Do you have a favorite pranayama?

Pranayama dirgha by Yimi
The past three months gave me a lot of time to ponder on a lot of things. The extra time I had on hand definitely allowed me to deepen my practices. Since I was recovering from an excruciating lower back injury, I had to divert my attention to Kriya Yoga practices, pranayamas and catch up on reading/self-study. So the subject of discussion for today's post will be Ujjayi pranayama. Besides being my preferred choice of breathing practice, I can confidently say that my body naturally adapts to its unique form of breathing pattern. Well, I am not going to discuss much on the details of the technique, contraindications, benefits and etc. For today, I thought of sharing my personal view and experience of practicing Ujjayi. Two words.... calm and silence. Why silence? Let's just say that I understood the power of silence during my period of hiatus. More silence, less drama. I clearly remember, several times when I had to deal with complications and drama, silence and Ujjayi were my best buddies. Ujjayi immediately slows and lengthens the breath cycle as well as allowing more time for the mind to have a clearer space to think. The moment the mind and emotions can become stable, of course we make better decisions and better conversations. Honestly, patience, a steady mind and emotions and optimism does come with practice. Maybe, ujjayi is my stress buster ball. I didn't realize its importance and positive effects until recent times. Nowadays, I naturally go into ujjayi breathing while driving, reading or meditating. It has become a part of my system. I have to admit, every pranayama has its uniqueness and the effects will only show up with prolonged practice. Over time, it will become effortless. Slowly, but surely. I will get into details of Ujjayi pranayama in my next post. If you are a pranayama practitioner, let me know which one keeps drawing you to practice.

~M~

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