In yoga, we use a specific type of breathing called Ujjayi. This breathing is matched to certain movements in yoga to enhance the experience. There are many benefits to this type of breathing, which I will get to in this post.
Ujjayi sounds like the ocean – and really your neighbor should be able to hear you during practice. I find sometimes that beginners are shy to breathe loudly, and it’s okay to breath and have others hear you! This is how I like to teach this breath:
- Sit tall on the ground and place your hand in front of your mouth.
- First round – Inhale and then when you exhale pretend like your hand is a mirror and try to fog the mirror with your breath.
- Second round – Inhale and then when you exhale fog up the mirror for the first part of the breath, then the second half of your exhale close your mouth. Now your exhale should sound loud without opening up your mouth!
- Third round – Inhale and then when you exhale keep your mouth closed. This is your Ujjayi breath.
So, what the benefits of this breath? It helps to increase heat in your body during practice. This is incredibly important so that your body can comfortably stretch during the more intense poses in class. Medically speaking, it can aid in the lowering of blood pressure because it helps to oxygenate the blood. Finally, it aids in the concentration of your yoga practice. If you focus on your breath it will help you discover areas of your body that you may be experiencing discomfort and allow these areas to either relax or signify that you have gone too far!
I have people ask me when to inhale and exhale, so here are my rules of thumb. When you inhale, you are going up/away from your mat or opening in a pose. When you exhale you are going towards your mat, folding in, or going deeper into a pose.
I practice my breath every class. There are times I get away from it and I notice it is when I am not present in my practice. So I challenge you this week in your practice to focus on your breath – see what opens up for you!
Shine on,
Jackie