Winter Pranayama: Yogic Breathing Practices for Energy, Immunity, and Calm

Winter invites us to slow down and turn inward. Shorter days, colder weather, and dry air can affect both our body and mind. This is the perfect season to focus on yogic breathing practices, or pranayama, which support energy, immunity, and can create a sense calm. By aligning our breath with the season, we can stay warm, balanced, and resilient throughout winter.You may be familiar with the Ice Man Wim Hof, who utilises the breath for managing extremes of temperature. However, we do not have to go to extremes to benefit from deepening our breathing practices in the winter season. There are several practices from the simple to the more complex, that can suport your body and mind in the cold winter months.

Why Breathing Practices Matter More in Winter

During winter, many of us experience low energy, stiffness, and mental restlessness. From a yogic perspective, the season often increases Vata and Kapha tendencies, which manifest as dryness, heaviness, or congestion. Winter wellness yoga encourages gentle, mindful breathing practices to counteract these effects. Conscious breathing improves circulation, warms the body, and helps regulate the nervous system, keeping us grounded even on the coldest days.

How Winter Affects the Breath and Nervous System

Cold weather can lead to shallow breathing, tight muscles, and mental fatigue. Our lungs may feel constricted, and stress or anxiety can rise as daylight decreases. Seasonal yoga for cold weather practices, particularly pranayama, help release tension, increase oxygen flow, and restore a sense of calm. Regular practice supports not only physical health but also emotional balance, making the mind as resilient as the body during winter.

Winter sunset

Best Yogic Breathing Practices for Winter

Here are three effective winter pranayama practices to incorporate into your daily routine:

Dirga Pranayama (Three-Part Breath)

Also called the three-part breath, Dirga Pranayama gently expands the belly, ribs, and chest with each inhale, and empties completely on the exhale. Try inhaling for four counts and then exhaling for four counts; if you find this comfortable you can extend the exhalations to calm your nervous system. Practicing this for five to ten minutes daily enhances lung capacity, promotes relaxation, and generates internal warmth. This gentle technique is perfect for beginners or anyone seeking calming breathing techniques for winter.

Ujjayi Breath for Inner Warmth

Ujjayi, or “victorious breath,” slightly constricts the back of the throat, creating a slow, audible breath, a little bit like you are about to snore, or if you were trying to mist up a bathroom mirror with your breath and then closed your lips. This practice increases circulation, raises body temperature, and strengthens focus. It’s especially useful during winter yoga practices or as a calming ritual during times of stress.

Nadi Shodhana for Balance and Calm

Alternate nostril breathing, or Nadi Shodhana, balances the left and right sides of the nervous system. It reduces anxiety, improves focus, and supports immune function. Practicing this in the evening helps transition the body into deep rest, making it an excellent pranayama for stress and anxiety in winter. Here is a popular video that shows you more about the pranayama practice.

Making Winter Pranayama Part of Your Daily Routine

The key to winter breathing practices is consistency and mindfulness. Even five to ten minutes a day can improve energy, immunity, and mental clarity. Begin your morning with warming breaths, or practice calming techniques like Nadi Shodhana in the evening to ease tension and prepare for restful sleep. By tuning in to the breath, we honour the slower pace of winter and allow the body to restore itself naturally.

Wishing you the best with your yoga practice!

With love,

Genny

January 13, 2026/by Genny Brown

LIVING, YOGA

Create a Yoga Sanctuary at Home

How to create a Yoga Sanctuary At Home.

Do you follow yoga online? If so, follow these tips to create your own Yoga Sanctuary at home.

You don’t need to invest in loads of fancy yoga equipment up front, here I will share with you some yoga prop hacks so that you can make the most out of your yoga practice with items from around the home.

Yoga props are especially useful for restorative yoga practices. In the video below I will show how you can adapt and adjust your props at home to use with restorative yoga. I hope you enjoy!
Read more

June 26, 2020/by Genny Brown

YOGA

Wind Down with a Yoga Moon Salutation

This Yoga Moon Salutation can be used as a gentle warm up or wind down for an evening’s yoga practice.

How to practice a Moon Salutation:

Start in Table position on the hands and knees, knees about hip width apart and hands below the shoulders.
Come up onto the finger tips and step the left foot forward between the hands into a lunge (if you are newer to yoga you may have to lift your hand or assist your foot into position).
Come into a ‘square lunge’ and get your balance.
Inhale, raise your arms up overhead, hands in prayer position.
Exhale, lean back gently (avoid this move if you have any back injuries)
Inhale, release the backbend.
Exhale, lower arms to shoulder level.
Inhale, lengthen spine,
Exhale, twist to the left.
Inhale back to centre,
Exhale, twist to the right.
Inhale back to the centre.
Exhale lower the right hand to the floor and raise the left arm.
Inhale back to the centre.
Exhale lower the left hand to the floor and raise the right arm.
Inhale back to centre.
Exhale return to Table position.
Inhaling sit back to heels
Exhaling reach arms forward and rest in Hare posture.
Return to Table posture and practice the same, this time with the left foot forward in the lunge position.

Finding Strength in Weakness

How can you find strength in weakness?

‏I am learning that it is OK to have weaknesses, to be perfectly imperfect. Sometimes, being weak and asking for help takes more courage than being brave or ‘just getting on with it’.

“I am willing to be wrong. I am willing to be passionate about something that isn’t perceived as cool. I am willing to express a theory. I am willing to admit I am afraid. I am willing to contradict something I’ve said before. I am willing to have a knee-jerk reaction, even a wrong one. I’m willing to apologize. I’m perfectly willing to be be perfectly human”

– Donald Millar

Yoga at Home: Sun Salutations

Do you want to start a yoga practice at home? Do you wonder where to start, or how to make the time or commitment? The simple answer is Sun Salutations.

Sun Salutations (surya namaskar) are a series of yoga postures strung together so that they flow from one pose to another. They are called sun salutations because, in India, they are traditionally done first thing in the morning as the sun rises to prepare the body for the practice of yoga.

Don’t worry if it takes a little time to perfect sun salutations; it takes practice to flow from one posture to the next. Begin by practicing each individual posture in the sequence before trying them together. In the beginning you may only manage one or two rounds, but with practice you should be able to build up to 10 rounds.

Sun salutations work the entire body and are an excellent warm up. They build strength and stamina as well as improve flexibility.

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