which versions of ujjayi during asanas?

[Alvin Chan]

In the AYP version of ujjayi, we partially close the epiglottis only during exhalation, and relax on inhalation. This makes sense since we're aiming at increasing the air pressure in the lung to "push" more oxygen in.

In many traditions, ujjayi is also recommended during asanas. For me, I actually find myself to be in it automatically when I found the asanas strenuous. But the hatha yoga books and teachers I met all teach the form of ujjayi in which we partially close the epiglottis in BOTH inhalation and exhalation. (at least they are not so specific about it)

Closing the epiglottis during inhalation will decrease the pressure. Of course, we can say that we're "sucking" the waste out by doing this (and pushing the oxygen in during exhalation), as well as increasing the time where the throat get the stimulation.

What do you guys think about this? Especially those who are more experienced in asanas?

[Juliet]

Hi Alvin--

Thanks for writing about this. I have a long time Hatha practice and, out of habit, had been using ujjayi breathing on both the in and out breaths in the spinal breathing. Whoops. What a HUGE difference it made when I made the adjustment to ujjayi only on exhale, prompted by reading your email.

Now the up/in breath really floats right up on the first breath and from then on has a real added "buoyancy" and momentum. The down/out breath  actually seems to have more momentum as well --almost as though the two halves of the breath are like the back/forth cycles of a child on a swing, with the one ujjayi adding resonant momentum in just the right place, like a well-time push from behind or a pump with the knees. What an improvement.

Ujjayi on the in breath was actually working in opposition, I see now.

Now this seems to me like a totally different function/application than ujjayi has in asanas--at least in my application of it. In my asana practice I have simply used ujjayi as a way of breaking up stagnation while in the pose, and then moving it out in vinyasa.

Is this what you're thinking about?

It's interesting to note that teachers in the Iyengar tradition generally don't advise ujjayi at all. In Iyengar-syle yoga the recomendation is to go for a much more subtle, refined breath.

Thanks again,

Juliet

[Victor]

i agree completely with juliet. after many years of ujjayi practice I have found that the inhale should be passive and receptive in pranayama but not restricted in ujjayi. ujjayi may be fine for exhalation but doing it during inhalation makes teh breath mechanical rather than deliciously sensitive

[Alvin Chan]

Besides the pushing in of oxygen, there may be another factor of closing only during exhalation: to generate heat during exhalation which goes together with the hot air passing through our throat and pipe. While relaxing during inhalation cool things off, which goes with the cool air coming in. In the lessons, this was used to induce the feeling of hot current coming up and cold currents coming down. That may be what you're feeling, Juliet.

But I am not so sure about it during asanas. Victor, what do you do during those very difficult/strenuous asanas?

May be that depends on how we breath? If you use yogi breathing (using both chest and abdomen) during asanas, then air will rush into your abdomen during the first half of your inhalation unless you purposefully somehow hold some tension in your abdominal muscles (instead of relaxing it completely) Here the ujjayi may help with the slow breath. The second half of the inhalation should not be a problem since it's an active one by the chest muscles. (by the way, different traditions have different opinions on what kind of breath, e.g. chest breathing, yogi breathing, should be used during asanas)

Or is it just fine to let the air rush in? Now I relax the throat a bit (but not completely) during inhalation, just enough to make it slow.

quote:Iyengar tradition generally don't advise ujjayi at all

What's the philosophy behind? (if any) I find it much harder to stay in certain asanas without ujjayi (on exhale), even as simple as the tiryaka tadasana (swinging tree pose). The breath will simply be squeezed out quickily, making it very hard to breath "long and deep", unless you sacrifice the sharpness of the pose.

[Victor]

I was taught Iyengar style asana and the rule was open natural breathing, always remembering never to hold the breath in asana. Ujjayi certainly can be used to prevent unconcious breath holding in asana. i still beleive that it should however be done on the exhalation only and if the breath rushes in too rapidly as you let yourself inhale perhaps the last exhalation was too controlled or prolonged. the only control on inhalation that I would advise is to help it be smooth and receptive and to really allow the breath to be felt spontaneously absorbed.

[Juliet]

I understand that the Iyengar perspective is that ujjayi breathing is "coarse" and unrefined.

I think the "yin/cool" Iyengar idea is that we should aim always for the breath to be more and more subtle, more and more refined  --with the body viewed as an alchemic vessel, the subtle refined breath will ideally kind of "ooze" out the skin on exhale as a key part of the "distillation" process.

This is in direct opposition to the "hot/yang" Pattabhi Jois approach, which has ujjayi throughout the practice. They are right away firing up tapas, heat, (and real sweat) and melting down, working in progressively from the gross to the subtle in the progression from first to, I think, seventh(?) series. Of course each series takes years to perfect --who the heck ever gets to the seventh series??? I don't know.

I think the Iyengar guys also regard that sweaty Ashtanga tapas as "coarse" as well.

Strict Iyengar certified teachers won't even allow you to do pranayama until you've done asanas for a year or two, refining. Jois takes the more "jump right in" AYP-friendly approach.

It's weird that Jois and Iyengar's schools of yoga are so diametrically opposed (on breathing and everything else), kind of yin and yang in their approaches, but that they actually come out of the same teacher.

Thanks for this discussion, this is interesting. I'm going to try and do a little more research on apana, etc. this evening if I get a chance.

j