Can Yoga Breathing / Pranayama Concepts Be Reasonably Extended to Conventional Endurance Training?

Yoga breathing practice, also known as pranayama, is the art of intentionally controlling the breath. Pranayama consists of numerous breathing techniques that affect the central nervous system. There are numerous benefits of practicing pranayama including improved pulmonary function [1], reduced oxygen consumption per unit work [2], and increased parasympathetic activity and decreased sympathetic dominance [3]. Several of these techniques focus on the use of a nasal breathing approach resulting in a slower diaphragmatically dominated breathing process which induces relatively greater parasympathetic activation and results in a lower rate of ventilation. The conventional breathing approach used by most individuals who engage in typical endurance exercises, such as running or cycling, is orally dominated, results in more rapid breathing, induces greater use of the chest respiratory muscles, and produces relatively higher rates of ventilation. The oral breathing approach reflects the common, but not evidentiary, wisdom that more ventilation provides greater oxygenation. However, recently emerging research on the topic brings question to this most basic belief [4].