Breath of joy

How to do it

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. If you'd rather stay still, sit tall: the breathing is the same.
2. Let the air out through your nose so you start with room.
3. Breathe in through the nose for 1 second, to about a third of your capacity. If you're using your arms, swing them up in front of you to shoulder height.
4. Without letting any air out, breathe in for another second, to two thirds. Your arms open out to the sides like wings.
5. Breathe in one more second, until you're full without straining. Your arms reach overhead.
6. Breathe out through the mouth for 3 seconds with a soft "ha." Standing, bend your knees and let your torso and arms drop forward. In a chair, just lower your arms.
7. Repeat until you've done 9 cycles. Each one takes 6 seconds.
8. To finish, stay standing or seated, close your eyes and breathe at your own pace for half a minute. Notice your pulse, your face and your hands.

What breath of joy is

It's one inhale split into three short sips, stacked one on top of the other, and a single exhale through the mouth. In the guide each sip lasts one second and the exhale lasts three. In its classroom form it is as much movement as breathing: the arms go forward, out to the sides and up, and on the exhale the whole body lets go and folds forward.

It looks like two of its neighbors and is neither. Three-part breath also fills in three stages, but slowly, 2 seconds each, and it breathes out through the nose. Cyclic sighing uses two inhales and a long, calming exhale. This one is quicker, louder and meant to rev you up.

Where it comes from

Its written history is short. Amy Weintraub, a senior Kripalu teacher and the author of Yoga for Depression, writes that the technique entered the Kripalu tradition when the late yogini Lila Ostermann taught it to hundreds of teachers in the early 1970s. From there it spread to yoga classes of many styles, usually as a warm-up.

Where Ostermann got it isn't in anything we could read. We found no classical yoga text that describes it, so it's presented here as what it is: a practice of modern yoga, with no confirmed ancient lineage.

What people use it for

To shake off heaviness. It shows up at the start of a class, in the mid-afternoon slump, after a long stretch in a chair, or before something that calls for some spark. Weintraub recommends it for low-energy moments and describes it as a way out of short, high, upper-chest breathing.

Part of its charm is that it's hard to do with a straight face. The "ha" and the swinging arms have something playful about them, and many people end up smiling. That's experience, not a measurement.

What the studies say

We found no controlled study of this breath. What you read about it, for instance that it first activates the body and then settles it, comes from the people who teach it, not from measured results.

The closest thing that has been studied is another breath with stacked inhales and a mouth exhale: cyclic sighing. In a 2023 Stanford trial with 108 adults practicing five minutes a day for 28 days, the 30 who did cyclic sighing were the only group whose positive mood improved significantly more than the meditation group's. But that pattern is slow and still, so its result doesn't carry over to this one.

In short: the evidence for breath of joy is the evidence of practice, and nobody has data on its effects yet.

What it feels like and what to notice

The first things to show up tend to be warmth in the face and arms, a slightly faster pulse and a sense of being more awake. When you finish, it's worth standing still for a few seconds and noticing your heartbeat and what you feel in your face, arms and palms.

Deep, quick breathing can make you lightheaded, and so can dropping your head and bringing it back up. If you feel dizzy, stop and breathe normally for a minute. Weintraub and the Rubin Museum's guide both say the same, and both ask you not to force the body or the breath.

Variations

• In a chair (easier variation): the same breathing, with or without the arms, and no forward fold. It's the one to pick if bending over makes you dizzy.
• Slower (variation): each inhale takes 2 seconds and the exhale 6, which is nearly three-part breath with a mouth exhale.
• Fewer cycles (variation): the Rubin Museum's guide suggests five to eight repetitions, at a pace that works for your body.
• With syllables (a variation Weintraub teaches): on the inhales you silently repeat "va," "ra" and "ya," one per sip, and the exhale sounds "ha."

Common mistakes

• Filling up on the first sip. If the first inhale takes everything, there's no room for the other two. Think in thirds.
• Leaking air between sips. The three inhales stack. The air leaves only once.
• Locking your knees. Standing, your knees stay soft the whole time and bend on the exhale.
• Flinging your arms. The swing is wide but not abrupt. Your shoulders and lower back will thank you.
• Popping back up after the fold. If you get dizzy, do the chair version.
• Going on and on. Nine cycles is the session. More isn't better.

How often and how long

A session takes 54 seconds. Weintraub talks about repeating it up to nine times, without forcing, and that's what the guide does. You can use it once or twice a day, at the moments you want to wake up: in the morning, before you move, or to break up a long afternoon.

It isn't a breath for bedtime. If you want to keep practicing after the nine cycles, switch to a slow breath instead of adding more rounds.

Before you start

• If you feel dizzy, stop and breathe normally for a minute. Standing, do it in a clear space with soft knees; if you get dizzy easily, do it in a chair.
• Never do it in water or while driving.
• The people who teach it say to skip it with high blood pressure or a head or eye injury or condition, such as migraines or glaucoma. In those cases, or if you're pregnant or have a heart or lung condition, check with your care provider first.
• This is a practice for adults. Do it without forcing your body or your breath.