Hi.
Welcome.
Come on in.
My name is Samantha Christofferson and I am going to share with you today a beautiful breathing practice,
A form of pranayama.
It's called ujjayi breath,
Ocean breath,
Or I like to call it Darth Vader breath because it gives us this sound and sensation.
It sounds a little bit like Darth Vader but in a positive sunshine kind of way.
And the reason why I'm sharing this practice with you today is because I like to offer it as an invitation in all of my yin yoga practices as it deepens the ability to heal and increases your ability to circulate oxygen,
Prana,
Chi,
Life force energy in the body.
So if you feel ready to go on this small short journey start to relax wherever you are.
Maybe you're lying in bed,
Seated in a chair,
In a cross-legged seated position wherever you find yourself.
Come into the body now.
Take a nice deep breath in through the nose and release it through the mouth.
Beautiful.
Try that again,
In through the nose.
Letting everything out with that exhale.
Now the deep breath in,
Last one.
Out through the mouth.
Use your mindfulness now.
What can you hear?
What can you smell?
What can you feel?
As you come fully into the body.
And I have my eye on the time so you can release the mind and release the need to know what's coming.
Surrender fully to this moment,
To this breath work.
As we practice ujjayi breath,
Ocean breath,
We connect in with the vagus nerve.
The vagus nerve,
Google it,
Responsible for connection and communication with internal vital organs and systems for digestion,
Reproduction,
Circulation,
Elimination.
Lots of different systems.
So start to breathe in through the nose and out through the nose slowly.
Now as you do this,
Imagine yourself kind of closing your throat,
Constricting the throat.
It might feel really funny.
It might kind of sound like some weird noises coming out.
Just accept whatever that is you're practicing.
You're adding this into your tools of what's possible.
If I were to breathe and constrict the throat through the mouth,
It would sound like this.
So we're doing that through the nose and through the nose.
Find your own rhythm now and give it a try.
Go at your own pace.
Try to release force or effort and practice.
You can even place a hand on the throat to aid you and naturally notice now that your breath is going to slow.
It will take longer for you to inhale and exhale.
You can continue this practice at any point in your day,
Adding in closing the eyes and focusing the gaze in towards the third eye or in between the eyebrows,
The intuitive center.
And we do this,
Of course,
To gain a deeper level of connection with the body in yoga,
In my practice.
Soon as we leave Shavasana,
And before we end in Shavasana,
I will always remind you to practice your Ujjayi breath,
Ocean breath,
Darth Vader breath.
And I hope that it is the practice that you will find comfort and healing in.
Thank you for being here and I look forward to seeing you in practice.
