Local "Conference" Appendix #2 - Breathing & Awareness

How can we become more aware of ourselves and how we move in space?  Can we begin to see new options and possibilities?  We all breathe, so attention to breathing is a great place to start.

First, some theory.  Check out Leslie Kaminoff's video "The Accordion and the Water Balloon":






Next, let's see how this works under the skin with Gil Hedley's "Exquisite lungs breathing":

Now, we move into practice with this video of a Led Intermediate class at the main shala in Mysore, India.  Remember, Led 2nd is invite only, so these are really experienced practitioners.

A bit more in practice with Pattabhi Jois (Guruji) leading Richard Freeman through the final asanas:

Here is some additional reading on the breathing we do in practice:
Ujjayi vs. Free Breathing  David Robson (Toronto) discusses the learning process and breathing.
Ujjāyī vs. Free Breathing in Ashtanga Yoga (Hatha Yoga Pradipika) The HYP on breathing.
Ujjāyī vs. Free Breathing in Ashtanga Yoga (Gheranda Samhita) The GS on breathing.

If you are congested, you might want to try neti (jala or sutra -- ask your teacher).





Also, food can be a contributing factor.  Here are some foods known to increase mucus:

• Sugar
• Meat
• Dairy
• Wheat

Why does how we breathe matter?  Breathing can either limit or increase our space in asanas.  It can either calm or agitate the mind and the nervous system.  Also, the heat that comes from good breathing is essential to purification:

A vital aspect of internal purification that Pattabhi Jois teaches relates to the six poisons that surround the spiritual heart. In the yoga shastra it is said that God dwells in our heart in the form of light, but this light is covered by six poisons: kama, krodha, moha, lobha, matsarya, and mada. These are desire, anger, delusion, greed, envy and sloth. When yoga practice is sustained with great diligence and dedication over a long period of time, the heat generated from it burns away these poisons, and the light of our inner nature shines forth.

Ujjāyī vs. Free Breathing in Ashtanga Yoga (Gheranda Samhita) by Elise Espat

We started off by looking at the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā which led to the conclusion that:

If Ujjāyī is one of the eight Kumbhakas and Kumbhakas are breath retentions, then Ujjāyī is a breath retention.  If our breathing during practice does not include breath retentions, then it cannot be called Ujjāyī.

Here is a link to the post: Part 1 = Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā (हठ योग प्रदीपिका)

Now let's look at the Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā (धेरंड संहिता).

Notice here in chapter 5.46 that Ujjāyī is listed as a Kumbhaka (breath retention), just as it is in the HYP:

And here is GS the description of the technique (5.69-70):














Conclusion:
If Ujjāyī is one of the eight Kumbhakas and Kumbhakas are breath retentions, then Ujjāyī is a breath retention.  If our breathing during practice does not include breath retentions, then it cannot be called Ujjāyī.

Read the Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā
Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā PDF

Ujjāyī vs. Free Breathing in Ashtanga Yoga (Hatha Yoga Pradipika) by Elise Espat

Q:  Is Ujjāyī the same as "free breathing with sound"?

A: No.  They are different. 

Ujjāyī is a Kumbhaka (breath retention). 

When we apply the Tristhana (asana, breathing, looking place) during our Ashtanga yoga practice, we use "free breathing with sound".  Each breath leads to the next with no retention.

So, what's the difference?  Explanation below from the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā (हठ योग प्रदीपिका).

Notice that one may define Kumbhaka as the retention of breath.   

 

बद्ध-पद्मासनो योगी पराणं छन्द्रेण पूरयेत |
धारयित्वा यथा-शक्ति भूयः सूर्येण रेछयेत || ७ ||
पराणं सूर्येण छाकॄष्ह्य पूरयेदुदरं शनैः |
विधिवत्कुम्भकं कॄत्वा पुनश्छन्द्रेण रेछयेत || ८ ||

baddha-padmāsano yoghī prāṇaṃ chandreṇa pūrayet |
dhārayitvā yathā-śakti bhūyaḥ sūryeṇa rechayet || 7 ||
prāṇaṃ sūryeṇa chākṝṣhya pūrayedudaraṃ śanaiḥ |
vidhivatkumbhakaṃ kṝtvā punaśchandreṇa rechayet || 8 ||

Sitting in the Padmâsana posture the Yogî should fill in the air through the left nostril (closing the right one); and, keeping it confined according to one's ability, it should be expelled slowly through the sûrya (right nostril). Then, drawing in the air through the sûrya (right nostril) slowly, the belly should be filled, and after performing Kumbhaka as before, it should be expelled slowly through the chandra (left nostril). 
-HYP chapter 2.8

Notice that Ujjāyī is one of the eight Kumbhakas.

