Mystical systems
Kumbhaka
Direct answer
Kumbhaka is the deliberate holding of the breath in pranayama, either with the lungs full after inhaling or empty after exhaling; the old texts treat it as the heart of breath control.
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At a glance
- Also called
- breath retention yoga
- Found in
- Mystical Systems
- Related
- Pranayama, Prana, Bandha, Sushumna
Kumbhaka is the deliberate holding of the breath in pranayama, either with the lungs full after inhaling or empty after exhaling; the old texts treat it as the heart of breath control.
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What does kumbhaka mean?
Kumbha is a pot, and the image is of the trunk filled and stopped like a water jar. Yoga counts three parts to a breath: the inhalation, the exhalation and the pause. Holding after the inhalation is called inner retention and holding after the exhalation outer retention. The locks at the throat and pelvic floor are applied during the hold.
The texts make a further distinction. Retention done on purpose alongside inhaling and exhaling is called accompanied. Beyond it they describe an unaccompanied retention, kevala kumbhaka, in which the breath is said to stop by itself as the mind grows still. The first is a technique; the second is described as its fruit.
On the tree of the hidden arts: Chakras and the breath.
What sets Kumbhaka apart
The word has a double life. In Patanjali the pause is the definition of pranayama itself; in the hatha manuals kumbhaka becomes the name for each breathing method, so that the eight classic exercises are called the eight kumbhakas whatever their style of inhaling. The tradition also divides retention into one that is performed and one that happens. Kevala kumbhaka is not held at all: the texts say the breath simply ceases to move when the mind does.
- Root: kumbha, a pot or water jar
- Antara kumbhaka: retention with the lungs full, after the inhalation
- Bahya kumbhaka: retention with the lungs empty, after the exhalation
- Sahita and kevala: accompanied by breathing, and alone or spontaneous
- Eight kumbhakas: listed in Hatha Yoga Pradipika, chapter 2
- Patanjali: Yoga Sutras 2.49 to 2.51, on stopping the flow of breath
Often mistaken for something else: Pranayama is the whole discipline of regulating breath, including slow inhalation and exhalation; kumbhaka is the held pause within it, which the texts regard as its essential part.
The story behind Kumbhaka
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras define pranayama as the interruption of the flow of inhalation and exhalation, and name a fourth kind that goes beyond both. The hatha manuals go further and use kumbhaka as their general word for a breathing exercise: the second chapter of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika lists eight, among them ujjayi, sitali, bhastrika and bhramari.
Why Kumbhaka matters
In the classical sources pranayama is mostly about the pause; the inhalation and exhalation are the approach to it and the way out.
How to read Kumbhaka
Teachers introduce it only after months of easy, even breathing, beginning with pauses of a few seconds that leave no strain.
Kumbhaka in practice: an example
A student might breathe in for a slow count, pause comfortably with the chin lowered, then breathe out for twice as long.
Where readings of Kumbhaka go wrong
Forced or long breath holding can bring dizziness and fainting. It is never practised in or near water, and is customarily avoided in pregnancy and with heart or blood pressure problems.
Sources and editorial method
This entry summarizes the tradition in the Almanac's own words; where no source is listed, it is an editorial summary rather than a primary text, and symbolic readings are named as the tradition's, not as fact.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Mystical Systems
- Aliases
- kumbhaka meaning, breath retention yoga, kumbhaka pranayama, antara kumbhaka, kevala kumbhaka
- Last updated
- 2026-09-26
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Common questions
What does kumbhaka mean?
It comes from kumbha, a pot or jar, and means holding the breath so that the body is like a filled and sealed vessel. In the hatha texts it can also mean any of the named breathing exercises.
What are the types of kumbhaka?
By timing, inner retention after the inhalation and outer retention after the exhalation. By nature, sahita, done deliberately with the in and out breaths, and kevala, a spontaneous stillness of breath.
Is breath retention safe?
Short, comfortable pauses are widely taught. Straining to hold longer is where the trouble starts, and the old texts themselves warn that breath control wrongly done harms the practitioner.
