Ujjayi (, IAST ujjāyī, "victorious" or "conquering" ) is a

pranayama Pranayama (Sanskrit: प्राणायाम, "Prāṇāyāma") is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In classical yoga, the breath is associated with '' prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the ''prana-shakti'', or life en ...

( breathing technique) practised simultaneously with

asana An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and late ...

s in modern

yoga as exercise Yoga as exercise is a physical activity consisting mainly of asana, postures, often connected by vinyasa, flowing sequences, sometimes accompanied by pranayama, breathing exercises, and frequently ending with savasana, relaxation lying down or ...

. It is practised especially in

Pattabhi Jois K. Pattabhi Jois (26 July 1915 – 18 May 2009) was an Indian Modern yoga gurus, yoga guru who developed and popularized the vinyasa, flowing style of yoga as exercise known as Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga. In 1948, Jois established the Ashtanga Yo ...

Ashtanga (vinyasa) yoga Ashtanga yoga (not to be confused with Patanjali's ''Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga), aṣṭāṅgayoga'', the eight limbs of yoga) is a style of yoga as exercise popularised by K. Pattabhi Jois during the twentieth century, often promoted as a ...

, where it accompanies vigorous

flow exercise. It is described as a seated practice in

B. K. S. Iyengar Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (14 December 1918 – 20 August 2014) was an Indian teacher of yoga and author. He is the founder of the style of yoga as exercise, known as " Iyengar Yoga", and was considered one of the foremost yoga ...

's 1966 book ''

Light on Yoga ''Light on Yoga: Yoga Dipika'' (Sanskrit: योग दीपिका, "Yoga Dīpikā") is a 1966 book on the Iyengar Yoga style of modern yoga as exercise by B. K. S. Iyengar, first published in English. It describes more than 200 yoga postu ...

''.

Etymology and origins

"Ujjayi ranayama () means "victorious or conquering reath in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

. According to

, the prefix "ut" denotes superiority, while the word "jaya" means victory or conquest. While ujjayi is described as

, the

classical yoga The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' (IAST: Patañjali yoga-sūtra) is a compilation "from a variety of sources" of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (ac ...

practice is stated by the yoga scholar

Andrea Jain Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...

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 in

consists of synchronising the breath with movements (between

s), in classical texts like the ''

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

'' and the ''

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' (IAST: Patañjali yoga-sūtra) is a compilation "from a variety of sources" of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyasa, Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sut ...

'', pranayama meant "complete cessation of breathing".

Technique

Ujjayi breath is a type of

diaphragmatic breathing Diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, belly breathing, or deep breathing, is a breathing technique that is done by contracting the Thoracic diaphragm, diaphragm, a muscle located horizontally between the thoracic cavity and abdominal cav ...

in which the muscles of the throat (the

glottis The glottis (: glottises or glottides) is the opening between the vocal folds (the rima glottidis). The glottis is crucial in producing sound from the vocal folds. Etymology From Ancient Greek ''γλωττίς'' (glōttís), derived from ''γ ...

) are slightly constricted, causing the air to produce a whispering sound as it passes in and out the

vocal cords In humans, the vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through Speech, vocalization. The length of the vocal cords affects the pitch of voice, similar to a violin string. Open when brea ...

. It is associated with the energetic flow style of

created by

. It is described, too, in

's 1966 book ''

''. Both Jois and Iyengar were pupils of

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya Tirumala Krishnamacharya (18 November 1888 – 28 February 1989) was an Indian yoga teacher, ayurvedic healer and scholar. He is seen as one of the most important gurus of modern yoga, and is often called "Father of Modern Yoga" for his wi ...

Accompanying asana practice in Ashtanga yoga

In Jois's Ashtanga yoga, ujjayi is practised simultaneously with the vigorous performance of

s. These are not held for long periods, but flow continuously from one pose to another in fixed sequences. 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.

Seated breathing exercise in Iyengar yoga

Iyengar Yoga Iyengar Yoga, named after and developed by B. K. S. Iyengar, and described in his bestselling 1966 book '' Light on Yoga'', is a form of yoga as exercise that has an emphasis on detail, precision and alignment in the performance of yoga postures ...

, "Ujjāyī Prānāyāma" is "the process in which the lungs are fully expanded and the chest puffed out like that of a proud conqueror." Iyengar instructs pupils to practice sitting in " any comfortable position" such as

Siddhasana Siddhasana (; ) or Accomplished Pose is an ancient seated asana in hatha yoga and modern yoga as exercise suitable for meditation. The names Muktasana (, Liberated Pose) and Burmese position are sometimes given to the same pose, sometimes to an e ...

, with the back straight, the chin down, and the eyes closed. The breath is through the nostrils; it is held "for a second or two" (''

kumbhaka ''Kumbhaka'' is the retention of the breath in the yoga practice of pranayama. It has two types, accompanied (by breathing) whether after inhalation or after exhalation, and, the ultimate aim, unaccompanied. That state is ''kevala kumbhaka'', the ...

'') after the inbreath and after the outbreath.

Claimed effects

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." Iyengar adds that the practice can be modified by doing it while reclining and without holding the breath in ''kumbhaka'' by those with "high blood pressure or coronary troubles", again without adducing any evidence. The yoga scholar Suzanne Newcombe describes such claims as supporting his vision of yoga as in some sense therapeutic, while

suggests it is an attempt to reinforce the Iyengar Yoga brand.

References