Exhalation is Extra Important

In the act of respiration, Westerners give precedence to the in-drawing of the breath. Yoga, on the other hand, maintains that all good respiration begins with a slow and complete exhalation, and that this perfect exhalation is an absolute prerequisite of correct and complete inhalation, for the very simple reason that, until a receptacle is emptied, it cannot be filled. Unless we first breathe out fully it is impossible to breathe in correctly.