Controlling the breath is not just a matter of using the diaphragm and other associated muscles of the abdomen, chest, and clavicle regions. In pranayama, the air is also controlled by the throat. This technique is known as ujjayi (victorious breath).
Ujjayi is a slow-breathing balancing pranayama where a sound is made with the throat (not the vocal cords).
In ujjayi, the back of the throat is contracted to control the flow of air during both inhalation and exhalation. The feeling of contracting the throat muscles is a little like swallowing.
By contracting the throat, the air flow can be restricted and controlled. More contraction means less air flow, and less contraction means more air flow.
Restricting and changing the flow of air with your throat also changes the associated sound that is made as the air passes through the throat. The sound is like a hissing sound.
Importantly, the sound changes depending on the amount of air flowing. This means that when you are doing pranayama and using ujjayi technique to restrict and control air flow, you have a point of reference. The character of the sound tells you that air is flowing, the speed of flow, and the relative amount of air flowing.
Benefits and Contraindications
Benefits
Ujjayi is very good for balancing and calming the body. It is good for thyroid regulation, gives relief from anxiety and stress, and improves mental focus.
Contraindications
As long as you stay within your safe limitations and are not practicing breath retention, then there are few contraindications. Breath retention should not be practiced by those with heart conditions, high blood pressure and other serious health issues. Pregnant women should also avoid breath retention.
Technique
Creating the ujjayi sound
First inhale through the nose using full yogic breathing slowly, deeply, and fully. Then open the mouth and make a ‘haaa’ sound as you exhale. Like steaming up a mirror. Repeat this 3 times.
Close the mouth, making sure the lips are relaxed, and be sure to keep the inside of your mouth spacious. Then do the same as before. Breathe in slowly, fully, and deeply through the nose and then exhale. But this time keep the mouth closed. As you exhale, try to make the ‘haa’ sound but instead of the air coming out of the mouth, it should stay in the mouth, circulate around the mouth, and then come out of the nose (this may take some practice).
The next step is to gently constrict the back of the throat both for inhalation and exhalation. This will allow you to control the air flow, but it will also create a hissing sound. Again, this may take some practice. Remember to keep the lips closed and the inside of the mouth open with the tongue down. Try moving the tongue from the bottom to the top of the mouth and observe the difference in air flow and sound. With ujjayi, and deep breathing in general, the tongue should rest at the bottom of the mouth.
When practicing the technique properly, you will need to use prana mudra to block the right nostril on exhalation and to block both nostrils while retaining the breath after inhalation.
There is no count or ratio when doing ujjayi. everything should be done for as long as possible.
Step-by-step
- Get yourself into a comfortable meditative sitting position or lie down with your legs bent, knees together, and feet flat on the floor. Arms can be by your sides or raised over your head resting on the floor.
- Exhale completely through the left or both nostrils.
- Inhale slowly, deeply, and fully through both nostrils.
- Block both nostrils with prana mudra.
- Tie up the three bandhas and hold the breath.
- Release the three bandhas in the correct order, release the nostrils, and exhale slowly and completely through the left nostril only.
- This completes one cycle.
To start, you can do three 3-minute rounds with a 30-second break in between each round. Gradually increase the time as you progress to 5 minutes and 10 minutes.