You Don’t Have to Follow Breath Cues in Yoga. Here’s Why.

“Inhale as you reach your arms up. Exhale as you lower your arms down.”

“Inhale as you arch your back. Exhale as you fold forward.”

Many yoga practitioners are used to being instructed to connect breath and movement in a very particular way: breathing in to come into the poses that expand the chest, arch the back, or lift the body  (think backbends like Cow Pose, and rising from Standing Forward Bend to Mountain Pose), and breathing out to come into poses that contract the abdomen or lower you to the mat (as in Cat Pose, forward folds, and Chaturanga).

Maybe you know this pattern of breathing so well that it’s become second nature. Or maybe it feels counterintuitive and confusing and you’re wondering—is it okay to breathe in a different way?

As is so often the case in yoga, there isn’t one “right” way to do something. “While there are reasons we often follow and reinforce the conventional breath and movement pairings in yoga, these aren’t rules,” says Noah Maze, yoga instructor and teacher trainer. “There can be multiple reasons to switch it up and much to be discovered by doing so.”

Inhalations and exhalations affect the body and mind in real ways, so it makes sense to explore their connection to your practice.

Reasons Behind Traditional Breath Cues in Yoga 

One reason yoga instructors cue students to breathe is because it’s a reminder to actually breathe, which a lot of people (especially new students) might need, says Sundar Balasubramanian, PhD, yoga therapist, associate professor at MUSC, and founder of Pranascience Institute.

Instructing students to breathe in and out with certain movements encourages a broader inquiry into breathing habits, says Marcia Ramoutar, a facilitator at I Am Yoga. Students may extrapolate from those cues and ask themselves, “How fast am I breathing? Am I holding my breath?” says Ramoutar.

There are also anatomical reasons to the traditional ways the breath is cued, according to Timothy McCall, MD, author of Yoga as Medicine. Exhaling physically helps the body fold forward. “When you contract your abdominal muscles to squeeze extra air out of the lungs on the exhalation, it tends to flatten the lumbar spine,” says McCall. “The natural neck curve tends to lessen as well.”

By contrast, the inhalation helps create a backbend. “Every time you inhale, the curves in the lumbar spine and cervical spine tend to increase slightly. This facilitates backbending,” says McCall.

To Balasubramanian, it’s a matter of mechanics. “When you take a tube and fold it, what happens? Because of the tension, the air inside goes out,” he says. “You straighten the tube, and the air comes back.”

He explains that if the air hasn’t left the lungs, attempting to fold—or twist—is more challenging, almost like you have a full belly, since inhalations expand the abdomen. And if you use an exhalation to backbend—which requires an expansion of the rib cage—you won’t go as deep because the ribcage contracts.

That doesn’t mean the “rules” are hard and fast. In fact, there is a lot of wiggle room.

Downsides of Typical Breath Cues

Always coordinating the inhalation and the exhalation with particular movements has drawbacks. Students might start to judge their breathing as in some way inadequate, wrong, or risky if it deviates from the prescribed pattern, according to Magnus Ringberg, a physiotherapist focused on health and performance.

“It creates unhelpful beliefs that you must breathe and move in a specific coordination, which can lead to fear of breathing or moving the wrong way,” says Ringberg.

Ramoutar, who is also a Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) Facilitator, recognizes some students could be uncomfortable with being told to breathe a certain way—or being commanded to do anything at all. In the group classes she leads, she tends to allow students the autonomy to choose when they want to breathe in and out and even whether or not they pay attention to their breath at all.

Some students may not need breath instruction.  Richard Rosen, longtime yoga teacher and author of The Yoga of Breath, points out that while beginning students may breathe raggedly and benefit from reminders to breathe, experienced students might already be harmonized with their breathing. “What to do doesn’t need to be imposed from the outside; it’s ‘felt’ from the inside,” says Rosen.

In reality, there’s a range of breath and movement combinations available to us. “We are capable of breathing in, out, or holding our breath in any kind of movement scenario, and it would be extremely problematic if we couldn’t,” says Ringberg.

How to Switch Up Your Breathing in Yoga

One way to test whether conventional breathing cues work for you is to experiment with your habitual breath patterns. Changing the pattern of breath and movement can also help refresh your practice, says Maze. “It brings new awareness to what is deeply familiar—not unlike date night in a long-term relationship,” he says.

When he exhales as he moves from Standing Forward Bend to Mountain Pose, for instance, he taps into different sensations. “I become much more aware of pressing down through my legs, stabilizing and grounding as I lift up…more of a rooting down to rise.”

Varying breathing patterns can feel unnatural or uncomfortable, says Balasubramanian. Still, a student can find their own balance between ease and challenge. “It is okay to include some challenges but not to the level of adding discomfort,” he says.

