Sheetali pranayama: the cooling breath, step by step

How to do Sheetali

1. Sit tall in Easy Pose, Thunderbolt Pose or on a chair. Rest your hands on your knees, relax your shoulders and close your eyes.
2. Open your mouth slightly and stick the tip of your tongue out just past your lips. Curl the sides of the tongue up so it forms a tube. If your tongue will not curl, see the no-curl option below.
3. When the timer says "Sip in", draw air slowly through the tongue tube for 4 seconds, as if drinking through a straw. Feel the cool air on your tongue and throat.
4. Draw the tongue back in and close your mouth. Breathe out slowly and smoothly through your nose for 6 seconds while the ring shrinks.
5. Repeat for 9 rounds (about a minute and a half). Keep the breath quiet and unforced; there is no breath hold in this version.
6. Finish with a few natural breaths through the nose and notice how your mouth, face and mind feel before you open your eyes.

Sheetali pranayama is the classic yogic cooling breath: you breathe in through a curled tongue and out through the nose. The air picks up moisture from the tongue, so each inhale feels cool, and the slow rhythm settles the mind. Below you will find the Sheetali pranayama procedure, benefits and contraindications, how to use the timer above, honest evidence, common mistakes and how it compares with Sheetkari, the hissing breath.

What is Sheetali pranayama?

The Sheetali pranayama meaning is simple: the Sanskrit word śītalī comes from śīta, "cold", so in English it is the cooling breath. Sitali pranayama and Shitali are other spellings, and the steps of Sitali pranayama are identical; some teachers call it the Sitali cooling breath or the yogic cooling breath. The Sheetali pranayama pronunciation is roughly "shee-TAH-lee".

Sheetali is one of the eight classical breath practices described in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a 15th-century text. It was taught as a way to reduce heat in the body. In modern yoga it is the best-known cooling breath, and one of the most useful cooling breathing techniques to cool down: easy to learn, quiet and quick.

How to use the Sheetali timer on this page

The timer above is set to 4 seconds in and 6 seconds out for 9 rounds. When you press Start:

• "Sip in through the tongue" — the ring grows for 4 seconds. Breathe in through the curled tongue.
• "Breathe out" — the ring shrinks for 6 seconds. Close your mouth and breathe out through your nose.
• A soft chime marks each change, so you can close your eyes. Set the rounds, voice and chime before you start; your minutes are saved on your device in My Practice.

Counts for beginners and advanced practice

Some traditional schools add a short breath hold with the chin lowered after each inhale. That version is not for beginners or for anyone with high blood pressure or heart disease, and it is not needed to feel the cooling effect.

When to practise and for how long

One to five minutes is enough. Good times are a hot afternoon, after a strong yoga practice or Surya Namaskar, or when you feel irritable and flushed. As with other breathing practices, the basic pranayama rules apply: an empty or light stomach, a quiet place, an upright spine and no strain. Avoid it first thing on a cold winter morning.

Sheetali pranayama benefits

The clearest benefit is the one you feel straight away: cool air on the tongue and a sense of the body cooling down. Beyond that, be realistic about the evidence.

• Calm. Four in and six out is about six breaths a minute with a long exhale. Research on slow breathing in general suggests this pace can raise heart-rate variability, a sign that the "rest and digest" side of the nervous system is more active. That is why the cooling breath is often used for stress and anxiety.
• Blood pressure. Slow breathing is part of many yoga programmes for high blood pressure, and Sheetali is one of the gentler options because it has no forceful breathing. Early studies are small, so keep taking your medicine and see it as support, not treatment.
• Heat, thirst and acidity. Yoga texts link Sheetali to reduced "heat" in the body. Many people use it alongside the yoga for acidity routine; this is traditional use, not proven treatment.
• Skin, hair and face. Claims about Sheetali pranayama benefits for skin, hair or face are common, but no research shows them. A cooler, more relaxed face during practice is real; lasting change is not proven.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

• Gulping air. The inhale should sound like a soft sip, not a gasp. Slow it down until it is almost silent.
• Breathing out through the mouth. Always close the mouth and breathe out through the nose; this keeps warm air from drying the tongue.
• Tensing the face. Only the tongue works. Soften the jaw, cheeks and forehead.
• Doing too many rounds. If your mouth feels dry or you feel cold, stop and breathe normally.

What if I cannot curl my tongue?

Many people cannot roll the tongue; it is partly inherited. Try one of these instead: purse your lips into a small "o" and sip air through them, or practise Sheetkari, where you breathe in through the teeth.

Sheetali vs Sheetkari pranayama

Sheetali and Sheetkari pranayama are twin cooling breaths, and some teachers write them together as Sheetali / Sheetkari. The difference is where the air enters.

Both follow the same 4-6 timer. On a cold day, choose a calming breath that does not cool you: Bhramari pranayama, the humming bee breath, and Ujjayi are easy for beginners to learn step by step. Surya Bhedi pranayama (Surya Bhedana) and Kapalbhati have warming benefits, the opposite of Sheetali. For balance, try Anulom Vilom, then explore the benefits of Nadi Shodhana pranayama, also called Nadi Suddhi. The full list of pranayama breathing exercises is on the pranayama page.

Using Sheetali to breathe better day to day

Sheetali is not how to breathe correctly all day; to breathe properly at rest, breathe through the nose. What it does teach is how to control breathing and improve breathing habits: a slow, even inhale and a longer exhale. Use that skill in traffic or before a meeting to breathe better and make breathing easier, even without the tongue. To breathe easier with a cold, skip Sheetali, rest and ask a doctor about breathing problems that do not settle.

Kids enjoy the cooling breath as a "straw breath" or a "dragon cooling its fire". Keep it to 3–5 rounds.

Where this practice is used

Yoga for: Hyperthyroidism (Overactive Thyroid) · Menopause · Migraine and Headache · Anger Management · Multiple Sclerosis · Acidity and Acid Reflux · Gastritis · Glowing Skin and Acne · Psoriasis and Eczema · Motion Sickness

More breathing techniques

Breathing practices are safe for most people when done gently. Stop if you feel dizzy, anxious or short of breath, and ask your doctor first if you have heart or lung disease, high blood pressure, epilepsy or are pregnant.