American doctors present the case of a non-smoking 29-year-old woman who presented to the emergency department with the chief complaint of left-sided chest pain and shortness of breath. She was of average height and weight, and was in good physical condition. She had no significant medical history and no family history of pneumothorax. She was brought to the emergency department from a local centre for yoga and holistic health where she was attending yoga instructor training sessions. The night prior to presentation she was practising a breathing technique called Kapalabhati pranayama or the breath of fire. She awoke with pain in her left chest and shortness of breath, which worsened until her arrival at the hospital. Her vital signs on presentation were as follows: heart rate 80 beats per min, blood pressure 118/70 mm Hg and oxygen saturation 97% while receiving oxygen with a 2-l nasal cannula. Lung sounds on the left side were diminished. A chest radiograph showed a >50% pneumothorax on the left side with a mild mediastinal shift to the right. A chest tube was inserted with immediate resolution of the symptoms and the patient was admitted to the hospital. A computed tomography scan of the chest during hospital admission did not show blebs or any other thoracic pathology. The patient was discharged to home after the cessation of air leakage with subsequent removal of the chest tube on hospital day 7.