As you practice, notice how the changes to your breathing change your physical experience of a pose, shift your energy, and perhaps open your mind to new possibilities. If you experience any unpleasant sensations while varying your breath—such as overheating or lightheadedness—return to a way of breathing that feels comfortable for you.

“Stay curious, be receptive, engage your creativity. There are many ways to ride the waves of your breath,” says Maze.

1. Try the Opposite Pattern

Instead of exhaling into a forward fold or inhaling to a standing backbend, you can reverse the breath. Inhaling during a backbend, for instance, can also be a way of limiting your movement so you don’t overdo it in the stretch. “For someone who tends to hyperextend the lumbar spine, exhaling might reduce that alignment by flattening the lower back somewhat,” says McCall.

And while we often inhale to lift in yoga, when we’re lifting something heavy, like a child, exhaling to lift might be the better idea, according to Maze. He explains that a complete exhalation stabilizes the pelvis and spine by recruiting more of our deep core muscles, which support the exertion. He also points out that weightlifters often lift on the exhalation.

Try it:

• Cat-Cow: Inhale as you arch your back in Cow Pose, then exhale as you round your back in Cat Pose. After a few rounds, do the opposite. Inhale as you come into Cat Pose and exhale as you come into Cow. Repeat this several times.
• Upward Salute to Standing Forward Bend: Inhale as you reach your arms toward the ceiling in Upward Salute. Exhale as you fold forward into Standing Forward Bend, bending your knees as much as you need to. On your next inhalation, rise into Upward Salute. Then do the opposite. Exhale as you reach your arms toward the ceiling in Upward Salute, then inhale as you come into Standing Forward Bend.

2. Explore the Pause Between Breaths

Between the inhalation and the exhalation is a natural pause that is known as the kumbhaka in yoga. Although it’s brief, the kumbhaka is considered a profound opportunity to quiet your mind and expand your awareness.

“The kumbhaka is a very small taste of samadhi, in which there’s no movement of any kind whatsoever, not even movement of consciousness,” says Rosen. He explains that if the breaths are the movies–dramas, tragedies, comedies of life—then the kumbhaka is the movie screen itself. “’Underneath’ all the sound and fury, the screen remains the same.” To appreciate the underlying stillness, he suggests that we try being still during the kumbhaka.

“I don’t recommend holding the breath in or out for more than a few moments in a movement practice,” says Maze. In his practice, he sometimes prolongs the pause long enough to make a transition, or to deepen his experience of the pose.

Try it:

• Cat-Cow: Inhale as you come into Cow Pose and pause at the end of the inhalation, allowing yourself to be full of breath. As you exhale, move into Cat Pose. Pause for a second or two at the end of the exhalation, when you’re empty of breath.
• Upward Salute to Standing Forward Bend: Inhale as you reach your arms toward the ceiling in Upward Salute, pausing at the end of the inhalation. Then exhale as you fold forward, pausing for a second at the end of the exhalation. (You can experiment with these micro-moments of stillness throughout a Sun Salutation.)

3. Hold a Pose for a Full Breath Cycle 

Although the “one breath per pose” of a Sun Salutation is a traditional way of breathing, says Balasubramanian, he’s learned that going more slowly can be more relaxing. You can practice a full breath cycle in any pose.

Taking the time for a long exhalation also helps activate the vagus nerve, says Balasubramanian, which helps you relax even more.

Try it:

• Cat-Cow: Inhale as you come into Cow Pose, then give yourself time to fully exhale. As you inhale, move into Cat Pose and let yourself completely exhale there, too. Keep moving between poses for as long as you like, taking a full breath cycle in each pose and making each exhalation generously long.
• Upward Salute to Standing Forward Bend: Inhale as you come into Upward Salute, then exhale fully. Inhale as you fold forward, then exhale fully.

Breathing….Your Way

Do yoga instructors even need to instruct their students to breathe? It depends.

Ramoutar introduces the typical approach to the breath to students in teacher trainings—but they don’t have to follow that. “Students are given the opportunity to explore what works best for them,” she says.

Framing breath cues as invitations can help students feel less commanded and more curious. Ramoutar tells students, “You may notice your breath, or you may not. As your arms come up, you may notice yourself inhaling, or not.” “Agency is priceless, really. It’s up to each person how they want to move and breathe—never a ‘you must,’” she says.

Rosen isn’t a fan of the idea of breath control. “Breath has a mind of its own. It refuses to be ‘controlled,’” he says. He explains, “Observing it without criticism or expectation is the best way to befriend and establish the sakshin, the Witness, an absolutely essential ‘companion’ in a yoga practice.” The breath gives us chance after chance to practice that.