The phases of breathing patterns can be represented by geometrical fiqures. For example, an exercise in which one breathes in through one nostril, holds the breath in, and then breathes out through the other nostril is a pattern of three phases, and can be represented by a triangle. If the patern has four phases, such as breathing in one nostril, holding the breath in, breathing out the other nostril, and then holding the breath out (remaining without air for a short period), the exercise can be represented by the four sides of a square or rectangle, depending on the proportion of the phases.
The geometrical patterns can be further distinguished by the direction one follows in tracing the figure; exhaling on the left side is considered a Jemal (receptive) pattern, while exhaling on the right is a Jelal (expressive) pattern.