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Wikipedia: Pranayama

Encyclopedia article on yogic breath regulation (pranayama)—historical techniques and modern therapeutic adaptations as vocabulary map for slow, resonant, and cyclic breathing RCT families.

Scope

Summarizes classical pranayama categories (tempo, nostril alternation, retentions) and modern yoga-therapy adaptations—useful vocabulary when reading slow / resonant / cyclic breathing trials that borrow yogic pacing without using Sanskrit names.

Evidence discipline

Blood pressure, HRV, and anxiety numbers in trials indexed here (Brown, Zaccario, King, Jerath, cyclic-sighing RCTs) remain authoritative; Wikipedia supplies context, not pooled effect sizes.

Distinct modalities

Wim Hof–style intermittent hypoxia breathing is a different stimulus class than typical 6 breaths/min baroreflex training—see Blades 2024 and Kox 2012 rows rather than conflating under generic “pranayama.”

Outcomes

  • Systolic Blood Pressure
    Tertiary map for breath-regulation taxonomy; mmHg or HRV effect sizes for any breathing protocol must come from PubMed-linked systematic reviews and RCTs on this wiki.
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