Ujjayi Pranayam: How to do it

Various yogic breath techniques improve the quality of life and health of the practitioner.  Ocean sounding breath, called Ujjayi Pranayam in sanskrit, is particularly helpful for soothing the nervous system, balancing the mood, energy level, detoxifying the internal organs and flooding the whole body with oxygen.

Tracing back Earth to its origins as a water planet and our own life, to our mother’s womb,  one can see how the ocean sounding breath is the oldest and most soothing sound we know. The best part: peace and patience available to you from this breath technique are contained within and no one can take this away from you!

Here’s how to practice Ujjayi:

• Sit or stand with long spine, shoulders relaxed.
• Place one hand on your belly, the other on your heart.
• Through your nostrils, inhale a slow and steady breath.  Direct this breath toward the back of your throat slightly so the breath is audible.  Imagine, though your lips are sealed, that you are making the sound “SSS,” as you draw breath in evenly through both nostrils and that you are fogging a mirror at the base of your neck.   Feel the expansion of the abdomen, rib cage, and chest.
• As you exhale, it’s as if you’re making the sound “HAA” or saying the word “home,” through sealed lips.  This time, imagine you’re fogging a mirror at the base of your throat.  As you push all of your air out with the exhale, draw your navel in and up toward your spine.

Work toward a smooth and steady rhythm which will come to sound like ocean waves crashing on the shore.  Breathing in a calm, balance, and timeless way is restorative on many levels.  Enjoy!