Rhythmic yoga breathing produces measurable brain activity linked to deep relaxation

Researchers from the Gandhinagar Indian Institute of Technology, in collaboration with the Sri Sri Sri of Advanced Research Institute and the Fortis Escort Heart Institute, report that rhythmic breathing in Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (Sky) produces measurable changes in brain rhythms associated with deep relaxation. The team notes that the practice of the sky increases the activity of the Thêta and Delta brain while reducing alpha power.

The rise in stress, anxiety and depression rate combined with limited access to professional care has created a desire for self -managed at low cost of mental health.

Previous surveys on yoga, meditation and breathing exercises have documented improvements in humor, fatigue, emotional treatment and executive brain functions. Meditation practices have been linked to the structural and functional changes in neural networks governing attention, self-referential treatment and the regulation of emotions.

Breathing has been shown, in particular, influences the balance of sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, moves the body towards relaxation.

In the study, “Unlock Deep Relaxation: The Power of Rhythmic Respironing on Brain Rhythms”, published in NPJ mental health researchResearchers have designed EEG experiences to examine how brain oscillations change for different phases of the sky technique.

In total, 43 Sky practitioners participated, all recruited in the Bengaluru Center of the Art of Living Foundation. The subjects, on average about 25 years old, were between one and 18 years of practice. A control group of 10 people listened to relaxing music instead of playing the sky.

EEG signals were recorded in several brain regions before, during and after practice using a 24 -channel system. The researchers divided the session into five phases: pre-report, pranayama, kriya, yoga-nidra and post-relance.

The results have shown distinct neural signatures with significantly reduced alpha power during the yoga and post-reproduction phases, especially in the parietal and occipital regions. The amplitude Thêta increased during Kriya and remained high through yoga-nidra, while the Delta amplitude increased sharply during yoga-nidra, reflecting a state of deep relaxation.

The control group has shown no comparable change, suggesting that the effects were linked to rhythmic breathing.

Investigators conclude that Sky puts the brain in a state marked by strong Thista-Delta rhythms and reducing alpha activity, in correlation with deep relaxation described in yogic traditions like Samadhi.

Given the global demand for evolutionary mental health tools, the authors note that Sky could offer a practical and non-pharmacological method to support well-being and potentially serve as a basis for Neurofeedback applications targeting anxiety and stress.

As the Sky group has not listened to music and the description of “relaxing music” in the control group lacks clear definition (such as tempo, rhythm, height of acoustic content), there is a potential confusion of test conditions.

A third group to combat silent calibration would be necessary to understand if music has generated its own effect. In addition, a deep breathing exercise not formed as a control would have aroused a more direct comparison to the specific rhythmic method used.

The whole F7 channels (lower left frontal front) and O2 (right occipital) were removed from the EEG analysis due to the noise observed in 31 subjects. We do not know how this data loss could modify the results because each electrode records a spatially blurred sum requiring a contextual meaning of neighboring electrodes.

Although the study does not declare any competing interest, the Sri Sri Institute for Advanced Research is the dedicated research division of the Art of Living Foundation, the founder of which created the Sky method. There are obvious conflicts of interest involved and the standards to report them should not have been relaxed.

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