Ujjayi Pranayama, Victorious Breath

Ujjayi pranayama, aptly translated as ‘victorious’, is the most important breath in my practice and is through my teachings of vinyasa flow.  It is the breath that leads you through the sequence; everything rides on its rhythm and it can be practised in any asana.  It ignites agni, building heat and enabling you to go deeper into postures. 

Also described as psychic breath ujjayi has a multitude of benefits, it calms the mind, soothes the nervous system, slows down the heart rate, lowers blood pressure, induces meditative states and increases connection to psychic ability.  Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati explains that in ujjayi we are going back to the innate way of breathing as a child, “when a healthy child sleeps, he always breathes by contracting the glottis, so that the sound of the breath comes from the throat.  This kind of breathing is replicated in ujjayi.” (p251 Prana and Pranayama). 

Tips to engaging Ujjayi

• Remember the breath is the practice and the asanas (physical yoga postures) are merely an extension of the breath, if you stop breathing you have gone to deep. 
• It can be helpful to start inhaling deeply through the nose and then exhaling sighing out making a noise through the mouth with a soft whispering “hhhaaa” sound or lions breath, then close the mouth while maintaining the sound on the exhalation and feeling the air moving in the back of the throat. 
• Imagine the sensation that you are breathing through the throat and gently constricting the glottis; creating a comforting sound which is audible and will inspire you and those around. 
• Focus on the sensation of the air warming in the throat by the friction as it passes through the glottis to the lungs.
• Allow the sound of ujjayi to act as a mantra to keep you connected to the present through the practice, preventing distractions and acting as a link between body and mind to come into a moving meditation.
• Allow the sounds of ujjayi to be like the waves of the ocean washing in and washing out, cleansing the mind and washing away any unwanted thoughts.  
• Keep the face relaxed; smiling gently with a small gap between the lips.  
• Count the breath so that the inhale and exhale are equal in length, to come into samavriti pranayama