Ujayyi breath audibility

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

I’m not even sure this matters but I’ll ask anyway :slight_smile:

Is there a proper “volume” for the Ujayyi breath?

I have been taught the proper way to achieve it and will work on improving it with years to come. But I am wondering about the sound. I was taught that the sound should be like that of a wave and audible to one’s self but not the entire room.

Does it matter how loud the Ujayyi breath is? Is a louder sound an indication that someone is constricted or forcing the breath?

I guess I am asking because I notice that sometimes I can hear people’s attempted Ujayyi breath very loud across the room in class. I suppose this type of breathing could be correct for that person in question but not right for everyone. I do find that when someone’s breathing is audible throughout the entire room, it is somewhat distracting.

Can anyone offer some insight?

Thanks.

#2

You have been taught well.

However, different schools teach different things for various reasons. Especially Ashtanga practitioners are reknowed for sounding like Darth Vader.

If you can hear people in a room, you must be in a class, and that class will have a teacher. You could ask the teacher with the whole class present.

#3

I have heard the teacher say that the breath should be audible to yourself and maybe the person next to you but not the entire room.

So then people who fill the room with sound are doing it wrong? An exaggerated version?

Is it a lack of ability to be able to block out such sounds that leads me to be distracted by another’s heavy breathing?

#4

I wouldn’t say “right” or “wrong”, but these people are certainly not following your teacher’s instructions. If I were the teacher, I would point this out to them.

I don’t think you should be developing the skill of “blocking out sounds”. Just notice the sound and your reaction to it and let them both go. But it is much easier to tell your teacher that you find loud ujjayi distracting. (S)he may get the hint and instruct the class.

#5

AMZ,

you know, many things go unchecked or untaught in the yoga studio. That can range from attention to vastu (the arrangement of things within a space to optimize energy flow), to alignment, to ego. And this is often due to a lack of understanding, lack of education, lack of dedication, or a lack of commitment. Occasionally it is due to a mindfulness on the part of the teacher as to the level of the student.

What is at issue in the sound level of the pranayama you ask of is whether it maintains its efficacy of calming AND does not serve as a bridge for aggrandizing the ego of the student doing it.

I will bypass the nuances of how the breath operates in this case, but will mention that you should hear it and others should not be disrupted by it. In my experience, some students raise their sound levels in this pranayama or in reciting Om, or in chanting not so much to invoke spirit but to be heard over the din, to stand out, to be recognized. And this, while okay and part of the process of being on path, is clearly an ego rather than spirit manifestation.

#6

Interesting.

I wonder how loud om-ing or loud pranayama strokes one’s ego? Is this what you are implying Gordon?

Also, why do I get feelings of uneasiness or frustration when I hear super-loud pranayama during a class? Why do I allow myself to be so distracted by the sound?

#7

I guess different types of Yoga have different “rules” for pranayama. One of my teachers encourages volume in our breathing, “fill the room with breath! make it sound lke an ocean in here!” I can definitly see how some might find this distracting, but it helps me feel connected to my fellow students in the class.

I believe she was originally taught in an Ashtanga school, although she teaches a more open form of vinyasa flow now.

I do remember that in one of my very first yoga classes, years ago, that I was distracted by someone’s loud breathing. I had no idea what it was or why it was in practice. In fact I think I remember even feeling a bit embarrased for them. As I learned more about what this whole yoga thing was about, I began to enjoy the sound much more.

I don’t even feel like I notice others’ pranayama anymore other than when I stop my own breath. Hearing others’ helps to remind me to resume my own, and I find this to be invaluable.

#8

@ AMZ: it comes from intention. If the student has hearing loss then it would be perfectly sensible for them to be louder. If their nature is one of craving to be seen, heard, and recognized, then that may be ego. As a teacher, the task is to bring students toward balance and do so based on the yamas, niyamas, and kleshas so that they may evolve - not go to classes ad nauseum only to leave in the same way they entered.

As for your reaction of uneasiness, only you would know that. Generally speaking, a rewarding practice does bring up things for us to look at, to examine, and possibly to transform. For me it’s traffic, for others it’s boisterous pranayama. Perhaps your feeling is one of indignation?

