30 What is Prāṇāyāma?
Yoga Studies in Five Minutes - Theodora Wildcroft
Graham Burns [+]
SOAS, University of London
Dr Graham Burns is an independent yoga teacher, teacher trainer, and scholar. As well as a law degree from Durham University, he holds an MA in Religions and a PhD in ancient
Indian philosophy from SOAS University of London. He is a former Senior Teaching Fellow
at SOAS, where he lectured on the MA in Traditions of Yoga and Meditation, as well as
teaching undergraduate Hinduism and philosophy. He is a member of the SOAS Centre of
Yoga Studies.
Description
Prāṇāyāma is the term used in yoga for a range of practices which involve the control, or manipulation, of breath. The word itself is a compound of the Sanskrit words prāṇa, as to which see further below, and āyāma (control). Prāṇāyāma has been a hallmark of yoga practice throughout its long existence.