There are all kinds of breathing techniques. Deep breathing, nose breathing, circular breathing.
So many people only take sips of air at best during the day. “Shallow breathing”.
But being conscious of our incoming and outgoing breathing, slowing it down, speeding it up, breathing in a purposeful rhythm as our chest rises and falls in deep pattern can give us more mastery of our emotions and of our bodily pain.
And it can help give us better health as it helps blood move, our cells use oxygen more efficiently, our brain activate, our body relax and sleep when needed.
“Just breathe.”
“Take slow, deep breaths, breathe iiiiin, breathe ooout.”
Right?
Breathing with intent can help mitigate pain, it can help calm down rampaging anxiety.
And then there’s this thing that psychologists call “peak state” or “flow state”. Being in peak state helps us make better decisions and increase the happy chemicals in our brain.
It helps us think quickly on our feet.
We can use peak state so we can put as much energy into any arena as we can.
So here’s how we can get that expansive, peak state breathing going.
And here’s how we learn to pattern breathe for better health and well being.
It’s known as expansive, focused Ujjayi breathing. And it’s a little different than just “deep breathing”.
Along with clean water and real food and the few right supplements, starting with focused Ujjayi breathing helps us quickly amp up our energy levels, shift our mood, tune in to what’s going on in the body, and reduce stress hormones. All at the same time!
If you’re not familiar with ujjayi…
Alright! Something new!
So… Ujjayi is commonly known as the victorious breath or the ocean breath. It’s an almost-hoarse whisper sound from the back of our throats as we purposely push or rush air through it.
I like thinking of it as the Darth Vader breath. Because it sounds like this joke “LUKE I AM YOUR FATHER”.
We do this breathing technique because I want you to be able to hear your own breathing so you know when you are and when you aren’t breathing.
I want you to know to gain the skill set of checking in with your own body.
Let’s jump in and break that down.
Sit tall, chest lifted, eyes closed, hands lightly resting on your lap.
Mouth closed, INHALE steadily through your nose if able. (No worries if you need to inhale through your mouth instead!).
Open your mouth and exhale making a noisy hhhaaaahhh sound like you would if you were trying to fog up a mirror.
Now inhale through your nose again, keeping the back of the throat constricted and making the same whisper sound.
Do this for one more exhale and inhale to get the hang of it.
Go ahead and spend the next few minutes continuing Ujjai breathing, but now expanding the breath into any stuck spots of your body or emotions.
So again, sit tall, chest lifted, eyes closed, hands lightly resting on your lap.
Exhale everything out.
Take a deep Ujjayi inhale through your nose, amping up the whisper sound in the back of your throat and filling your belly, your ribcage, your chest.
Exhale… feeling the whisper massage your throat. Relax your shoulders, your forehead, your jaw.
On your next inhale, amp up the whisper sound and expand your breath into any stuck spaces in your chest and upper back.
Exhale and relax your eyes, your lower back. Let go of any tightness that you notice.
Inhale and expand your rib cage outward and upward, creating space between each of your ribs.
Continue Ujjayi breathing, expanding the breath into any stuck spots. Any place where you feel crunchy or tension, direct the Ujjayi into that space.
That’s all you need to do.
Every time a thought comes into your mind about something else in your day, go back to the breathing.
Continue for 2 to 3 minutes.
Alright. Slowly open your eyes (if you’ve had them closed) and start slowly moving any way that feels good.
Shake out your hands and your head. Roll your shoulders. Whatever feels good.
For at least a week, start focusing on incorporating ujjayi into your everyday life.
Instead of sitting and breathing, I want you to focus on breathing while you’re doing your everyday tasks.
And here’s a fabulous website showing exactly what to do!
