Breathing practice

Ujjayi Pranayama means victorious breathing practice.

The breathing practice we teach is called "Ujjayi Pranayama". Pranayama is a word that is used to refer to any of the breathing practices. Prana (the first part of the word pranayama) means life force. You may be more familiar with the word chi from oriental traditions. Prana is the same as chi - it means your life force or your energy... the energy that keeps you going. "Ujjayi" is translated as victorious.

Practicing Ujjayi Pranayama builds your reserves of energy.

From yoga's perspective and teachings, when you're feeling tired or depleted; when life just seems hard to keep up with; if you get sick or depressed frequently ~ these are all signs that your reserves of prana or life force are low. When you practice Ujjayi Pranayama you rebuild those reserves, so that when life 'happens' it doesn't take everything you've got - you have a reservoir, a little extra energy or life force, ready to help you out whenever needed.

It's like filling your cup a little fuller. A regular Ujjayi practice will help you feel more lively and enlivened, less tired. Things won't get to you or get you down as much as they used to. Practicing Ujjayi can also help boost your immune system, so you get sick less frequently.

Very beneficial for anyone with any type of breathing difficulty

Everyone benefits from an Ujjayi practice. In fact, the breathing practice, while subtle, has an even more profound effect than the physical practice - have you ever heard the saying that something that is 'more subtle is deeper'. This is true for the breathing practice. Anyone who has any kind of breathing condition, has shallow breathing, immune disorders, etc. would greatly benefit from a regular Ujjayi practice.

The breathing practice has a wonderful effect on your mind.

It helps to calm your mind. It's like giving your mind a big fluffy pillow and telling it to go take a nap for a while. Your mind becomes quieter, more focused, more clear. Your ability to concentrate improves. Many people describe the feeling as 'being more relaxed and more energized' at the same time.

The breathing practice is fully portable.

You can do a few breaths anywhere - standing in line at the grocery store, waiting at a stop light, and it will have an immediate effect on calming your mind.

Better yet, spending 20 minutes a day doing the breathing practice (OK! You can start with 5 minutes... just do it!) will have lasting effects throughout your day.

To learn the breathing

Some styles of yoga practice Ujjayi loudly, and there are reasons why that makes sense for those, more vigorous, physical practices. With the slower-paced practice of Svaroopa, however, practicing the breathing loudly can be detrimental. Instead, we practice the breathing slowly and quietly.

At least the beginning stage of Ujjayi Pranayama is taught in every Svaroopa yoga class and in workshops so you can learn it there, or you can schedule a private therapy session to learn it. There are many different stages of the practice. Deeper stages are taught in more advanced classes, or one on one in private sessions.