Sitali Breathing
The yogic air conditioner — cool your body through your tongue
Sitali pranayama is the cooling counterpart to bhastrika's heat. The technique involves curling the tongue into a tube shape and inhaling through it — the air passes over the moist tongue surface and cools before entering the lungs. The name comes from the Sanskrit 'sit' meaning cool. It is one of the only pranayama techniques where inhalation occurs through the mouth.
The cooling mechanism is evaporative: as air passes over the wet tongue, moisture evaporates and draws heat from the blood vessels underneath. This cooled air then enters the lungs, cooling the blood in the pulmonary capillaries. The vagal stimulation from the slow breathing adds a calming parasympathetic effect on top of the physical cooling.
Approximately 65-80% of people can curl their tongue into a tube (it's genetic). If you can't curl your tongue, practice sitkari instead — the same technique but with teeth lightly clenched and lips parted, inhaling through the gaps between teeth. Both achieve the same cooling effect.
Benefits
- Physically cools the body — useful during heat, hot flashes, or post-exercise
- Combines cooling with parasympathetic activation for deep calm
- Reduces thirst and hunger sensations temporarily
- Traditionally used to lower pitta (heat/inflammation) in Ayurvedic medicine
- One of the few breathing techniques that directly changes body temperature
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I can't curl my tongue?
Practice sitkari instead. Lightly clench your teeth, part your lips slightly, and inhale through the gaps between your teeth. You'll hear a gentle hissing sound. Exhale through the nose. The cooling effect is comparable to sitali.
When should I practice sitali?
After exercise or physical activity, during hot weather, when experiencing hot flashes, before bed (cooling promotes sleep), or any time you feel overheated or agitated. Avoid in very cold weather or if you have respiratory infections.
How long should a sitali session last?
5-10 minutes or 15-20 breath cycles. Because the exhale is through the nose, each cycle naturally takes 8-12 seconds. Even 5 rounds can noticeably cool the body and calm the mind.
Related Breathing Exercises