Simple Pranayama—Concious Breathing
There is much to be gained from practising pranayama which is part of Yoga and a fairly huge part. I’ve been doing Yoga for nearly twelve years—both practising and teaching. I’ve seen some huge changes in me. The most profound have come from meditation and pranayama. Physical Yoga has been useful too but I think we miss a huge amount when we concentrate just on that. Ancient Yoga has always been about meditation and pranayama.
I created some simple Yoga cards a few years ago. This is part of the set with just some very basic ujjayi pranayama practice. It’s a great way to start your pranayama practice and it’s really easy. A couple of things to take note of:
- Ignore the part of creating the noise from the back of the throat—it’s not important
- There are references to some sound files—ignore this, it’s for a more advanced practice
Ujjayi pranayama
Sit comfortably with your upper body erect—so you can sit on the floor or one a chair
You inhale slowly through the nose
Hold your breath for one second—very important
Slowly exhale through your nose
Hold your breath for one second—very important
The main thing is not to think about filling your lungs with air but just to follow your breath with your mind and listen to the sound of the breath.
The great thing about ujjayi pranayama is that you can practice it anywhere—while driving the car, at work, watching tv, cooking, walking, at bedtime… so whenever you need to relax just do some ujjayi pranayama for a few minutes.
Pranayama stimulates the vagus nerve which activates the parasympathetic nervous system and so relaxing the whole body.
Please note: if you have any kind of medical condition please consult your doctor first.
