Breathing is the one function of the human body that is both automatic and voluntary. We can let it happen naturally, or we can guide it with intention. For centuries, yogic traditions have treated breath as a bridge between body and mind, a tool to influence energy, focus, and emotional balance. Modern science is now beginning to confirm what ancient practices long suggested—that the rhythm of the breath has the power to transform the rhythm of the brain.
A recent study led by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, in collaboration with Sri Sri Institute of Advanced Research and Fortis Escort Heart Institute, offers striking evidence of this connection. Their findings reveal that Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY), a structured rhythmic breathing technique, induces measurable changes in brain activity associated with deep relaxation and altered states of consciousness.
Stress and the Search for Accessible Mental Health Tools
The context for this research is urgent. Rates of stress, anxiety, and depression are rising worldwide, yet access to professional mental health care remains limited for many. Against this backdrop, low-cost, self-directed practices like yoga, meditation, and breathing techniques are gaining attention. They do not replace therapy or medication, but they may provide a valuable complement—tools that people can practice daily to support mental health.
Previous studies have shown that meditative practices can improve mood, reduce fatigue, and enhance emotional resilience. Brain imaging work has linked meditation to changes in neural circuits that regulate attention and emotion. Meanwhile, controlled breathing has been found to influence the balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, tilting the body toward calm and relaxation. The new SKY study builds on this foundation, zooming in on how rhythmic breathing alters the brain’s electrical activity in real time.
A Scientific Look at Sudarshan Kriya Yoga
The study, titled “Unlocking deep relaxation: the power of rhythmic breathing on brain rhythms” and published in npj Mental Health Research, examined how brain oscillations change during different phases of SKY practice.
Forty-three experienced SKY practitioners, ranging in age from early twenties to late twenties and with between one and eighteen years of practice, participated in the research. All were recruited from the Art of Living Foundation’s Bengaluru center. As a comparison, a control group of ten individuals listened to relaxing music instead of practicing SKY.
Using a 24-channel EEG system, the researchers monitored brain activity before, during, and after the practice. SKY was divided into five phases: pre-resting, pranayama (preparatory breathing), kriya (cyclical breathing), yoga-nidra (guided rest), and post-resting. This allowed the team to track how brain rhythms shifted across the full arc of the session.
Theta, Delta, and the Neural Signature of Relaxation
The results revealed a clear pattern. During kriya, participants showed a rise in theta activity—brain waves often linked to meditative awareness and creativity. This increase persisted into the yoga-nidra phase. Delta activity, usually associated with deep sleep, spiked during yoga-nidra, suggesting that the brain was entering a profound state of rest even though practitioners remained awake.
At the same time, alpha activity—commonly connected to relaxed but alert states—decreased significantly during yoga-nidra and post-resting, especially in the parietal and occipital regions of the brain. In other words, SKY seemed to push the brain into a state dominated by slower theta and delta rhythms while suppressing alpha waves, a neural signature aligned with deep relaxation and the yogic description of samadhi, or meditative absorption.
The control group, who listened to music, showed no comparable shifts, hinting that the changes were tied specifically to rhythmic breathing rather than simply resting with a calming stimulus.
Strengths and Limitations of the Research
While the findings are promising, the study does come with caveats. First, the control group design raises questions. The music group provided some comparison, but the choice of “relaxing music” was not clearly defined in terms of tempo, rhythm, or pitch, leaving open the possibility that the acoustic content shaped the results in unpredictable ways. A silent resting control group—or a group performing untrained deep breathing—would have offered a clearer comparison.
Second, technical challenges emerged. Due to noise in the recordings, two EEG channels (F7 and O2) had to be removed for the majority of participants. Since each electrode reflects a mixture of signals from nearby brain regions, this data loss complicates interpretation and may have altered the overall picture of activity.
Finally, there are potential conflicts of interest. The Sri Sri Institute of Advanced Research is affiliated with the Art of Living Foundation, whose founder developed SKY. While the study reported no competing interests, stronger safeguards around independence would bolster confidence in the findings.
Why This Matters for Mental Health
Despite these limitations, the study highlights an important possibility: that structured, rhythmic breathing practices can guide the brain into states of rest and recovery that resemble deep sleep, but with conscious awareness. For people struggling with stress and anxiety, such techniques may offer a practical, non-pharmacological tool that is accessible, inexpensive, and adaptable to daily life.
Unlike medication, which often targets specific neurochemical pathways, SKY appears to work at the level of brain rhythms, shifting the neural “music” of the mind. This rhythmic entrainment could form the basis for future neurofeedback interventions, where individuals learn to regulate their own brain states with practice.
The Larger Journey of Science and Tradition
What makes this study particularly compelling is the way it bridges ancient wisdom and modern neuroscience. Yogic traditions have long described states of consciousness marked by stillness, clarity, and transcendence. Modern EEG data now gives us a glimpse into what those states might look like in the language of brain waves.
The picture is not yet complete. More rigorous, independent studies with larger and more diverse groups will be needed to confirm and expand on these results. But each step in this research journey moves us closer to understanding how something as simple and universal as breathing can unlock profound shifts in the human mind.
A Breath Toward the Future
In a world increasingly defined by stress and distraction, the idea that a person can access deep calm simply by engaging with their breath is both radical and deeply human. The study from IIT Gandhinagar and its collaborators does not claim to provide final answers, but it does shine light on a path forward. Breathing practices like SKY may one day stand alongside therapy, medication, and lifestyle interventions as part of a holistic toolkit for mental well-being.
The breath, after all, is always with us—quietly waiting to be noticed, shaped, and used as a key to inner balance. The science of SKY suggests that within each inhalation and exhalation lies the potential not only for calm but for a profound harmony between body, brain, and spirit.
More information: Vaibhav Tripathi et al, Unlocking deep relaxation: the power of rhythmic breathing on brain rhythms, npj Mental Health Research (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s44184-025-00156-4