अथ कुम्भक-भेदाः
सूर्य-भेदनमुज्जायी सीत्कारी शीतली तथा |
भस्त्रिका भरामरी मूर्छ्छा पलाविनीत्यष्ह्ट-कुम्भकाः || ४४ ||

atha kumbhaka-bhedāḥ
sūrya-bhedanamujjāyī sītkārī śītalī tathā |
bhastrikā bhrāmarī mūrchchā plāvinītyaṣhṭa-kumbhakāḥ || 44 ||

Kumbhakas are of eight kinds, viz., Sûrya Bhedan, Ujjâyî, Sîtkarî, Sîtalî, Bhastrikâ, Bhrâmarî, Mûrchhâ, and Plâvinî. 

-HYP chapter 2.44

Conclusion:
If Ujjāyī is one of the eight Kumbhakas and Kumbhakas are breath retentions, then Ujjāyī is a breath retention.  If our breathing during practice does not include breath retentions, then it cannot be called Ujjāyī.

Further, in 2.51 and 2.52 the method for Ujjāyī is described and includes the instruction to restrain the breath:

pūrvavatkumbhayetprāṇaṃ rechayediḍayā tathā |
śleṣhma-doṣha-haraṃ kaṇṭhe dehānala-vivardhanam || 52 ||

Since Ujjāyī is a Kumbhaka, it makes sense that it would include instruction for breath retention.

So, in our practice, we are only "breathing freely with sound".

 

Part 2:  A look at the Gheraṇḍa Saṃhitā (धेरंड संहिता)

Ujjayi vs. Free Breathing

I've heard this brought up in conference on multiple occasions, meaning that I've witnessed the question being asked of the current lineage holder of the Shri K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga yoga method - R. Sharath Jois.  The bandhas and breathing in the system are very specific.  Listen properly!  Also good to realize the importance of the student-teacher relationship...

The Same River

By David Robson
Posted May 4, 2011
Source David's Blog

There is some contention around the idea of “traditional” Ashtanga.

Traditionalists would be the teachers and practitioners that follow the practice as it is taught in Mysore, India. We practice 6 days a week, with rest days on Saturdays and the days of the full and new moon. Practice is done “Mysore-style,” in a group setting. We progress pose-by-pose through one of the six series. That would seem like a fairly straightforward distinction, but it gets more complicated. Some of the fine details of the teaching have changed over the last 50 years. Some postures have been added or taken out, some have different entrances and exits, and some have longer or shorter holds. So, a teacher who went to Mysore in 1980 might be teaching Ashtanga as they learned it back then, and calling it “traditional”, while someone who went to Mysore last year might also call their practice traditional. Their practices would show many differences. Who’s right?

The practice has altered very little since my first visit to India, 9 years ago. The poses and vinyasa count, as they are taught now, are almost exactly the same as they were taught to me on that first visit. However, there have been some small changes. So, every year, when I return to Mysore, I listen carefully to Sharath as he leads us through the led classes and lectures in the weekly conference. Whenever I notice a change, I integrate it into my teaching. That means that when I get back to Toronto and my home shala, I teach all my students the new version. Most of the time the changes aren’t actually new information, but clarifications and corrections, a sharper focus on the already existing details.

On my last trip to Mysore, I heard something new. It was during the weekly conference with Sharath. While talking about the breath during practice, someone mentioned “Ujjayi Breath.” Sharath corrected them, saying Ujjayi is a pranayama, a formal breathing exercise, and then moved on to another topic.

At first, I assumed I had misunderstood what Sharath was saying. I had always thought Ujjayi Breath was one of the key principles of Ashtanga Yoga. Confused, I went to the source, Yoga Mala, by Sri K Pattabhi Jois, to see what he had written more than 50 years ago. To my surprise, there is no mention of Ujjayi Breath with vinyasa. None.

A month later I saw Sharath again. I had the chance to ask him if we do Ujjayi Breath during our asana practice. He said no, explaining that Ujjayi Breath is one of the Pranayama techniques of Ashtanga Yoga. In Ashtanga, Pranayama is begun only when a practitioner has started the Advanced Series. During our asana practice we only do steady and even puraka and rechaka, inhalation and exhalation.

It would be easier if we could think of the tradition as unwavering; that the practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga has remained unaltered since its inception. But no tradition is like that; nothing stays the same. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus wrote, “Ever-newer waters flow on those who step into the same rivers." I think of the teaching the same way. The tradition is not still. At different moments in time it has been taught with this or that vinyasa, this or that count, but it is always from the same source. It would be impossible for me to follow the tradition without listening to my teacher. The river is always changing, but its source is always the same.

Be sure to read the comment section as well here

David Robson is the co-owner and director of the Ashtanga Yoga Centre of Toronto, where he leads one of the world’s largest Mysore programs. He made his first trip to Mysore, India in 2002, where he initiated studies with his teacher Sharath Jois. Since then he has returned annually to deepen and enrich his practice and teaching. He is Level-2 Authorized by the Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute.

republished with permission