What is Sitkari Breath?
Sitkari Pranayama, also called the hissing breath, is a cooling breathing technique in yoga where air is inhaled through the gaps between the teeth. The exhalation occurs through the nostrils. The word Sitkari comes from the Sanskrit root Shitkarin (शीत्कारिन्), which translates to “the sound uttered while drawing the breath.” The Sanskrit term “Sitkari” combines “sit,” meaning cool, and “kari,” meaning to do. Thus, Sitkari Pranayama literally translates to “the action of cooling.” The technique is also known as Hissing Breath or Cooling Breath due to the soft sibilant sound produced during inhalation and its temperature-lowering effects.
In yoga, there are only two pranayamas where you inhale through the mouth rather than the nose: Sheetali and Sitkari. Their method, purpose, energetic effects, and benefits are nearly identical. The key difference lies in the shape of the tongue and mouth during inhalation: In Sheetali, the tongue is curled into a tube (like a straw) to sip in the air. In Sitkari, the tongue remains flat and protrudes slightly through parted lips. The answer lies in human anatomy. Some people, no matter how hard they try, cannot curl their tongue. Sitkari thus serves as an accessible alternative.
Origins & Lineage
Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a 15th-century text authored by Svatmarama, Gheranda Samhita, a 17th-century text authored by Gheranda, and Shiva Samhita, a text dating between 1300 and 1700 CE. Out of these, Hatha Yoga Pradipika is the most revered text containing practical instructions for Hatha Yoga. Sitkari, also known as the Hissing Breath in English, is described in verses 55 to 56 of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Sitkari is one of the eight traditional pranayamas in the Hatha Yoga tradition. Its steps and benefits have been described in various classic and modern yoga texts, including Gheranda Samhita, Light on Pranayama, Shiva Samhita, and the Yoga Chudamani Upanishad.
It was composed by Svātmārāma in the 15th century as a compilation of the earlier haṭha yoga texts. Svatmarama belonged to the Nath sampradaya, a lineage tracing back to legendary masters including Matsyendranath and Gorakhnath. Both dominant texts, Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Gheranda Samhita, mention this pranayama as a balancing remedy for the Pitta Dosha. According to the source text, regular practice of Sitkari breathing makes a yogi attractive (like Kamadeva, the Hindu god of love and desire), strong, energetic, and free from hunger, though these classical descriptions blend physiological effects with symbolic language.
How It’s Practiced
Two principal variations exist in contemporary teaching. In the Light on Pranayama, Iyengar recommends parting the lips slightly and keeping the tongue flat, with the tongue tip gently protruding through the lips while inhaling. Swami Saraswati suggests lightly touching the upper and lower teeth and inhaling through the gaps between the teeth. Both methods are widely taught.
The fundamental technique follows this structure: practitioners sit in a stable posture with an upright spine. Inhale slowly through the gaps between the teeth. As you breathe in, feel the cool air entering the mouth and filling the abdomen first, then the chest. A soft hissing sound may naturally arise during the inhalation. Close the lips and gently exhale through the nose in a slow and controlled manner. In Sitkari, air flows across the surface of the tongue as you inhale, which naturally moistens and cools the breath before it enters the lungs.
For beginners, maintain an inhalation-to-exhalation ratio of 1:1. As you become more comfortable, you can gradually extend the exhalation to 2 or 4 times the duration of the inhalation. Advanced practitioners may incorporate breath retention (Kumbhaka) and bandhas. After inhaling, hold the breath and lower your chin to your chest (Jalandhar Bandha), then exhale slowly.
Sitkari Breath Today
Sitkari remains a standard component of traditional hatha yoga instruction worldwide. It appears in yoga teacher training curricula, pranayama-focused workshops, and therapeutic breathwork programs. The ancient hatha yoga texts describe eight types of pranayama techniques: sūryabhedana, ujjāyī, sītalī, sītkārī, bhastrikā, bhrāmarī, mūrccā and plāvinī. And to this, they add nāḍīśodhana, candrabhedana, and kapalabhāti. These eleven techniques are the complete set of breathing methods in classical hatha-yoga.
Contemporary practitioners encounter Sitkari in 200-hour and 500-hour yoga teacher trainings, specialized pranayama certifications (typically 20–100 hours), and online courses offered by schools rooted in the Krishnamacharya lineage and other traditional systems. It frequently appears in Ayurveda-informed yoga programs as a remedy for Pitta imbalance. The technique is also taught in hot yoga contexts as a post-practice cooling method and in meditation retreats as a preparatory practice for seated work.
Common Misconceptions
Sitkari is not a visualization practice—the cooling effect is physiological, not imagined. Cooling pranayama works through a mechanism called evaporative cooling combined with parasympathetic activation. When you draw air across the moist surface of your tongue (Sheetali) or through your teeth (Sitkari), the evaporation absorbs heat from the blood vessels in the oral mucosa, effectively cooling the blood before it circulates throughout the body.
Sitkari and Sheetali are not interchangeable names for the same practice, though they achieve similar effects. In essence, they refer to the same technique. The difference lies only in transliteration from Sanskrit to English. In some regions or texts, it’s pronounced and written as Sitkari, while others use Shitkari. However, Sitkari and Sheetali are distinct: Sheetali uses a rolled tongue, Sitkari uses the teeth.
The practice is not appropriate year-round for everyone. Avoid practising in very cold weather or when your body already feels cold, as this pranayama has a cooling effect. People with respiratory conditions such as asthma or bronchitis should practise cautiously or avoid it unless guided by a yoga teacher or healthcare professional. Those with low blood pressure (hypotension) should avoid practising this pranayama. It is not recommended during colds, flu, or nasal congestion, as breathing through the mouth may increase discomfort.
How to Begin
Begin with unmodified observation: sit comfortably for five minutes and simply notice your natural breath without changing it. Once you can sustain this awareness, introduce Sitkari for 5–10 rounds (one inhalation-exhalation cycle equals one round), maintaining a 1:1 ratio between inhalation and exhalation duration.
For those new to pranayama, A. G. Mohan is one of the foremost yoga masters in this era. He began his yoga journey in 1971, spending nearly two decades as a personal student of the legendary yogi Sri Krishnamacharya. Not only will you understand the theory of these pranayamas directly from the ancient texts like the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, you will also be guided in their practice with the clear and effective instructions from the teachings of the great yogi Sri Krishnamacharya. Mohan’s online course “Pranayamas of Classical Yoga” offers accessible instruction rooted in traditional lineage.
B.K.S. Iyengar’s Light on Pranayama (1981) remains the most widely cited English-language manual for technique details. For traditional context, consult translations of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika with commentary, such as Swami Muktibodhananda’s edition published by Bihar School of Yoga. In-person instruction through accredited yoga teacher training programs (particularly those offering pranayama-specific modules of 20–50 hours) provides supervised practice essential for proper technique and contraindication screening.