Erich Schiffmann, in his wonderful book, 'Yoga The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness' encourages us to use Ujjayi breathing to create and sustain an energized relaxation, as well as centring our awareness in the present moment. I particuarly enjoy using it when I am deep into a posture such as a sitting spread leg fold to allow myself to go deeper into the posture with ease.
Click here to find how Erich describes Ujjayi breathng.
Ujjayi breathing simply involves narrowing the aperture in your throat by gently tightening the epiglottis, which is done like this: softly whisper the syllable "ha" with your mouth open. Haaaaaaaaaaaaa. Stretch it out. Feel the air vibrating softly in the back of your throat. Listen to the clean, hollow sounds; it's similar to the sound of the ocean you can hear in a shell. Produce this sound as you are inhaling and exhaling. Take a number of breaths this way. Now close your mouth and continue making the same soft, smooth, deep and hollow sounds. You are now breathing through your nostrils with your mouth closed and the suction is coming from the back of your throat. The nostrils are relaxed and passive and you will therefore feel the air in your nostrils only very lightly. You are not sniffing the air in. You are gently drawing the air in from the back of your throat. I call this the 'Darth Vada' breathing as this is how it ultimately sounds. Breath like this in all the postures.
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