WEBVTT

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- Hi everyone and welcome
to Yoga With Adriene.

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I am Adriene and today
we are going to learn

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a basic breath we do in yoga
called the Ujjayi breath.

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It's also referred to as
the victorious breath.

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But it's an audible breath, 
an internal sound

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that we can use to anchor
the busy mind in, on.

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Also, really widely 
used in Flow Yoga which

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quite popular these days.

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And just a beautiful 
breath because it's

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energizing and 
calming all at once.

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So, hop on the mat 
and let's learn Ujjayi.

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(upbeat music)

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Okay, so begin we're 
going to come into a

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comfortable seat 
of your choice.

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This can be in a chair.
This can be against a wall.

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We can come into Sukhasana, 
the Easy Pose.

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A nice comfortable 
place where we can find

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a little bit of ease
and perhaps a little bit

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of a lift in the heart here
as we learn Ujjayi breath.

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Peeling my skin up off
my mat there, sorry.

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Looping the shoulders,
forward, up and back.

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Find that lift in the
heart and just notice your

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natural breath here.

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The natural ebb and flow.

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Close your eyes if you want.

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Just first bringing our
attention to the natural breath.

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Then we'll begin to deepen
the breath by taking

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a nice sweet inhale 
in through the nose.

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And exhale, let it out 
through the mouth.

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So I'm inhaling completely
through the nose.

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And then I'm relaxing my jaw and

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almost creating a ha
sound as I breathe out.

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Let's try it again.
Inhale through the nose.

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Exhale, ha sound, breathe out.

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Now sometimes we'll ask
students to bring their hand up

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inhale in through the nose.

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And exhale, feel the
breath as you exhale out.

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It's a warm breath.

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Inhale, cool air in.

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Exhale with sound out.

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Now we can release the
hand, ditch the hand

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and practice that just
a couple more times.

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Inhale, full breath 
in through the nose.

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Exhale, open mouth, ha.

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There's an image of maybe
fogging up the window here.

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Drawing a little 
heart or I love you

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or writing a secret message.

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So inhale in through the nose.

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And exhale, fogging up the
window here are we breathe out.

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So, Ujjayi is an audible breath.

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Granted this is an internal
breath, so an internal sound.

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I do think it's nice 
to be in public class

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and hear the sound of the
person's breath next to you.

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I think it's inspiring 
and the breath

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is something that 
connects all of us.

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But this doesn't have to be a
really loud sound in the end.

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This can be a soft internal
sound that we can use in yoga

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to allow the mind to anchor on.

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A soundtrack for our practice.

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Because ultimately our goal
for yoga is to synchronize

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the breath, of course, 
with the movement

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and we can use this Ujjayi
breath to quiet the mind.

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Letting the mind literally
anchor in this breath practice

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or this pranayama, Ujjayi.

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Now, taking it a step further

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we're going to do the exhale
but with the lips closed.

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The jaw will stay 
relaxed but I'm going to

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bring my awareness now 
to the back of the throat.

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This is sometimes referred
to as the Darth Vader breath

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and I love that 
because it's so true.

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This is Darth Vader sound
as we breathe in and out.

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It's a slight restriction
in the back of the throat,

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a hissing sound, if you will.

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Where we let the breath
just kind of swirl around

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in the back of the throat

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on the inhale 
and the exhale out.

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So it's a little bit hard to
explain but let's just try

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practicing Ujjayi breath here.

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Now with the lips closed.

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So we'll inhale deeply 
in through the nose.

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Finding that sound, 
that restriction

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in the back of the throat.

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And exhale, same thing
as we did before but now

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with the lips closed.

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Let's try it again. Inhale.

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So for beginners 
it's easier to practice

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with the mouth open.

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And you might want to, 
mid-exhale, close the lips.

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Just to get a sense of how
to transition to the Ujjayi

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with the lips closed.

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So for instance I'll inhale in.

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I can release the hand (laughs).

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Inhale in.

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Exhale, start with 
the mouth open.

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And midway close the lips.

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Really feeling that 
breath swirl around

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in the back of the throat
just seeping through

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a little bit there.

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Now it's easier to find
that hissing sound,

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that Ujjayi sound in
the back of the throat

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on the exhale.

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But it's a little bit more
difficult to connect to it

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on the inhale.

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This is where that Darth Vader
image really comes in handy.

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So let's practice just 
a couple of times

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finding that sound,
really letting the mind

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anchor on the sound 
of the breath here.

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Here we go.

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Nice deep inhale in.

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And exhaling.

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Let it grow, let it evolve,
let it come to the body in time

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so there's no 
need to force it.

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Again, this is really a tool 
for you to anchor internally

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the mind with the sound
of that internal breath

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or soft soundtrack, 
if you will, of the practice.

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So you don't have to be
the loudest one in the room

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is what I'm trying to say here.

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So, enjoy Ujjayi.

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Here we go.

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(upbeat music)