Learn Ujjayi Breath For Yoga And Daily Life

Learn Ujjayi Breath, often called The Yoga Breath or Ocean Breath, in this simple guided practice. As one of the foundational breathing techniques in yoga, Ujjayi is used to cultivate steady, mindful breathing both on and off the mat. By gently engaging the glottis to create a soft ocean-like sound, this breath encourages diaphragmatic breathing, promotes balance, and supports your body's natural wellbeing. Easy to learn and calming to practice, Ujjayi is a powerful tool you can return to throughout your day to reconnect with your breath, body, and presence. Please listen to your body and return to your natural breath if you experience any discomfort.

Transcript

My name is Priscilla Yeager and today I want to walk you through. . . A classic. That you can use anytime. Any part of the day. And it's a really great way of calming your nerves. Keeping great focus and concentration. And helping to reduce stress. Along with balancing your hormones. And it's a really great one for boosting the immune system. And giving a little bit of heat to the body and a little bit of activation in the throat, Creating some vibration throughout the body. This is known as Ujjayi breath. It is victory over the breath, Ujjayi. Means victory over the breath. J, J or Jai is victory. In Sanskrit. And this is based out of yogic traditions. It's a classic yogi breath. You will hear this also referred to as Darth Vader breathing, Or you might even hear it called ocean breath because it sounds very much like waves coming up to shore and then receding back. So we're going to give it a try. And I typically do a 4-4 count. If you are really needing to calm your nerves today, Maybe extend the exhale just a little bit longer. You know, Our breath is such a great tool for managing our energy levels. So if you are needing up your energy, You'll breathe a little bit longer on the inhale. And if you need to manage a little bit more calm and relaxation in the body, You will extend your exhalation just a little bit longer. But for today, We're going to stick with a 4-4 breathing. And You get to play and explore with this. All throughout the day for the rest of your life and see what feels right for you in any given moment. To do this breath, We're going to imagine that we have a pair of sunglasses and we're going to get them fogged up. Breathing in through the nose and on the exhale, We're going to exhale from the glottis, From the back of the throat, Acting like a fire hose, Extending the breath out and you get to control how much breath comes out. So it might be like a Or it could be. So just play with fogging up your glasses, Getting the feel of that breath flowing from the back of the throat. Great, Now our glasses are nice and fogged up, We can set them down. And we're going to keep that breath going with the lips remaining closed the entire time. So it's breathing in through the nose, Exhaling from the back of the throat and the nasal passages. You're going to sound very similar to Darth Vader, Hence Darth Vader breathing. And if you close your eyes, Maybe you take yourself to the beach and you just feel your own breath like the waves coming up to shore and receding back. So let's try it with the lips closed. Sit nice and tall, Breathing in through the nose. Out through the back of the throat, Lips stay closed. Again in through the nose. And out If you'd like, You can bring your hands to your rib cage and feel that breath flowing in and out. And that's good. Or you can simply imagine the breath coming up and down the body. Whatever you would like to envision, Or if you find something to focus on, You can envision you know, Something in your mind's eye or just bring your attention to somewhere in the room right in front of you, Finding what we call a drishti point, A point to focus upon, To really strengthen that focus and concentration. For me, I love to close my eyes. And I like to envision that I'm at the beach. So whatever works for you. Let's begin and we're going to start with 10 rounds. You can do anywhere between 10 to 20, However many you'd like. And I'm going to start with counting the first few rounds, And then I will just let you breathe on your own. So again, Sitting nice and tall. We'll begin breathing in. To Three. 4 Out 2 3 4 In 2 3 4 4. 2. 3. In 2 3 4 too. 3 fall. In 2 3 4 5 too. 3. Fall. Continuing at your own pace. Exploring this breath. And maybe imagining your breath like waves. Flowing within. Pushing up to shore and receding back. Calming every nerve. Improving your focus, Feeling that little bit of heat at the back of the throat. Boosting the immune system. Improving your health, Your well being with every breath. Continuing this breath, We're going to gently open the eyes and bring some movement in perhaps on your next inhale, Bring the arms up towards the sky, Drop the shoulders down away from the ears, Keeping that focus and on the exhale palms out and arms come down towards the earth. And again on your next inhale. Bringing palms facing up. Bringing arms up, Fingertips to the sky, Shoulders down. And on the exhale, Palms face out and down comes the arms. One more time. Inhale, Arms come up. This time on the exhale, Palms together, Draw them down towards the heart center, Let the Relax and soften. Thank yourself for your practice today. I hope you enjoyed Ujjayi breath. Try this in your next yoga class, Maybe as you go on a walk, Maybe as you find some movement. Play and explore. And the light in me recognizes and honors the light within you. Namaste.