Within the discipline often called Laya Yoga, specific patterns of breath control (prāṇāyāma) are indeed employed to support the dissolution of mental activity into inner sound (nāda) and subtle energy centers (cakras). These breathing methods are not treated as isolated techniques, but as instruments for refining prāṇa so that attention can be drawn inward. Foundational among them are practices such as alternate nostril breathing (nāḍī-śodhana or anuloma-viloma), which aim to purify the subtle channels and balance the currents of ida and piṅgalā, and thus steady the mind for more interior practices. Right- and left-nostril dominant breathing, sometimes referred to in terms of solar and lunar currents, are also used to modulate energetic tone before turning awareness toward the central channel.

Breath retention (kumbhaka), both after inhalation (antara) and after exhalation (bāhya), occupies a central place in this context. By suspending the usual flow of inhalation and exhalation, kumbhaka is used to quiet mental fluctuations and intensify prāṇa at specific centers, often in conjunction with focused attention on a cakra or on the subtle inner sound. In some lineages, this retention is coordinated with bodily locks (bandhas) to guide the life force toward the central channel (suṣumnā) and support the awakening of kuṇḍalinī, always with the aim of deepening absorption rather than merely producing altered states.

Several sound-related breathing patterns are especially valued because they bridge outer and inner vibration. Ujjāyī prāṇāyāma, with its gentle constriction of the throat, produces a soft internal sound that can attune the mind to subtler nāda. Bhrāmarī prāṇāyāma, the so‑called humming‑bee breath, uses a prolonged humming on exhalation to draw awareness into the head and inner ear region, making it easier to shift attention from gross, external sound to more refined internal resonance. In this way, breath, sound, and awareness are woven together as a single contemplative thread.

In some tantric or laya‑oriented streams, more elaborate sequences appear, where inhalation, retention, and exhalation are coordinated with bandhas such as mūla‑bandha, uddiyāna‑bandha, and jālandhara‑bandha. These are used to direct prāṇa deliberately into the suṣumnā, activate dormant energies, and stabilize attention in the higher centers. Yet across these variations, the defining feature remains the same: breathing techniques are always subordinate to the overarching purpose of laya, the gradual dissolution of the mind into subtle prāṇa, inner sound, and the luminous stillness of the energy centers.