Breathing Exercise (Pranayama) - Sithali (Tongue Hissing)

This exercise is also one of the basic breathing exercises. The breathing technique Sitali refers to the sound caused when air is drawn in through the protruding tongue folded into a tube.

Sitali (Tongue hissing)

During inhalation, curl up both edges of the tongue so that it forms a kind of tube. Breathe in through this tube. During inhalation the air passes over the moist tongue, cooling down and refreshing the throat. In order to be sure that the tongue remains moist, roll it back as far as possible against the palate. Do this during the entire exhalation so that the next breath is just as refreshing as the first. The resulting tongue position may appear more like the lower portion of a bird's beak than a tube, but variable opening or closing of the tube-like passage in the folded tongue, in cooperation with faster or slower inhalation, makes possible variations in loudness and softness and smoothness of the reversed hissing sound. Again, a cooling effect may be noted and, indeed, sought through this and the foregoing technique whenever needed. The tongue is drawn back into the mouth and the lips are closed at the end of inhalation. We can breathe out either through the throat or alternately through the nostrils.

This article was contributed by: www.holistic-online.com.

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