come up for breath - 2 techniques to find instant calm

Ujjayi Breath - If you take control of the breath, you can take control of your life

Ujjayi breath is often referred to as “ocean breath” since it has sound qualities of tides coming in and out. It’s a breathing technique that has been around for thousands of years in the Eastern cultures of philosophy of yoga, and still used today to create inner calm and focus. This breath demonstrates versatility because although designed for yoga and meditation, it can be absolutely applied outside of this context to discover the same benefits.

“Ujjayi” in Sanskrit can most closely translated to the word “victorious” – the word symbolises manipulation and mastery (of the breath). I once heard the saying  “when we can take control of our breath, we can take control of life”. Welcome to the world of pranayama!

 When I was first taught Ujjayi breath in my first 200hr yoga teacher training, I was told to imagine fogging up a mirror but with my lips sealed. The feeling created is a gentle restriction in the throat, allowing for an audible breath to emerge. The quality of the breath is different to every day breathing, it connects mind and body and offers a gateway to relaxation.

Benefits of Ujjayi breath

-              It can stimulate the vagus nerve, issuing safety cues from body to brain, creating a relaxing affect in the mind

-              Offers an alternative anchor to a busy mind full of thoughts

-              Deepens connection to the present moment. Creates conditions where you can move more easily into a meditative state

-              You can do it anywhere. On the train, in a yoga class, walking, before bed etc.

Instructions

1.        Find a comfortable seated position with the spine tall and long, that allows you to feel alert and spacious in the body. Relax your hands in your lap or palms onto legs.

2.        Keeping the lips sealed breathe in through the nose normally

3.        As you exhale, through the nose, breathe as though the breath is originating from the throat. You should hear and feel a subtle sound similar to waves or a tide that is rolling into shore [it may take a few practices to capture the feeling].

4.        Once you get the hang of the feeling, keep the breath smooth without pauses. Perhaps count in for 4, and out for 4.

5.        Focus on the feeling and audible sound of the breath without over exaggerating the sound. It should feel soft and relaxing as though only you can hear the breath. Even though you’re focussing on the breath control, remember to relax your shoulders, jaw, and tongue. You may even close your eyelids to drift towards an inwards gaze.

6.        Keep going for as long as you like – start with 10 breaths (which might be about 2 minutes if you’re slowing down the breathing rate), and move to  5 minutes or 10 minutes. You can also pair this breath with movement if you’re stretching, or practicing yoga it is a great way to connect to your body even further.

3 part yoga breath (diaphragmatic breathing) - Because taking deeper breaths makes you feel instantly better

 Three-part yoga breath can also be described as diaphragm breathing. It is a simple way to engage with a deeper, fuller breath.

If you have ever experienced a stressful or upsetting moment that takes your breath away, perhaps the advice from someone  close by, has been “take some deep breaths”.  This is because it helps regulate your nervous system and the autonomic response to stress. Cortisol, our body’s primary stress response hormone is important as it helps us respond quickly to danger, but when this happens more than we’d like, we can control our breathing to rebalance the hormonal shift.  

The idea is that we focus on the mechanics of the breath. If we take time to breathe deeper and make the breath more spacious, it can have instant positive effects on our physiological response to stress.

 Benefits of 3 part yoga breath

-              Slow, deep breathing positively impacts the respiratory, cardiovascular and autonomic nervous systems making the body work more optimally

-              This breath is a great rescue tool when feeling stressed/anxious as it helps to slows down a racing mind

-              It’s easy to learn

 Instruction

1.        This breath can be practiced laying or seated. I personally prefer to be seated as it’s nice to feel the breath rise upwards. Whenever you are, relax your shoulders please.

2.        Place your right hand onto your navel, right below the belly button. Place your left hand over your heart/chest area. Perhaps the fingertips also meet the collar bones. Relax your palms and allow the physical touch to bring awareness to the body breath connection.

3.        Keep your lips sealed and as you inhale bring awareness in this order:

a.        to the expansion of the lower belly

b.        on the same inhale, feel the breath rise to expand the rib cage outwards

c.        and finally feel the breath rise all the way to the heart

d.        pause for a microsecond and then exhale reversing each step (heart, ribs, navel) letting all the air leave the body

e.        at the end of the exhale,  squeeze navel towards spine to empty the breath completely

4.        Repeat these steps for at least 10 breaths, but ideally a few minutes to receive a greater shift in mental state.

5.        Imagine that each part of the body starts to light up as you breathe fully into each section. If it feels nice you can add extra steps like collar bones and crown of the head.

tips for adding breath work to your day

1.        Sit in a position that allows the spine to be spacious in the body, the breath typically follows the structure of the spine going up and down, so make room around this central channel.

a.        Seated> Up right erect spine with shoulders back and down, sitting bones grounded and crown of the head elevating away from the pelvis. Cross your legs or place your feet grounded to the floor if you’re in a chair.

b.        Laying down > allow  your spine to be in neutral position but back of the head, shoulders, pelvis and knees relaxed. If laying down, you might place a cushion under the knees for additional lower back support.

c.        If you’re on the move, on the train, or driving for example, don’t worry if you can’t get the ideal posture, any conscious breathing is better than none!

2.        When the mind inevitably drifts away to patterns of thought, keep kindly asking yourself to return to the sensations of the breath

3.        Place your palms on the body to promote awareness into the movement of the breath. You might choose both hands onto the navel, or rib cage, or one hand on the belly and one on the heart.

4.        Practice little and often. Choose a time and build it into your daily routine as  preventative self-care. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying too hard to “get it right” – you will find what works for you if you keep experimenting with intention.