Salam Pembuka! Greetings from Bali
Salam Pembuka from Nusa Lembongan!
I hope you have all been able to maintain a small home practice in my absence, and as promised I will be uploading a couple of online classes for you to enjoy at home in the next few weeks.
Now the reason I haven’t had much of an online presence for the last 10 days is due to the fact that I really needed some time to retreat in my own personal practice, and allow myself to return back to being a student. When we dedicate most of our time to facilitating the practice of yoga, it becomes easy to forget how it feels to be entering a class for the first time.
As you read this, you may find comfort in knowing that even as teacher I experience negative feelings or even, dare I say it- hate certain asana. However, the poses we have aversions to are also often the most valuable ones for us to practice. I don’t get amongst inversions or arm balances all that often, and so, practicing these has felt somewhat relatively foreign to me. Bringing up all the feels; challenging, uncomfortable, a few tears here, and a few doubts there, and yet so incredibly satisfying once I’d pushed through all the icky stuff. If you’ve continued to read up until this point, relax, I’m not going to be basing classes around this anytime soon, but what I will be touching on is a very important tool that can make any bothersome poses easier to practice, creating a less daunting experience for you when you approach your mat and enhancing your practice for many years to come.
Pranayama is the formal practice of controlling the breath. It is one of the most important aspects of yoga, which can often be overlooked, especially as a beginner. You’ve no doubt seen many a yoga meme “just breathe”, or at least been guided to inhale and exhale during a class, but how much attention are you paying to these important queues? There are many different types of pranayam, just as there are asana, however I believe that Ujjayi pranayama (u-jjA-yi) or whispering breath should be the first breath to begin your practice. You can use this technique to focus your mind, regulate the flow of prana, in and out of the body, invigorate or calm you during practice, and most importantly it will assist you in extending, lengthening and deepening your breathing during the practice of asana. A little tip: The slower and softer you do it, the more cooling effect it will have on your body, and the more strong and louder you do it, the more heating effect it has.
In english this technique is often translated as whispering or oceanic breath, and this is due to the sound you produce when practicing it. I have attached an audio at the end of this post for all you auditory learners, but for those who do fine by reading the instructions follow below. A little side note: Some of you who are new to the practice of yoga may feel embarrassed or silly to begin with as you are making subtle noise, but I ask you to approach this with an open mind, and at least practice 1 entire class using this technique throughout, I assure you, your practice will be better for it.
Before you start applying ujjayi to your active practice, come into a comfortable seated posture, with your chin parallel to the floor. Begin breathing with a soft airy sound.
With each inhalation focus on lifting the upper body through expansion of the lungs, and as you exhale, try not to collapse in the spine, just simply release the exhalation slowly, smoothly, and effortlessly, along with any tension in the body
Now as you exhale, whisper and lengthen the sound ha (haaaaaaaaaaaaa) and bring awareness into the area in your throat that this sound/breath originates. You want to create or mimic this same sound however with the mouth closed but without vocalising. It should sound smooth and soft, like the sound of the ocean or perhaps a sigh.
Continue to play with this breath, seeing if you can make it louder and softer; remembering louder and stronger in increase heat in the body, softer and slower to produce a cooling effect.
Not sure when to inhale or exhale? As a general rule we want to inhale when we lengthen and extend, as the diaphragm contracts downward, allowing air to be drawn to the lungs, where as exhaling should be done as we round the lower back or contract the abdominal muscles to stabilise the connection between our pelvis and lower back, we would also exhale when we want to soften or release in a posture.