Pranayama Foundation Course (PFC) - A Foundational Guide to Breathing Techniques
“I take refuge in the breath. Breath is all this, whatever there is, and all that ever will be. I take refuge in the breath.” Chandog Upanishad
The Science of Breath – Foundations of Pranayama
Pranayama yoga foundation course provides a comprehensive introduction to the practice of conscious breathwork within the context of yoga. This course explores the theory, science, and practical techniques of pranayama, incorporating aspects of Ayurveda and yoga philosophy. This aim to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to integrate pranayama into their personal practice or teaching, whether for stress management, improved physical and mental wellbeing, or spiritual growth.
Pranayama yoga foundation course provides a comprehensive introduction to the practice of conscious breathwork within the context of yoga. This course explores the theory, science, and practical techniques of pranayama, incorporating aspects of Ayurveda and yoga philosophy. This aim to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to integrate pranayama into their personal practice or teaching, whether for stress management, improved physical and mental wellbeing, or spiritual growth.
Start Date:
Monday, 18 August 2025
Duration:
10 Weeks | 1 Day per Week | 60-75 Minutes class |
Time:
Our school operates Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and on Saturday from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
Class times are allocated based on your initial consultation to ensure the best fit for your needs and level of experience.
Fees:
AUD $300
Monday, 18 August 2025
Duration:
10 Weeks | 1 Day per Week | 60-75 Minutes class |
Time:
Our school operates Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and on Saturday from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
Class times are allocated based on your initial consultation to ensure the best fit for your needs and level of experience.
Fees:
AUD $300
Course Introduction
Yoga is a science, and Pranayama is one of its most profound applications.
This unique course is rooted in the wisdom of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the five-layer (Pancha Kosha) model of yogic anatomy. It focuses on the Pranamaya Kosha — the second sheath, or energy body — and the fourth limb of yoga, Pranayama, from the Eightfold Path (Ashtanga Yoga).
Whether you’re a beginner looking to build a strong foundation or an experienced practitioner or teacher seeking deeper insight, this course offers valuable guidance and practical tools to support your personal and professional growth.
Why Breath Matters
“We can survive three weeks without food, three days without water, but only three minutes without breath.”
Breath is life. It is the bridge between mind and body, consciousness and matter. When practiced with awareness, yogic breathing becomes a powerful tool for physical health, emotional balance, and spiritual transformation. From calm and quiet to vigorous and energizing, this course explores the full spectrum of ancient pranayama techniques, empowering you to cultivate vitality, clarity, and inner peace.
Yoga is a science, and Pranayama is one of its most profound applications.
This unique course is rooted in the wisdom of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the five-layer (Pancha Kosha) model of yogic anatomy. It focuses on the Pranamaya Kosha — the second sheath, or energy body — and the fourth limb of yoga, Pranayama, from the Eightfold Path (Ashtanga Yoga).
Whether you’re a beginner looking to build a strong foundation or an experienced practitioner or teacher seeking deeper insight, this course offers valuable guidance and practical tools to support your personal and professional growth.
Why Breath Matters
“We can survive three weeks without food, three days without water, but only three minutes without breath.”
Breath is life. It is the bridge between mind and body, consciousness and matter. When practiced with awareness, yogic breathing becomes a powerful tool for physical health, emotional balance, and spiritual transformation. From calm and quiet to vigorous and energizing, this course explores the full spectrum of ancient pranayama techniques, empowering you to cultivate vitality, clarity, and inner peace.
Who Should Attend?
This course is open to everyone:
Curious beginners
Yoga students seeking deeper understanding
Yoga teachers seeking Continuing Education Credits (YACEP)
Anyone interested in using breath as a tool for healing, transformation, and meditation
No prior yoga experience is required.
This course is open to everyone:
Curious beginners
Yoga students seeking deeper understanding
Yoga teachers seeking Continuing Education Credits (YACEP)
Anyone interested in using breath as a tool for healing, transformation, and meditation
No prior yoga experience is required.
Course Structure
Introduction to Pranayama
Understanding the concept of pranayama, its significance in yoga, and its relationship to prana (life force).
Breath Awareness and Control
Developing conscious awareness of the breath and learning techniques to regulate and expand the breath, such as diaphragmatic breathing, alternate nostril breathing, and other pranayama techniques.
Anatomy and Physiology of Breathing
Learning about the respiratory system and how breathing affects the body and mind, including the nervous system.
