[SINGING BOWL]
Ayumi, thank you for demonstrating in the previous exercise.
Now that we've talked about breathing, let's actually start doing Pranayama.
A couple of things to keep in mind.
First of all, try to be in a room temperature that
is comfortable for you, not too hot, not too cold.
If it's too cold, there's a tendency to sometimes sneeze or feel
like your nose is getting too dry, and we don't want that to happen.
And speaking about your nose, you might want
to blow your nose right before you start,
making sure that your nasal passage is completely clear on both sides.
One interesting thing-- I don't know if you've ever
noticed this-- but through the day, most of us
don't breathe through both our nostrils.
We're usually switching from side to side.
And it is said that when you do Pranayama and you use breath
through the left and the right nostril, it also
helps to balance out the left and right sides of your brain.
And that's another really great reason to practice Pranayama.
Did you know that?
No.
Oh.
So--
No.
Good.
Learning something new.
Then let's talk about how to sit.
So if you are comfortable sitting on the floor like we are, that's totally fine.
If you are a little more flexible, you can
try what's called the Half Lotus Pose where you lift one leg as Ayumi is
doing and put it closer to your hip.
If you are super flexible, you can lift the other leg
and also put it closer to your hip, but I
think we're not going to do that today.
[CHUCKLING]
And Ayumi will you also show us the Hero's Pose?
So this is another way to sit for Pranayama.
You get onto your knees and then sit between the two heels.
Another way to make this comfortable is to sit on a cushion.
You can just put it under yourself or form blocks.
If all of this doesn't work, you can also sit on a chair.
Just make sure that you don't use your easy chair and be slouched.
We want to have a chair that has a straight back
to maintain a good posture, keeping your spine erect, your shoulders back.
And your chin not lifted up because that's going to constrict your airway,
but sort of tucked in.
So keeping that in mind, shall we begin?
Let's try Pranayama.
I'm going to be showing you two types of Pranayama today.
One is called Ujjayi Pranayama.
The word Ujjayi means victorious.
So Ujjayi Pranayama means victorious Pranayama.
Another word for this is actually Ocean Breath,
and you'll see what I mean in just a moment.
So to demonstrate Ujjayi, let's start by holding our hand right
in front of our mouth.
Imagine that it's a mirror and you're going to fog it up.
[EXHALING]
Now, as you do this, try to notice what's happening in your throat.
[EXHALING]
Now, keeping your hand down, try the actual Ujjayi
breath doing the same inhale or exhalation--
let's do exhale because that's how we fogged the mirror up-- and this time,
keep your mouth closed.
[EXHALING]
Inhale the same way.
[INHALING]
It does sound like the ocean inside your head.
It's really a beautiful sound.
Very calming, very peaceful.
And they say the best way to do this is to do it according to count.
So let's inhale for six and exhale for six.
So three and--
[DEEP BREATHING]
One more time.
One, two, three, four, five, exhale.
One, two, three, four, five, six.
And that's Ujjayi.
If ever you forget how to do it, just remember--
[DEEP BREATHING]
Easy.
The benefits of Ujjayi Pranayama are many.
It balances and calms your breath, encourages the free and healthy flow
of breath, increases oxygenation in the body, tones the lungs,
helps to regulate blood pressure, and also builds internal heat.
The second type of Pranayama that we will try today
is called the Alternate Nostril Breath or Nadi Shodhana.
To start with, let's talk about our hand posture.
We keep thumb separate.
Roll in the index and the middle finger, and keep
the ring finger and the pinkie, or the little finger, up.
Next, what you're going to do is close your right nostril
and breathe in through your left.
[INHALING]
Then close your left nostril, open the right,
and breathe out through your right.
[EXHALING]
Next, breathe in through your right.
[INHALING]
Close the right nostril, open the left, and breathe out through the left.
[EXHALING]
Now, this is one cycle.
There are yogis that I know of who will do this for up to three hours
at a stretch.
And it has a tremendously calming effect on the body, the mind, and the spirit.
Let's do it again.
Similar to how we did Ujjayi, let's try to do it to a pulse.
Counting six inhale and six exhale.
Here we go.
And breathing in two, three, four, five, six.
Close.
Open.
One, two, three, four, five, six.
And there you have it.
So Nadi Shodhana, or Alternate Nostril Breathing,
there are many forms of this.
Some people tend to hold the breath.
After they've inhaled, they tuck their chin, they hold their breath,
and then they release.
We're so lucky to be living in a digital age.
You don't always need to go and see a guru,
although that is really the best way to practice yoga of any form.
However, there are extensive archives of online resources,
and I'm going to make a list that you can look through later.
In the meantime, I wanted to talk about the benefits of Nadi Shodhana.
This type of Pranayama is very good for allergies,
especially if you have any sort of sinus problem.
It allows each side of your nasal track to remain healthy and strong.
It releases accumulated stress in the mind and body effectively
and helps you to relax.
And it helps to harmonize the left and right hemispheres
of the brain, which correlate to both the logical and emotional sides
of our personality.
I really hope that you will practice Pranayama on your own.
Even if you're not doing exactly everything
step by step, the very understanding that you can slow down,
you have the choice to slow down and take a deep breath,
inhale, exhale calmly, using a tempo of some sort
to sort of regulate and ground yourself, this is really what it's all about.
We wish you the best in your practice.