Why breathing is the most important of 5 pillars in Baptiste Yoga... What happens when you stop breathing? - "You die." It works the same way on the mat. When you stop breathing correctly while you are engaged in yoga poses, what happens is you start choking the muscles, and therefore killing your practice. For that reason, I worry more about how you are breathing than what it is you actually do on the mat. I believe just by breathing, you have done half of Yoga already! Send a message if you would like to know what the other 4 pillars are and how they work in Baptiste Yoga