Prana: the breath, not the clothes

Prana is frequently translated from Sanskrit as "vital force" or "breath". It is the breath of life and the energy of consciousness in yogic teachings. Dr. David Frawley, in Yoga & Ayurveda: Self-Healing and Self-Realization, describes prana as "the master form of all energy working on the levels of mind, life and body." Pranayama (yogic breathwork) couples the poses (asanas) of the physical body with the more subtle work of the breath, integrating the physical and energy bodies.
Initially, I encourage students to increase awareness of the breath in their yoga asana practice by exhaling as they move into a posture. Exhaling ensures that the student is not holding her/his breath while in the pose.
Once that is comfortable and natural, I suggest inhaling during the extension of the torso and limbs, and exhaling while grounding the feet or other body parts into the floor. A wave action can be visualized to assist the inhale/exhale pattern.
Most importantly, the mind, the thinking aspect of our bodies, follows the breath, and does not try to control the breath.
Prana flows from the body and through the body. Pranayama is our chance to work with the breath and deepen our practice from the inside out.

Breathing: Quality, Quantity and Frequency

Without the breath yoga is just exercise. While many times we do our poses and think about using the breath later, awareness of the breath can give much more depth to a yoga asana practice.

To introduce breath-work into a practice, I think of three things: the quality of the breath, the quantity of the breath, and the frequency of the breath.

The "quality" of the breath means the conscious awareness of the thinking mind to on-going breath patterns. The mind says to itself: "I am inhaling at this time for this purpose." Coupled with an asana (pose) that might mean, "I am inhaling and lengthening my arms over my head." In this instance, inhalation equates to lengthening and defines the quality of the breath.

The "quantity" of the breath is more straightforward; it is the amount of breath inhaled into the body, and more specifically into the lungs, expanding the lungs with the chest muscles and the diaphragm.

Frequency of the breath is the respiration rate, how many breaths per minute. Normal respirations, "normal breathing" in yoga terms, for healthy adults is usually in the 12 to 14 breaths per minute range. There are many kinds of breathing patterns, "pranayama" in Sanskrit, that are different from normal breathing patterns. Many are difficult to perform correctly and require the close supervision of a yoga instructor.

To begin an awareness of breathing, start with the "quality" aspect of breathing. It requires the most practice and yet has the least number of physical consequences . The breathing stays "normal." We simply become more conscious of what our "normal" breathing patterns are, do not attempt to change or adapt them, but follow the patterns with our minds. This awareness of "quality" can improve our poses significantly by adding a powerful dimension to the physical movements.