Therapeutic Applications
Exploring how pranayama can be used to address stress, anxiety, and other health conditions.
Integration with Yoga
Understanding how pranayama complements and enhances yoga postures (asanas) and meditation practices.
Mindfulness and Meditation
Incorporates mindfulness and meditation techniques that complement pranayama practice.
Ayurveda
Explores the relationship between pranayama and Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, which focuses on holistic health and balance.
The course is divided into two key areas:
PART A: YOGA DARSHAN (Philosophy & Knowledge) - Explore the theoretical and energetic principles of Pranayama
Purpose and objectives of Pranayama
Anatomy of the respiratory system (yogic and modern view)
Nadi system: Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna
Four stages of breathing and their benefits
Types of Kumbhaka (breath retention)
Categories of Pranayama (based on time, space, and stages)
Evolution of practice: Arambha, Ghata, Parichaya, Nishpatti
PART B: YOGA ABHYASA (Practice & Technique) - Step-by-step training in classical pranayama methods and preparatory practices
Recommended sitting postures for pranayama
Preparatory movements and asanas for optimal breath practice
Relevant mudras and their techniques
Introduction to Shatkriyas (Yogic cleansing):
Kapalbhati
Bhastrika
Their differences and unique benefits
Deep sectional breathing (abdominal, thoracic, clavicular)
Full Yogic Breath technique
Tranquilizing Pranayama
Nadi Shuddhi (Anuloma Viloma)
Surya Bhedan, Chandra Bhedan
Ujjayi, Sheetali, Shitkari, Bhramari
Vitalizing Pranayama
Bhastrika, Kapalbhati
Meditative Pranayama
Swara and Udgeeth Pranayama
Introduction to Pranayama
Understanding the concept of pranayama, its significance in yoga, and its relationship to prana (life force).
Breath Awareness and Control
Developing conscious awareness of the breath and learning techniques to regulate and expand the breath, such as diaphragmatic breathing, alternate nostril breathing, and other pranayama techniques.
Anatomy and Physiology of Breathing
Learning about the respiratory system and how breathing affects the body and mind, including the nervous system.
Therapeutic Applications
Exploring how pranayama can be used to address stress, anxiety, and other health conditions.
Integration with Yoga
Understanding how pranayama complements and enhances yoga postures (asanas) and meditation practices.
Mindfulness and Meditation
Incorporates mindfulness and meditation techniques that complement pranayama practice.
Ayurveda
Explores the relationship between pranayama and Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, which focuses on holistic health and balance.
The course is divided into two key areas:
PART A: YOGA DARSHAN (Philosophy & Knowledge) - Explore the theoretical and energetic principles of Pranayama
Purpose and objectives of Pranayama
Anatomy of the respiratory system (yogic and modern view)
Nadi system: Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna
Four stages of breathing and their benefits
Types of Kumbhaka (breath retention)
Categories of Pranayama (based on time, space, and stages)
Evolution of practice: Arambha, Ghata, Parichaya, Nishpatti
PART B: YOGA ABHYASA (Practice & Technique) - Step-by-step training in classical pranayama methods and preparatory practices
Recommended sitting postures for pranayama
Preparatory movements and asanas for optimal breath practice
Relevant mudras and their techniques
Introduction to Shatkriyas (Yogic cleansing):
Kapalbhati
Bhastrika
Their differences and unique benefits
Deep sectional breathing (abdominal, thoracic, clavicular)
Full Yogic Breath technique
Tranquilizing Pranayama
Nadi Shuddhi (Anuloma Viloma)
Surya Bhedan, Chandra Bhedan
Ujjayi, Sheetali, Shitkari, Bhramari
Vitalizing Pranayama
Bhastrika, Kapalbhati
Meditative Pranayama
Swara and Udgeeth Pranayama
What’s Included
Pranayama Practice Manual, including six curated asana sequences designed to support your breathing practices
Certificate of Completion with Yoga Alliance YACEP recognition
Ready to Breathe Consciously?
Join Sri Ma Yoga School Australia and explore the transformational power of your own breath — the simplest, most elegant, and profound tool for healing and self-awareness.
Pranayama Practice Manual, including six curated asana sequences designed to support your breathing practices
Certificate of Completion with Yoga Alliance YACEP recognition
Ready to Breathe Consciously?
Join Sri Ma Yoga School Australia and explore the transformational power of your own breath — the simplest, most elegant, and profound tool for healing and self-awareness.
