Pranayama (Sanskrit: प्राणायाम prāṇāyāma) is a composite lexeme made up of the two words prana ("life energy") and ayama ("expansion, control," viz., "control over the life energy") and comprises various systematic breathing exercises of yoga. In a narrower sense, pranayama also means the inhibition or suppression of the breath and thus stands for the phase of breath retention known as kumbhaka. Pranayama also refers specifically to the eight Mahakumbhakas. Pranayama has a wide spectrum of beneficial physiological and psychological effects. From a neuroscientific perspective, pranayama (e.g., analoma viloma) facilitates interhemispheric homeostasis in the brain.
See also: Campanelli, S., Tort, A. B. L., & Lobão-Soares, B. (2020). Pranayamas and their neurophysiological effects. International journal of yoga, 13(3), 183–192.