Sheetali and sheetkari

śītalī. Sheetkari is the teeth form, on this same page.

The default is the rolled-tongue form: inhale through a rolled tongue, then exhale through the nose. If the tongue will not roll, choose the teeth form: inhale through the teeth with the lips parted, then exhale through the nose. There is no hold. Both forms use the same timer.

The seconds are a product default.

Sources

• A Sarva Yoga teaching of sheetali is a gentle inhale through a rolled tongue and an exhale through the nose, with sheetkari, an inhale through the teeth, for a tongue that will not roll, and without a held breath. Sheetali Pranayama: Steps, Benefits and Precautions

Skip this

• Skip this during a cold, or if it provokes a cough or a wheeze.
• Traditional teaching is cautious with this breath when blood pressure runs low. That caution is traditional teaching, not a reviewed clinical contraindication.
• Skip this if a controlled breath feels strained.

Stop if

• Stop if you feel dizzy, lightheaded, tingling in the lips or fingers, chest pain, heart pounding or irregular beats, visual change, nausea, headache, or panic that is rising rather than settling. Sit or lie down. Breathe quietly, without controlling the breath, until it passes.
• If chest pain, fainting, or trouble breathing does not settle, seek urgent care.