Lovely Ujjaayee and Ugly Ujjaayee

Ujjaayee Breath, the "Victorious Breath," "the Ocean Breath," can be lovely and transformative. By restricting the airflow through the glottis, ujjaayee can lead to great insights and awakenings. For best results, ujjaayee needs to be sweet, light and attentive. The ujjaayee breath blooms when it is full of deep listening and is as delicate as a butterfly landing on a twig.

With quiet attention, Ujjaayee can reveal the disturbance in the body and mind. Ujjaayee can also be a co-factor or the cause of disturbance. Ujjaayee is frequently performed in an aggressive, egoic way that is more about dominating the body, than listening.

In 1995, when the vinyasa boom was sweeping across the country, Richard Freeman rang the alarm about a tyrannical and aggressive Darth Vader Breath that was becoming common practice. For over two decades, Leslie Kaminoff, has been teaching about the problems of a pushy, overbearing ujjaayee.

Loud ujjaayee is still a common method taught all over the country. (I am guilty as charged. We teach as we were taught...) We actually thought we were doing a good job teaching it loud. One of the pros of a loud ujjaayee, is that it will create internal heat in the body, which is generally a good thing. But there are other ways to create internal heat, like concentration, drishti, visualization and other ways. The big con of loud ujjaayee is that it goes on autopilot and is actually used to not listen to the moment, by drowning it out. It can become a Type A pushy attack on the body. Loud ujjaayee has become so automatic, many yogis don't even know that they are doing it. Leslie Kaminoff jokes that some yogis, when they go to the doctor’s office, don’t know how to stop being a Sith Lord. Being unaware of ujjaayee and not being able to stop it, are signs that one is no longer listening to the breath.

We listen better when we speak gently, rather than when we yell at each other. We can listen to ujjaayee, the body, breath and mind, so much better with a silent and receptive mind. Ujjaayee breath is more like a feather, rather than a sledgehammer. Ujjaayee is more of a question posed in the present moment rather than a forgone solution to everything.

In the online course, This Next Breath, ujjaayee is purposely de-emphasized. Many people think that surely every online breath course must primarily be about ujjaayee because ujjaayee is what every yoga teacher teaches. Loud Ujjaayee is the first thing they teach! If you are a loud breather, experiment with the other end of the spectrum and be at the threshold of sounding breath. A whole new world of sensitivity in your yoga poses will open up. Stay thirsty for your experience friends.