PUSHTI: May 2024, Sama Vritti Ujjayi Pranayama
Om Shantih Shantih Shantih
Make the breath equal and our minds become equanimous and serene.
“As is the breath so is the mind, as is the mind so is the breath.” They reflect one another, whereas there is no greater tool than breath to detach from the condition of the fluctuating mind and the subsequent havoc it creates. Thus, it is almost always our first consideration in yoga practice, and it is the foundation of vinyasa to make movement like the breath. In balanced breath, we give rise to continuous movement, and the mind by default becomes balanced. Tension in the body from the grasping, wanting mind naturally falls away, and available to us is a powerful truth – which is our mind-created idea of happiness is largely condition-based and fleeting at best, but true happiness is unconditional and a result of being the same in the vicissitudes of our life. This is Shantih – the real peace that exists beyond the external conditions of wanted and unwanted.
“There are two great disappointments in life. Not getting what you want and getting it.”
– George Bernard Shaw
Sama vritti ujjayi pranayama means inhales and exhales that are equal in time, rate, and volume, while engaging in a sonorous breathing sound, ujjayi, by narrowing the airflow in the throat region.
We get our English word “same” from sama, and the meanings of equal, steady, even, etc. are implied. Yoga is also implied – all things being the same – oneness of being. Vritti means fluctuation or whirling, and most are familiar with the term paired with citta or mind-stuff. Citta vritti are fluctuations of the mind that yoga practice aids us in detaching from – lifting the veil to the unattached, tranquil reality of who we are. Om Shantih.
In sama vritti ujjayi pranayama, vritti means specifically the fluctuation of breath. And sama means what kind of vritti, which is to say equal. But equal how? Under the conditions of ujjayi pranayama. Pranayama practices are very specific ways to restrict (yama) breathing, opening the channels (nadis) in the subtle energetic body and unleashing the potential of our life force, prana, accessing the unattached, tranquil reality of who we are. Om Shantih.
Blah blah blah. Words don’t teach. Yoga says: want to know who you are? Go to the breath. Then you’ll know. But prioritize it. As teachers it is our priority to facilitate that. The breath moves your bones, like the wave (breath) moves the surfer (your body). In class, if the breath is not equal or is rushed or anxious, or if there is mouth-breathing or largely unconscious breathing, etc., then pause, relax, regain the rhythm, listen, then re-engage. We will provide the metronome. We call this refuge and let’s joyfully explore.
In Yoga we dwell,
Jeffrey
May 2024