Technique and Effects of
Pral)ayama
- U;j ayz Prii1Jiiyama (Plate 597)
The prefix ud attached to verbs and nouns, means upwards or superiority
in rank. It also means blowing or expanding. It conveys the sense of
pre-eminence and power.
Jaya means conquest, victory, triumph or success. Looked at from
another viewpoint it implies restraint or curbing.
Ujjayi is the process in which the lungs are fully expanded and the
chest puffed out like that of a proud conqueror.
Technique
I. Sit in any comfortable position like Padmasana (Plate 104), Siddh
asana (Plate 84) or Virasana (Plate 89).- Keep the back erect and rigid. Lower the head to the trunk. Rest the
chin in the notch between the collar-bones just above the breast-bone.
(This is the Jalandhara Bandha.)
3· Stretch the arms out straight and rest the back of the wrists on the
knees. Join the tips of the index fingers to the tips of the thumbs, keeping
the other fingers extended. (This position or gesture of the hand is known
as the J fiana Mudra, the symbol or seal of knowledge. The index finger
symbolises the individual soul and the thumb the Universal Soul. The
union of the two symbolises knowledge.)
(^4) · Close the eyes and look inwards. (Plate 597)
5· Exhale completely.
- Now the Ujjayi method of breathing begins.
(^7) · Take a slow, deep steady breath through both nostrils. The passage
of the incoming air is felt on the roof of the palate and makes a sibilant
sound (sa). This sound should be heard.
- Fill the lungs up to the brim. Care should be taken not to bloat the
abdomen in the process of inhalation. (Observe this in all the types of
Pranayama.) This filling up is called puraka (inhalation).