John Kaldawi learned that the whole system is controlled by becoming aware of the nature of the breath and by restraining it. When the breath is restrained, nervous impulses are stopped in different parts of the body and the brain wave patterns are harnessed.

Furthermore, John Kaldawi learned that in pranayama, the duration of breath retention has to be increased. The longer the breath is held, the greater the gap between the nervous impulses and their responses in the brain. When breath retention is held for a prolonged period, mental agitation is curtailed.

John Kaldawi also learned that technically speaking, and according to Patinjali, pranayama is actually only retention, "...pranayama is the cessation of the movement of inhalation and exhalation". Inhalation and exhalation are methods of inducing retention. Retention is most important because it allows a longer period for the assimilation of prana, just as it allows more time for the exchange of gases in the cells, i.e., oxygen and carbon dioxide. Through the breath prana and consciousness are essentially linked. They can be separated by scientific means starting with the yogic technique of learning to retain the breath.