Śītalī and sītkārī, the cooling breaths

Two names, one family

शीत (śīta) means cold; śītalī is "the cooling one". Sītkārī means "the one that makes sīt", the hiss of air drawn between the teeth. They are the only two classical breaths in which you breathe in through the mouth; in both, you breathe out through the nose. In everyday English you will meet many spellings: sheetali, sitali, shitali; sheetkari, sitkari.

What the texts say

Sītkārī and śītalī are the third and fourth of the eight kumbhakas of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (2.44). Sītkārī comes first:

सीत्कां कुर्यात्तथा वक्त्रे घ्राणेनैव विजृम्भिकाम् । एवमभ्यासयोगेन कामदेवो द्वितीयकः ॥

sītkāṃ kuryāt tathā vaktre ghrāṇenaiva vijṛmbhikām | evam abhyāsa-yogena kāma-devo dvitīyakaḥ ||

Make the sound sīt in the mouth, and let the breath out only through the nose. Through practice of this, one becomes a second god of love.

The next two verses continue in the same register: the practitioner is honoured by the circle of yoginīs and feels neither hunger, thirst, sleep nor sloth (2.55-2.56). Then śītalī:

जिह्वया वायुमाकृष्य पूर्ववत्कुम्भसाधनम् । शनकैर्घ्राणरन्ध्राभ्यां रेचयेत्पवनं सुधीः ॥

jihvayā vāyum ākṛṣya pūrvavat kumbha-sādhanam | śanakair ghrāṇa-randhrābhyāṃ recayet pavanaṃ sudhīḥ ||

Drawing the air in with the tongue, holding it as before, the wise one should let it out slowly through the nostrils.

Verse 2.58 says that śītalī destroys colic, an enlarged spleen, fever, disorders of bile, hunger, thirst and poisons. These are claims of a medieval text, which we report without endorsing. What is certain is simpler: air drawn over a moist tongue feels cool.

Steps: sheetali

1. Sit upright, shoulders soft, on a cushion or a chair.
2. Put the tongue out slightly beyond the lips and roll its sides up to form a tube.
3. Breathe in slowly through the tube, as through a straw. Feel the coolness on the tongue and in the throat.
4. Draw the tongue back in, close the mouth and breathe out slowly through the nose.
5. Eight to ten rounds, then breathe naturally.

Steps: sheetkari

1. Bring the upper and lower teeth lightly together and part the lips so that the teeth show. The tongue rests flat, or its tip touches the back of the upper teeth.
2. Breathe in slowly through the teeth with a soft hiss, "sss".
3. Close the mouth and breathe out slowly through the nose.
4. Eight to ten rounds.

Rhythm for beginners and progression

In north India, the heat of May and June before the monsoon is their natural season; in winter, teachers set them aside.

What research shows

The cooling breaths have been tested in a way that matters. In a 2020 study, seventeen healthy young men each did śītalī, sītkārī, breath awareness and quiet lying on four separate days, while body temperature and gas exchange were measured (Telles and colleagues). Axillary body temperature rose during śītalī and sītkārī, and oxygen consumption went up by about 9% and 7.6%. The authors conclude that their results "do not support the description of these yoga breathing practices as cooling"; the practices may instead induce a mild increase in metabolism.

This is a small study of surface temperature, not the last word. But it is a good example of why we separate what a technique feels like (fresh, calming) from what it measurably does.

Common mistakes

• Practising in cold, dry or polluted air. The nose is bypassed; the throat takes the hit.
• Breathing out through the mouth. Both breaths exhale through the nose.
• Forcing the tongue roll. If it does not roll, use sītkārī or kākī mudrā; there is nothing to gain by straining.
• Long sessions in winter because a video said it "cools the body".

Where it fits in a practice

Use them in the warm season, after the postures and after any heating technique such as kapalabhati or bhastrika, then finish with nadi shodhana or silence. The types of pranayama page sets them among the eight kumbhakas, and pranayama gives the whole practice.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh, Sacred Books of the Hindus vol. XV part 3 (1914), Internet Archive checked October 17, 2026
2. Svātmārāma, Haṭhayogapradīpikā, Sanskrit text, 2.54-2.58 (GRETIL, University of Göttingen) checked October 17, 2026
3. Srisa Chandra Vasu (tr.), The Gheranda Samhita, Sacred Books of the Hindus vol. XV (1914-1915), lesson 5, verses 73-74, and lesson 3, verse 86, Internet Archive checked October 17, 2026
4. Telles S et al. Body Temperature and Energy Expenditure During and After Yoga Breathing Practices Traditionally Described as Cooling. Medical Science Monitor Basic Research, 2020 DOI 10.12659/MSMBR.920107 PMID 31907342 checked October 17, 2026

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