Warming Up with Ujayii Breathing
Ujjayi, or Ocean, pranayama helps calm the mind and warm the body. When practicing Ujjayi, inhale through the nostrils, completely fill your lungs while gently constricting the back of your throat. Let the air travel deep into your belly, then exhale the reverse path through the nostrils while keeping the throat gently constricted. Here are a few tips to get the feel of Ujjayi.
1. Practice exhaling with an open mouth and visualize fogging up a mirror;
2. Practice silently saying “so” on the inhale while gently constricting your throat and “hum” on the exhale through the nostrils, throat gently constricted.
3. Imagine you are very frustrated and you’re going to sigh a huge “hmmph”! Inhale through the nostrils, gently constrict the throat, and exhale with a big frustrated “hmmph” through the nostrils, feeling the back of the throat constricted.