Ujjayi (, IAST ujjāyī, "victorious" or "conquering"[
]) is a pranayama (breathing technique) practised simultaneously with in modern yoga as exercise. It is practised especially in Pattabhi Jois's Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga, where it accompanies vigorous asana flow exercise. It is described as a seated practice in B. K. S. Iyengar's 1966 book Light on Yoga.
Etymology and origins
"Ujjayi pranayama" () means "victorious or conquering breath" in
Sanskrit.
According to B. K. S. Iyengar, the prefix "ut" denotes superiority, while the word "jaya" means victory or conquest.
While ujjayi is described as pranayama, the classical yoga practice is stated by the yoga scholar Andrea Jain to have been "marginal to the most widely cited sources" before the 20th century, and "dramatically" unlike the modern ones. She writes that while modern pranayama in yoga as exercise consists of synchronising the breath with movements (between ), in classical texts like the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, pranayama meant "complete cessation of breathing".[, citing ]
Technique
Ujjayi breath is a type of diaphragmatic breathing in which the muscles of the throat (the
glottis) are slightly constricted, causing the air to produce a whispering sound as it passes in and out the
vocal cords.
It is associated with the energetic
flow style of yoga as exercise created by
Pattabhi Jois.
It is described, too, in B. K. S. Iyengar's 1966 book
Light on Yoga.
Both Jois and Iyengar were pupils of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya.
Accompanying asana practice in Ashtanga yoga
In Jois's Ashtanga yoga, ujjayi is practised simultaneously with the vigorous performance of
. These are not held for long periods, but flow continuously from one pose to another in fixed sequences.
The inhalation and exhalation, both through the nose, are meant to produce a sound loud enough for the practitioner to hear but not so loud as to be heard by someone standing six feet away.
Seated breathing exercise in Iyengar yoga
In
Iyengar Yoga, "Ujjāyī Prānāyāma" is "the process in which the lungs are fully expanded and the chest puffed out like that of a proud conqueror."
Iyengar instructs pupils to practice sitting in "any comfortable position" such as
Siddhasana, with the back straight, the chin down, and the eyes closed.
The breath is through the nostrils; it is held "for a second or two" (
kumbhaka) after the inbreath and after the outbreath.
Claimed effects
Iyengar claims, without adducing any evidence or citing a source, that Ujjayi "aerates the lungs, removes phlegm, soothes the nerves and tones the entire system."
Iyengar adds that the practice can be modified by doing it while reclining and without holding the breath in
kumbhaka by those with "high blood pressure or coronary troubles", again without adducing any evidence.
The yoga scholar
Suzanne Newcombe describes such claims as supporting his vision of yoga as in some sense therapeutic,
while
Andrea Jain suggests it is an attempt to reinforce the Iyengar Yoga brand.
See also
-
Kapalabhati
-
Anuloma pranayama, alternate nostril breathing
