Healing Practice
Sitali Pranayama
Sanskrit: Śītalī Prāṇāyāma
The "Cooling Breath" — a pranayama performed by inhaling across a curled tongue, producing a pronounced cooling sensation.
- Tradition
- Yogic Tradition
Introduction
Sitala means cool. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika describes inhaling through the tongue curled into a tube shape and extended slightly past the lips, producing a distinctly cooling sensation, then exhaling through the nose. The text attributes cooling and purifying qualities to the practice, traditionally used in hot conditions or, in Ayurvedic terms, to pacify excess internal heat (pitta).
Not everyone can curl the tongue into a tube — the ability is a genetic trait rather than a skill everyone can train — so a substitute technique inhaling through gently clenched, slightly parted teeth (close to Sitkari Pranayama) is commonly taught in its place for those who cannot form the curl.
Sources & References
- The Hatha Yoga Pradipika — Svatmarama; trans. Pancham Sinh, The Panini Office (Sacred Books of the Hindus, vol. XV) (1914) · Link
Public domain. Classical c. 15th-century Sanskrit hatha yoga text; this early-20th-century English translation is the standard public-domain edition consulted for these entries.