Breathing is so basic to yoga that some instruction is offered in nearly every beginner’s class. Yet, the precise fundamentals of yogic breathwork – and its potential to take us into the depths of yoga – are seldom taught to Western students. With "Yoga Breathing," Richard Freeman responds to this need.

Yogic breathwork, also known as pranayama, literally means "to release life energy from its bounds." When practiced correctly, pranayama has the ability to attune us to the intricate web of our thoughts, physiology, and energetic patterns – to quiet the mind and heighten receptivity – and to open us to "the intrinsic radiance of being fully present."

On "Yoga Breathing," listeners learn the essential principles and techniques of this tradition, including: The fundamentals of yogic breathwork • Finding the thread of the "internal breath" • Sushumna, the body’s central energetic axis • Ujjayi breathing practice • Dristi gazing/breathing • Opening the tree of breath • Lying and seated pranayama • Breathing and postures, and more

At his acclaimed Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado, Richard Freeman considers breathwork so important that he often devotes more than half of his class time to the practice. "Yoga Breathing" distills this master instructor’s rich insights and careful guidance into one complete two-session course, making them available to listeners everywhere.