Pranayama is an important part of yoga. Prana refers to breath or to the vital life energy within us. The practice of regulating this prana within us is called pranayama. It can also be related to control of breath. Controlling how our life energy is channelized in our body helps in turn to keep our body and mind healthy. Only with a healthy mind and body can we live our lives efficiently. But, pranayama like any other yoga needs to be done with proper guidance by a guru. There are many kinds of pranayama. But before practicing, it is important to set the right atmosphere for this practice. Here in this article, we discuss how to set the right space, time and routine for pranayama for beginners so that you can get a correct start to this practice. Time: Taking care of when you do your pranayama is very beneficial. Since it involves deep breathing exercises, it is considered best that you do these practices in the early morning hours. Our yogis and great gurus have also talked about “Brahma mahuratam” or divine time in the morning around 3 am- 6 am when the energy and air around you is high and fresh. By doing pranayama at this time you can get all the benefits of this godly hour every morning.  However, with our current lifestyles and busy schedules, incorporating a session in the morning might be difficult. In that case, practicing it during sunset is also considered an optimal time to get maximum benefits. Space:  Pranayama is an exercise where a person internalizes his focus onto his breath. This requires a certain level of concentration and focus on the person’s behalf. Therefore, to ensure that you can do your pranayama without any external disturbances, it is advised that you choose a quiet and calm place to enhance its effects. Pranayama can be done next to water bodies like in the beach, next toa lake where its safe and you can enjoy the added calm of the water. Or it can also be done where there are lots of trees and plants around in a park. If you do it at home, pick a quiet spot, where your space is well ventilated as well as disturbance free from family members, friends, kids or your phone. Prior notice given to your loved ones to not disturb you during this process will help you stay away from unwanted noise and chaos. Weather: As you will learn, some pranayama style is good to do when its cooler and some when it is warmer depending on the weather conditions of the place you live in. But in any case, it is important that you do your pranayama in temperature wise well-regulated areas where your body feels comfortable. If you are doing it outside, make sure that your body is well accommodated to the external temperature. This will ensure that you don’t lose your focus during your practice because of sudden weather changes. Hygiene: Needless to say, proper hygiene goes a long way in yoga. It helps you enhance your internal experience of the process by clearing out your toxins and waste from the inside. External hygiene is important too. The space where you do your pranayama should be uncluttered and airy. You can also light an incense stick in your space. But dark and dingy spaces are not ideal or inviting for pranayama. Now that you know how to set the ambience for your own pranayama session, let us know how it works for you or what are some of the other tools that you use to enhance your aesthetics during your pranayama session. We would love to hear from you.