you to get into the pose on one breath. Also, if you hold the pose for any length of time, continue to breathe.
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