PRANAYAMA

Please read Tips For Home Practice and Introduction to Breath Work before beginning this sequence. Practice Breath Observation, Extended Exhalation, and Sama Vrtti before attempting Ujjayi practice.

Practice #4 UJJAYI

Texas Rainbow (Mark Knight photo)

UJJAYI= Victorious or Conqueror’s Breath

–Begin on Pranayama blanket
Set up your space as in Lesson #1

Lie down, supporting your torso and head as in Lesson#3

Allow yourself to surrender to the support of blankets and floor, ultimately to the Earth herself
Gently draw your awareness to your breath moving at the tip of your nostrils. Be there for a few minutes, not following the breath or changing the breath in any way, not judging the breath…just be the breath as fully as you can.

–Ask yourself what your intention is for today’s practice….for bringing yoga into your life…and for your life itself

–Begin lengthening the breath
Use a bolster beneath your knees, or simply bend the knees, planting the feet flat on the floor, toes pointing straight ahead
Begin gently lengthening the inbreath and the out breath, making each one a little bit longer than the preceding one.

–Connect the breath with energy flowing up and down the sides of the spine
Visualize the inhalation moving in through the crown of the skull, down the right side of the spine all the way to the tail.

Visualize the exhalation moving all the way from the tail, up the left side of the spine through the crown of the skull

Carlsbad Cavern (Mark Knight photo)

–Breath with Pelvic Rocks
Start synchronizing the outbreath with a lifting of the pubic bone and a pressing down of the navel….your hips will then be in cat tilt

Synchronize the inbreath with a lifting of the navel area and a drawing down towards the floor of the tail and pubic bone

Practice these movements mindfully, observing how the breath flows not only in the lung area, but all the way to the bottom of the torso. You may even begin to notice how the pelvic floor flutters gently open and closed with each breath.

–Breathe with ujjayi sound
After a few rounds of breath coupled with pelvic rocks, discontinue the exaggerated movement of the hips while continuing the lengthened breaths.

Add the sound of the ocean in a conch shell to either the inbreath or the outbreath, eventually making the sound on both if you can today. If this is difficult, don’t worry; just try it on whatever part of the breath you feel somewhat comfortable with this addition. It doesn’t need to be a loud sound; it can be barely audible, but there should be a sound that you can hear and listen to while you breathe.

Allow the breath to flow freely: the inhalation turning seamlessly into the exhalation, the exhalation turning into the inhalation. Watch the transitions between these two aspects of the breath.

Is there a defining moment when the tide of the breath turns?
Is there a pause?
Can you sense an end or any beginnings?

–Rest with normal breathing.
Release your control of the breath and the sound of ujjayi.
Observe any post-pranayama practice sensations that may arise.
Be there, on your blanket, in your body.

Texas Landscape (Mark Knight photo)

NOTES: This is one of the most comforting of breath patterns. Try it when you are feeling sad, grief-stricken or lonely. Try it during asana practice or during a traffic jam. It is a safe breath practice that often arises spontaneously once you are in the habit of practicing the conquerer’s breath. The element of sound is a great gift that helps connect the mind and heart with the process of breathing. Ujjayi breathing is one of my favorite meditation practices.

Texas Cricket (Mark Knight photo)