Today’s Meditation: Conquering Breath with Yoga
Conquering Breath with Yoga – Guided Yoga
Yoga breathing exercises, called “pranayama” in Sanskrit, are an important part of developing a yoga practice. According to the Yoga Sutras, the ancient yoga text compiled by the sage Patanjali, pranayama is one of the classical Eight Limbs of Yoga. In addition to deepening your yoga practice, learning ways to calm and invigorate the body through breathing will greatly benefit your life off the mat.
Conquering Breath is one technique that helps calm the mind and warm the body. When practicing Ujjayi, you fill your lungs, while slightly contracting your throat, and breathe through your nose.
Steps
Inhale and exhale deeply through your mouth. Feel the air of your inhalations passing through your windpipe. On your exhalations, slightly contract the back of your throat, as you do when you whisper. Softly whisper the sound, “ahhh,” as you exhale.
Benefits
- Improves concentration in physical practice. It Links breath to movement and helps focus the mind and keeps your awareness on the present moment; becoming absorbed in Ujjayi allows the practitioner to remain in poses for longer periods
- Instills endurance and builds energy that enhances a flowing practice by lending a meditative quality that maintains the rhythm of the class.
- Stimulates Nadis (energy channels in the body) bringing mental clarity and focus. It diminishes distractions and allows the practitioner to remain self-aware and grounded in the practice.
- The ujjayi breath regulates the heating of the body. The friction of the air passing through the lungs and throat generates internal body heat. It is similar to a massage for the internal organs; as the core becomes warm from the inside, the body becomes prepared for the asana practice. This heat makes stretching safer while the inner organs can be cleansed of any toxins that have accumulated.
- A focused Ujjayi breath can release tension and tight areas of the body and encourages a free flow of prana
