Hi friend!
Thanks so much for choosing to practice with me today.
I'm Christina and today I'm going to guide you through a breath work practice called ujjayi breath,
Also known as ocean or victorious breath.
Start off by finding a comfortable seat,
Spine tall but relaxed.
Take a deep inhale through your nose and exhale.
Right now we're just tuning into the breath so take a moment to arrive,
To land in your space,
To get comfy and to settle.
As you breathe in and out of your nose,
Allow yourself to pause everything else that's going on in your day and for just a few minutes focus on you and your breath.
As you breathe,
Let's talk about ujjayi breath.
Ujjayi is a pranayama or breath practice that involves a slight gentle narrowing or constriction at the back of the throat.
So think about fogging up a mirror with your breath.
Let's go ahead and do that together.
Inhale through your nose and as you exhale with a gentle ha sound,
Try to fog up that invisible mirror in front of you.
Great!
Let's do that again.
Inhale through your nose and exhale with a quiet ha.
All right,
Now close your mouth and try to make that same soft sound in the back of your throat while breathing through your nose.
Beautiful!
That gentle whispering sound is your ocean breath.
Continue to inhale slowly through your nose,
Feeling the air move in and down into your lungs and exhale slowly,
Keeping that steady wave-like rhythm.
The sound is quiet,
Personal,
Like your own internal tide coming in and out.
As you continue breathing,
Let that sound become your anchor.
When your mind drifts,
Come back to the breath,
Steady,
Rhythmic,
And grounded.
I'm going to be quiet for a few minutes and let you breathe on your own.
If you find your mind becoming distracted,
Just know that that's totally normal and it's okay.
Just come back to the sound of your breathing,
Your slow inhale,
Your soft exhale.
Feel that wave,
Hear that sound,
And keep breathing.
So often we are adrift in this busy,
Chaotic world.
But our breath has this incredible ability to bring us back to ourselves,
Back to this precious moment of life,
Back into our bodies.
As you breathe,
Allow yourself to settle within your body,
To feel this moment,
To let the noise get quiet,
Focusing just on that sound and sensation of your inhale and your exhale.
So peaceful,
So simple,
So beautiful,
So profound.
Keep breathing like this for a few more rounds,
Slow and steady.
My friend,
Go ahead and release this yujayi breath,
Relaxing that constriction at the throat,
And just return to a normal,
Natural rhythm of breath.
Take a moment to tune in to your body.
Notice any changes.
Notice what you created within yourself.
My hope is that you feel calm,
That you feel steady,
And that your energy feels grounded and clear.
As you move forward with your day,
Know that your breath is always with you,
And that you can use your ocean breath anytime you have a desire to simply return to yourself.
When you're ready,
You can begin to slowly blink the eyes open,
Coming back into your space.
I invite you to move a little more slowly as you navigate the rest of your day.
Thank you so much for taking this time to not just practice with me,
But to invest in yourself.
I hope you have an amazing rest of your day,
And I'll see you next time.
Namaste.
