Ujjayi (Sanskrit:उज्जायी, IAST ujjāyī, "victorious" or "conquering"[1]) is apranayama (breathing technique) practised simultaneously withasanas in modernyoga as exercise. It is practised especially inPattabhi Jois'sAshtanga (vinyasa) yoga, where it accompanies vigorousasana flow exercise. It is described as a seated practice inB. K. S. Iyengar's 1966 bookLight on Yoga.
"Ujjayi [pranayama]" (Sanskrit:उज्जायी) means "victorious or conquering [breath]" inSanskrit.[1] According toB. K. S. Iyengar, the prefixउत् "ut" denotes superiority, while the wordजाय "jaya" means victory or conquest.[2]
While ujjayi is described aspranayama, theclassical yoga practice is stated by the yoga scholarAndrea 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 inyoga as exercise consists of synchronising the breath with movements (betweenasanas), in classical texts like theBhagavad Gita and theYoga Sutras of Patanjali, pranayama meant "complete cessation of breathing".[3]
Ujjayi breath is a type ofdiaphragmatic breathing in which the muscles of the throat (theglottis) are slightly constricted, causing the air to produce a whispering sound as it passes in and out thevocal cords.[4] It is associated with the energetic[1]flow style ofyoga as exercise created byPattabhi Jois.[1] It is described, too, inB. K. S. Iyengar's 1966 bookLight on Yoga.[2] Both Jois and Iyengar were pupils ofTirumalai Krishnamacharya.[5]
In Jois's Ashtanga yoga, ujjayi is practised simultaneously with the vigorous performance ofasanas. These are not held for long periods, but flow continuously from one pose to another in fixed sequences.[1] 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.[4][6]
InIyengar Yoga, "Ujjāyī Prānāyāma" is "the process in which the lungs are fully expanded and the chest puffed out like that of a proud conqueror."[2] Iyengar instructs pupils to practice sitting in "any comfortable position" such asSiddhasana, with the back straight, the chin down, and the eyes closed.[2] The breath is through the nostrils; it is held "for a second or two" (kumbhaka) after the inbreath and after the outbreath.[2]
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."[2] Iyengar adds that the practice can be modified by doing it while reclining and without holding the breath inkumbhaka by those with "high blood pressure or coronary troubles", again without adducing any evidence.[2] The yoga scholarSuzanne Newcombe describes such claims as supporting his vision of yoga as in some sense therapeutic,[7] whileAndrea Jain suggests it is an attempt to reinforce the Iyengar Yoga brand.[8]
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