Benefits of Pranayama: Insights from the Experts
Pranayama—the yogic science of breath control—is much more than a breathing technique. As Shri Swami Sivananda explains in The Science of Pranayama, it profoundly transforms the mind, body, and spirit.
“Dharanasu cha yogyata manasah” — The mind becomes fit for concentration.
(Yoga Sutras, II-53)
Mental and Emotional Benefits:
Pranayama calms the restless mind, making it steady like a flame in a windless place. By regulating the breath, disturbing energies are removed, enabling deep concentration and mental clarity. Regular practice leads to emotional balance and a radiant, lively presence. Practitioners often notice a sparkling vitality, healthier complexion, and a sweet, melodious voice.
Physical Benefits
Respiratory System
Pranayama strengthens respiratory muscles and increases lung elasticity through controlled deep and varied breathing. This enhances oxygen intake, supports healthier respiration, and promotes rhythmic neural activity in the brain — balancing the left and right hemispheres, thus stabilizing mood and mental states.
Digestive System
The rhythmic expansion and contraction of the diaphragm during pranayama massages the stomach, liver, pancreas, kidneys, and intestines, improving their function and tone. This stimulation enhances digestion, removes constipation, and promotes efficient nutrient absorption, resulting in better overall health.
Cardiac System
The heart and circulatory system receive gentle stimulation through pranayama techniques like Bhastrika and Kapalbhati. Improved blood circulation strengthens veins, arteries, and capillaries, contributing to a healthier heart and better endurance during meditation and higher states of consciousness.
Endocrine System
By enriching blood quality and circulation, pranayama supports the optimal function of endocrine glands — the regulators of hormones that influence mood, behaviour, and physiological processes. This harmonization fosters physical and emotional balance.
Special Focus
The Pineal GlandLocated near the Ajna chakra, the pineal gland acts as a regulator of growth and endocrine function. It often begins to decline after puberty, which can cause an imbalance between emotional and physical maturity. In India, children start pranayama early to preserve the pineal gland’s activity, helping smooth the transition to adulthood and supporting lifelong mental clarity.
The Power of BreathBreath is the bridge between body and mind — controlling it consciously through pranayama not only improves health but also leads to spiritual awakening and transformation.
Pranayama—the yogic science of breath control—is much more than a breathing technique. As Shri Swami Sivananda explains in The Science of Pranayama, it profoundly transforms the mind, body, and spirit.
“Dharanasu cha yogyata manasah” — The mind becomes fit for concentration.
(Yoga Sutras, II-53)
Mental and Emotional Benefits:
Pranayama calms the restless mind, making it steady like a flame in a windless place. By regulating the breath, disturbing energies are removed, enabling deep concentration and mental clarity. Regular practice leads to emotional balance and a radiant, lively presence. Practitioners often notice a sparkling vitality, healthier complexion, and a sweet, melodious voice.
Physical Benefits
Respiratory System
Pranayama strengthens respiratory muscles and increases lung elasticity through controlled deep and varied breathing. This enhances oxygen intake, supports healthier respiration, and promotes rhythmic neural activity in the brain — balancing the left and right hemispheres, thus stabilizing mood and mental states.
Digestive System
The rhythmic expansion and contraction of the diaphragm during pranayama massages the stomach, liver, pancreas, kidneys, and intestines, improving their function and tone. This stimulation enhances digestion, removes constipation, and promotes efficient nutrient absorption, resulting in better overall health.
Cardiac System
The heart and circulatory system receive gentle stimulation through pranayama techniques like Bhastrika and Kapalbhati. Improved blood circulation strengthens veins, arteries, and capillaries, contributing to a healthier heart and better endurance during meditation and higher states of consciousness.
Endocrine System
By enriching blood quality and circulation, pranayama supports the optimal function of endocrine glands — the regulators of hormones that influence mood, behaviour, and physiological processes. This harmonization fosters physical and emotional balance.
Special Focus
The Pineal GlandLocated near the Ajna chakra, the pineal gland acts as a regulator of growth and endocrine function. It often begins to decline after puberty, which can cause an imbalance between emotional and physical maturity. In India, children start pranayama early to preserve the pineal gland’s activity, helping smooth the transition to adulthood and supporting lifelong mental clarity.
The Power of BreathBreath is the bridge between body and mind — controlling it consciously through pranayama not only improves health but also leads to spiritual awakening and transformation.