“When you own your breath, nobody can steal your peace.”
Pretend that you’re a seashell and channel sweet Mother Ocean by constricting the back of the throat while moving the air slowly and deeply in and out of the nose. You will notice an audible ocean sound. This increases mental awareness and clears the mind. It’s also incredibly soothing.
This type of breathing is known as ujjayi, or victorious breath. It’s a fantastic form of pranayama (breath control). It’s the essence of life force within us. Diaphragmatic breath moves oxygen deeper into the body unlike shallow chest breathing. It activates the first and second chakra because the breath is moving all the way into the belly.
Feel yourself expand and absorb life-giving oxygen down to a cellular level all the way to your toes and into your fingertips! This helps relieve tension in the entire body and can distract us from challenging postures in yoga. It also helps us hold the poses for longer periods of time. Isn’t it fun to make your breath sound like soft waves!
Practice engaging the pelvic floor while exhaling to keep all that yummy energy buzzing within you. Ujjayi exhales are similar to how you’d breathe if you were fogging up glass to draw a happy face. Ujjayi breathing in vinyasa yoga helps link the breath with the movements. It’s grounding, it regulates the body’s temp and the inner organs are cleansed, massaged and detoxified.
“For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth.”(Sanskrit Proverb)
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali suggests that the breath should be both dirga (long) and suksma (smooth). This shouldn’t take too much effort or strain. Since the breath has “one foot in the conscious and one in the sub-conscious, the control of the breath has an immediate effect on the sub-conscious.” It is controlled by both the central and autonomic nervous system.
It’s really fun to practice pranayama while floating in water. You’ll notice how bouyant you get with deeper breaths and how you may sink a little with complete exhales.
“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” ~Thích Nhất Hạnh