Just Breathe

This week in my classes I wanted to really break down and focus on the breathing techniques that we use during yoga. All too often I find my students retaining their breath, and as a result not getting as much out of their practice as they could. Breath is the foundation behind every movement, every extension, and every asana (pose). Essentially breath is the foundation of yoga. As I was taught, "The breath holds both the basis and the potential for your practice in the melody of movement through each inhale and exhale."

UJJAYII BREATH:

The main breath that we use during our yoga practice is called the Ujjayii breath. Ujjayii is a Sanskrit word that means victorious. It is a warming breath  that retains heat in your body during your practice.  This retention is what helps to deepen into your poses and facilitates movement. It is the key to any vinyasa practice.

HOW TO:

When teaching the Ujjayii breath I first tell my students to hold their hand in front of them and pretend they are trying to fog up a mirror. I draw their attention to the heat that they can feel on their hand. This is the foundation of the breath. In yoga, that heat is retained in the body. With this breath you inhale through the nose, with a slight throat restriction (like fogging a mirror) and exhale through the nose doing the same thing. To accomplish this I then tell my students to relax the jaw and rest the tip of their tongue gently on their upper palate just behind their front teeth. The lips then gently close and you turn the corners of your mouth up slightly. The noise made during this breath is similar to the sound of a wave.

This breath is not only beneficial during yoga, but has been found to lower blood pressure, reduce stress and anxiety, and alleviate symptoms related to asthma, depression, insomnia, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia. Also this breath is pivotal in prenatal yoga seeing as this breath can help during labor and birth.

So now that you have a better understanding of the breath behind yoga, you can take your practice to the next level!

Namaste

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