Sitali and sitkari are a pair of pranayama techniques built around the same basic idea: inhale through the mouth in a way that draws air over a wet surface — the tongue for sitali, the teeth and gums for sitkari — instead of through the nose. Both produce an immediate cooling sensation on the way in, followed by a slow, quiet exhale through the nose. They’re grouped together in yoga texts as the classic “cooling breaths,” reached for on hot days, after a heated argument, or in the last few minutes before sleep when the mind is still running warm. The technique is simple enough to learn in a minute, but there’s a real difference between what the tradition claims about cooling the whole body and what the breath is actually doing physiologically — worth understanding before you rely on either one.
How to Practice Sitali
Sitali (from “sitala,” meaning cool) is the version most people learn first, built around curling the tongue into a tube.
- Sit comfortably with a tall spine — Easy Pose or Lotus Pose both work well.
- Stick your tongue out slightly and curl its outer edges upward, forming a tube or trough down the center.
- Inhale slowly through the curled tongue, drawing air in through the “straw” you’ve made. You should feel a distinct coolness on the tongue as the air passes over it.
- Draw the tongue back in, close your mouth, and exhale slowly and quietly through the nose.
That’s one round. Start with 5 to 8 rounds and build from there. Full pacing cues and variations are on the Sitali Breath technique page.
One catch: not everyone can curl their tongue into a tube — it’s a genetic trait, roughly a third of people can’t do it regardless of practice. If that’s you, sitkari is the direct substitute, not a lesser alternative.
How to Practice Sitkari
Sitkari produces the same cooling inhale without needing a curled tongue, which is why some teachers introduce it first.
- Sit comfortably, spine long, shoulders relaxed.
- Bring your teeth lightly together with lips parted just enough to expose them, tongue resting relaxed behind the teeth or curled slightly toward the roof of the mouth.
- Inhale slowly through the gaps in your teeth, letting the air hiss softly as it passes in — the sound is where the name comes from (“sit-kari” roughly means “hissing sound”).
- Close your mouth and exhale slowly through the nose, as with sitali.
Repeat for the same 5 to 8 rounds to start. Step-by-step cues are on the Sitkari Breath page. If you’re missing teeth, have significant dental sensitivity, or the hiss feels uncomfortable, sitali is the better fit — or, for a cooling effect without any mouth breathing at all, Chandra Bhedana (left-nostril breathing) is worth learning as a nasal alternative.
Tradition vs. Physiology: Does It Actually Cool You?
In the classical texts, sitali and sitkari are described as reducing excess heat in the body — traditionally framed in Ayurvedic terms as pacifying pitta, the heat-associated dosha linked to irritability, inflammation, and a hot temperament. That’s a useful practical frame, but it’s worth being precise about what modern physiology can and can’t confirm.
What’s plausible: air moving across the moist surface of the tongue or the wet tissue behind the teeth causes a small amount of evaporative cooling, the same basic mechanism that makes sweat feel cool as it evaporates off skin. That produces a genuine, immediate local sensation of coolness in the mouth and throat — this part isn’t in dispute, you can feel it on the first inhale.
What’s not well established: that this local sensation translates into a measurable drop in core body temperature. There’s no strong evidence that a few rounds of sitali meaningfully cools your blood or lowers your actual body temperature the way, say, sweating or moving into shade does. The research on pranayama and thermoregulation is thin and mostly small-scale. What’s more consistently observed is the broader effect shared by most slow-breathing techniques: a long, unhurried inhale followed by a slow exhale nudges the nervous system toward its calmer, parasympathetic mode, lowering heart rate and the subjective sense of being keyed up. Some of the “cooling” people report may be this general calming effect as much as any thermal one — worth knowing, not worth dismissing, since feeling calmer during a hot or heated moment is a real and useful outcome on its own.
When to Use Them
Both techniques work well in the same situations, and you can use whichever one your tongue allows:
- Physical heat — during or after a hot yoga class, a run in the sun, or on a genuinely hot day, a few rounds can take the edge off before you look for water or shade.
- Irritability or a short temper — the pause and the sensory shift interrupt a rising temper faster than trying to reason your way out of it; see breathing exercises for anxiety for how this compares to other calming techniques.
- Before sleep in warm weather — a few slow rounds in bed, especially paired with resting afterward in Corpse Pose, can settle both body and mind before a hot night.
- Mid-practice reset — a minute of either breath between more demanding poses cools things down without fully breaking your focus.
If you’re new to breathwork generally, our guide to pranayama for beginners covers how techniques like these fit into a regular practice.
Who Should Be Cautious
Sitali and sitkari are gentle, but mouth breathing isn’t the right choice for everyone.
- Cold weather or air-conditioned rooms. Both techniques work against you in the cold — practice them somewhere warm, or skip them in favor of a warming technique like Chandra Bhedana’s counterpart, right-nostril breathing.
- Low blood pressure. Because these breaths lean toward the relaxing, parasympathetic side, people with low blood pressure or a tendency to feel lightheaded should practice seated and stop if they feel dizzy.
- Respiratory conditions. Anyone with asthma, chronic bronchitis, or a cold with nasal or chest congestion should be cautious with sustained mouth breathing, especially of cool or dry air, and check with a doctor before making it a regular habit.
- Dental sensitivity or missing teeth. Sitkari’s hiss depends on air moving across the teeth, which can be uncomfortable with sensitive teeth, braces, or gaps — sitali is the better choice here.
If you have a respiratory condition, low blood pressure, or dental sensitivity, check with a doctor or dentist before adopting either practice regularly.
Both techniques are simple enough to test in under a minute — try one the next time you’re overheated or wound up, and notice which curls of tongue or teeth actually feel cooling for you. For the broader practice these breaths belong to, see our glossary entry on prana, the vital energy pranayama is traditionally said to work with.