The tradition of yoga is significantly more than just physical training. In this tutorial, John Campbell, an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia, and a longtime Ashtanga yoga teacher and practitioner, explores the importance of breath as one of the fundamental elements of yoga practice, and its relationship to the mind, body, and emotional world. Through steady breathing, concentration, and movement, the yoga can serve as a transformative mechanism to improve overall well-being for advanced and beginning practitioners alike.

Related: Get started with a 10-minute at-home yoga class.

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