- Hi everyone and welcome
to Yoga With Adriene.

I am Adriene and today
we are going to learn

a basic breath we do in yoga
called the Ujjayi breath.

It's also referred to as
the victorious breath.

But it's an audible breath, 
an internal sound

that we can use to anchor
the busy mind in, on.

Also, really widely 
used in Flow Yoga which

quite popular these days.

And just a beautiful 
breath because it's

energizing and 
calming all at once.

So, hop on the mat 
and let's learn Ujjayi.

(upbeat music)

Okay, so begin we're 
going to come into a

comfortable seat 
of your choice.

This can be in a chair.
This can be against a wall.

We can come into Sukhasana, 
the Easy Pose.

A nice comfortable 
place where we can find

a little bit of ease
and perhaps a little bit

of a lift in the heart here
as we learn Ujjayi breath.

Peeling my skin up off
my mat there, sorry.

Looping the shoulders,
forward, up and back.

Find that lift in the
heart and just notice your

natural breath here.

The natural ebb and flow.

Close your eyes if you want.

Just first bringing our
attention to the natural breath.

Then we'll begin to deepen
the breath by taking

a nice sweet inhale 
in through the nose.

And exhale, let it out 
through the mouth.

So I'm inhaling completely
through the nose.

And then I'm relaxing my jaw and

almost creating a ha
sound as I breathe out.

Let's try it again.
Inhale through the nose.

Exhale, ha sound, breathe out.

Now sometimes we'll ask
students to bring their hand up

inhale in through the nose.

And exhale, feel the
breath as you exhale out.

It's a warm breath.

Inhale, cool air in.

Exhale with sound out.

Now we can release the
hand, ditch the hand

and practice that just
a couple more times.

Inhale, full breath 
in through the nose.

Exhale, open mouth, ha.

There's an image of maybe
fogging up the window here.

Drawing a little 
heart or I love you

or writing a secret message.

So inhale in through the nose.

And exhale, fogging up the
window here are we breathe out.

So, Ujjayi is an audible breath.

Granted this is an internal
breath, so an internal sound.

I do think it's nice 
to be in public class

and hear the sound of the
person's breath next to you.

I think it's inspiring 
and the breath

is something that 
connects all of us.

But this doesn't have to be a
really loud sound in the end.

This can be a soft internal
sound that we can use in yoga

to allow the mind to anchor on.

A soundtrack for our practice.

Because ultimately our goal
for yoga is to synchronize

the breath, of course, 
with the movement

and we can use this Ujjayi
breath to quiet the mind.

Letting the mind literally
anchor in this breath practice

or this pranayama, Ujjayi.

Now, taking it a step further

we're going to do the exhale
but with the lips closed.

The jaw will stay 
relaxed but I'm going to

bring my awareness now 
to the back of the throat.

This is sometimes referred
to as the Darth Vader breath

and I love that 
because it's so true.

This is Darth Vader sound
as we breathe in and out.

It's a slight restriction
in the back of the throat,

a hissing sound, if you will.

Where we let the breath
just kind of swirl around

in the back of the throat

on the inhale 
and the exhale out.

So it's a little bit hard to
explain but let's just try

practicing Ujjayi breath here.

Now with the lips closed.

So we'll inhale deeply 
in through the nose.

Finding that sound, 
that restriction

in the back of the throat.

And exhale, same thing
as we did before but now

with the lips closed.

Let's try it again. Inhale.

So for beginners 
it's easier to practice

with the mouth open.

And you might want to, 
mid-exhale, close the lips.

Just to get a sense of how
to transition to the Ujjayi

with the lips closed.

So for instance I'll inhale in.

I can release the hand (laughs).

Inhale in.

Exhale, start with 
the mouth open.

And midway close the lips.

Really feeling that 
breath swirl around

in the back of the throat
just seeping through

a little bit there.

Now it's easier to find
that hissing sound,

that Ujjayi sound in
the back of the throat

on the exhale.

But it's a little bit more
difficult to connect to it

on the inhale.

This is where that Darth Vader
image really comes in handy.

So let's practice just 
a couple of times

finding that sound,
really letting the mind

anchor on the sound 
of the breath here.

Here we go.

Nice deep inhale in.

And exhaling.

Let it grow, let it evolve,
let it come to the body in time

so there's no 
need to force it.

Again, this is really a tool 
for you to anchor internally

the mind with the sound
of that internal breath

or soft soundtrack, 
if you will, of the practice.

So you don't have to be
the loudest one in the room

is what I'm trying to say here.

So, enjoy Ujjayi.

Here we go.

(upbeat music)