Ujjayi Breath

In today's session, guided by Koya Webb, you will learn the Ujjayi breath and how to regulate the sound of your breath along with its texture, volume and length. Most commonly used in yoga, this breath-regulating technique is a soft, whispering breath which you’ll also hear called ocean breath. It’s compared to the sound of the waves coming to shore. With Ujjayi breath you breathe in and out of the nose with the lips sealed while gently constricting your throat. This balancing and calming breath increases oxygen around the body, helping to reset and relax.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to day 11 of Insight Timer's Breathwork Challenge.

Time for a deep breath.

Inhale deeply and let out a soothing sigh.

Let's dive into today's session.

Breath is spirit.

It's the free tool that we all have to regulate our nervous system as we process and prepare for what we experience on a daily basis.

I'm Koya Webb and I'll be sharing the Ujjayi Breath with you today.

When practicing the Ujjayi Breath,

You will be slightly closing the throat while you breathe similar to how you breathe when you whisper.

This encourages a slower,

Smoother,

And more regulated breath and will hopefully trigger your parasympathetic nervous system which can help you relax your body and calm your mind.

Take a deep inhale through your nose and exhale,

Sigh it out.

Another deep inhale through your nose and exhale,

Sigh it out.

Another deepest inhale you've taken today and slowly sigh it out.

Notice how your body relaxes with each exhale.

For the Ujjayi Breath,

We're going to inhale through the nose but we're going to slightly restrict the throat and then we're going to take that sigh down the back of the throat.

It's going to sound much like the ocean.

I'm going to demonstrate for you and then you'll breathe with me.

I'm going to inhale through my nose.

Keeping my lips sealed,

I'm going to take that sigh through the back of my throat.

Again,

Inhaling through my nose.

Lips are sealed,

Exhaling.

Now I'm inhaling and exhaling through the nose but I'm taking that sigh sound,

That ocean breath is what we call it in yoga,

Through the back of my throat.

Now I want you to practice with me for 10 breaths.

Don't worry about counting.

I'll keep count for you.

Inhale through the nose and sigh it out.

Ujjayi Breath,

Inhale through the nose and that ocean breath through the back of your throat.

Inhale through the nose and that ocean breath through the back of your throat.

Inhale through the nose and that ocean breath through the back of your throat.

Beautiful.

You may have noticed that you feel calm and relaxed already after those first 10 ocean breaths.

They were short,

They were controlled.

You might have also noticed that they got longer and longer as you got more relaxed.

Now we're going to do the same ujjayi breath or oceanic breathing and we're going to take it a little bit longer.

So I'm going to inhale through the nose for the count of 5,

Slow as I can and then I'm going to exhale with the oceanic breath,

Slightly restricting the throat,

Keeping the lips closed for a count of 5 as well.

Now if you are experienced and you want to go for a count of 7 or 10 or longer,

You can go longer and if you can't go as long as 5 and you end up breathing shorter than I am,

Don't worry about it.

Breathe at your own pace.

Listen to your breath,

Trust your breath,

Trust that you know exactly how to breathe and continue breathing throughout this whole session.

So I'm going to take it longer for 10 breaths.

Don't worry about counting,

I have the count for you.

Just focus on closing your eyes and breathing.

Take a deep inhale and exhale.

Inhale for 5,

Exhale for 5.

Inhale,

Exhale.

Notice the count on your own.

Ok.

You You You Beautiful I hope you notice you're getting even more and more relaxed with every breath That is exactly what the Ujjayi breath is meant to do And when you do it in your practice,

You can take what you're learning now Into your practice when you're in traffic,

You can take it into your day Anywhere you want to bring a little bit more relaxation Before we end I'm gonna take you through a humming sound with the Ujjayi breath A humming sound is really great when you're scared you have anxiety or you're frustrated You're experiencing a heightened level of emotion and you can use Sound and you can use a little bit of voice to calm you down and to regulate your nervous system So we're doing everything just the same But we're gonna add a hum or whatever sound comes out for you I'm gonna demonstrate and then you can join in with me.

It sounds like this So join in with me You You You You Take a deep inhale and exhale side out And now just to relax your body and relax your breath As you breathe warmly Just do a body scan and notice how you feel you might feel tingles in your body You might feel a little light-headed if you do go ahead and grab a glass of water And then just do a scan noticing how you feel from head to toe And I invite you to take this time to sit in stillness for a while Or journal how you feel and how this session made you feel Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide I'm Koya Webb and hopefully you join me for more practices.

I have here Be sure to thank your body and thank your breath and practice daily for the best results.

I'll see you soon

Reviews

Wonderful Meditation, a great introduction into ocean breath and then also the humming which is so good for the nervous system

I knew this breath practice but forgot about it. I love to be reminded of the tools I can use to de-stress.

I felt tingly like I was floating above my meat suit

So relaxing. Thanks for your great teaching 🙏☺️🥰

Oh my goodness what a wonderful breathing practice. Thank you 🙏

Beautifully guided!

This was masterfully done. An excellent artform. I benefitted enormously from doing this. So thank you. Love Shuman

Of the thousands of meditations on Insight Timer this is when I come back to over and over again. It’s beautifully guided, and I always feel refreshed and more regulated. Deep gratitude for this meditation. Thank you Koya 🙏

Was very good for me! Thanks for a good end of the day!

such a soothing voice and clear guidance ✨thank you for this offering 🫶🏼

Sooo good 😌
Thank you, Koya

Thank you for teaching us this breathing technique. Nice mix of instruction and quiet. 🙏🏻💜

I thoroughly enjoyed this practice during the breathwork challenge last year.

managing stress response with the breath has been a catalyst to my equanimity. very happy to have guidance and freedom in the expansion of my practice. grateful for the wisdom and knowledge received from my teachers on Insight Timer, as well as what the universe provides me during my meditations 😌🙏🏾.

Such a calming voice, poignant timing that strikes a balance between spoken and space to practice breath control. Peace to you.

I come back to this again and again. It gives me such a floaty, calm feeling.

Lovely clear instructions with a variation of techniques.

It was really beautiful session and totally enjoyed

So good! I’ve done this in yoga, but this morning it felt really needed and welcome.

Really wonderful. Easy to follow. I appreciated that she would demonstrate. That pace was slow which allowed me to integrate what she was teaching.

Amazing :-) 🙏