@AbdhijaKimberly
I’m glad you quoted out “rules”. I don’t believe it to be a matter of rules. Though I do believe there are layers of truth. And those layers do span some different expressions of the practice, be they styles, philosophies, or climates.

Certainly there are times in certain classes, with certain students, for certain purposes, to deeply use the Ujjayi breath in such a way that it is very audible. However I would not teach this to every class, every student, or all the time and I would not teach it as a general foundation for that particular pranayama - though others may.

#9

[QUOTE=amz155;31492] I notice that sometimes I can hear people’s attempted Ujayyi breath very loud across the room in class. I suppose this type of breathing could be correct for that person in question but not right for everyone. [/QUOTE]

When I teach I do loud exhales sometimes to remind students to engage this type of breath.

#10

Nice. I thought I was alone with such thoughts :slight_smile: I do ashtanga vinyasa yoga, have tried to different classes. And, in general, most people are quite loud. I myself think I have the correct breathing but it doesn’t sound so much. The person next to me might hear. But, as I think this is quite usual here it don’t bothers me so much. It’s actually helps focusing on your own breathing, those persons are serious and not talk like others. So that’s good. But if it’s “correct”, I don’t know. They might exaggerate a little just to make sure everybody hears that they do it. But… whatever. It’s their problem. I try to breath deep but easy and it sounds a little. The important thing is that you hear your own sound, it helps you keep rhythm and stay focused.

#11

It seems we are more served on the path of Yoga when we move toward letting go of correct and incorrect. Instead it is a matter of doing so that you as a human being are able to evolve mindfully through the practice. Some people may absolutely need to breathe “loud”. Some beginners may need to huff and puff, for not doing so allows the untrained mind to forget the breath all together. Would that be an instruction to an intermediate student? Perhaps not. But that, in and of itself does not make it “correct” or “incorrect”. :wink:

#12

I’m glad I asked the question :slight_smile:

Thanks for the great responses; gives me some things to consider.

I’m not sure where I heard/read this, but is it true that if one is huffing and puffing through an asana that they have not yet mastered it? I find that when learning new poses that take a while for me to understand and learn that my breath is more difficult at the beginning of the learning phase.

So maybe another reason for loud pranayama would be that a student is struggling in a position?

#13

yes, it should be a clear sound, and you are supposed to breath easy, not push it through

#14

I at times breathe loudly/ heavily and it is in no way forced/ false. I feel relief when I do it, almost like something inside me needs to come out, release, let go, and at the end of class I feel ‘lighter’ and less burdened. I believe breathing (loudly/ softly) is a reflection of how a person is really feeling inside, as your body and mind are connected so it is also connected to the breath, for example; when you feel anxious you may restrict your breathing.

I am somewhat surprised we are even discussing a life giving and life healing gift like breathing as if it were our right to regulate another’s breath?..hummmm

My advice would be to perhaps focus on your own practise?
.

#15

…it’s easier to focus on the practise when you are certain you do the right thing, or at least, as good as you can. Why else trying to learn muscle locks and such!?

Here is a quite comprehensive guide: http://ashtangadavidgarrigues.blogspot.com/2010/03/ashtanga-foundations-ujjayi-breathing.html

#16

@Omamana

I am somewhat surprised we are even discussing a life giving and life healing gift like breathing as if it were our right to regulate another’s breath?..hummmm

I can only clarify my part. There is breath, there is pranayama, there is light, there is color. These are the four basic breaths in Yoga. I perceived the initial inquiry to be asking about pranayama and so I was efforting to share what I have learned in my practice about pranayama. I was not speaking of the other three breaths, including the one that goes in and out all day long and sustains life :-).

If you felt, in this offering, that I was alluding to a right I have to control the breath of another, then I was not careful with my wording. That was not and is not my position.

#17

[QUOTE=omamana;31649]
I am somewhat surprised we are even discussing a life giving and life healing gift like breathing as if it were our right to regulate another’s breath?..hummmm

My advice would be to perhaps focus on your own practise?
.[/QUOTE]

Who said anything about thinking they had the right to regulate another’s breath? That’s not even what I was asking about. I indeed was asking about pranayama and not the daily breaths we take to sustain us.

#18

Sorry if misinterpreted or misread anyone’s thread. I was not directing my post at anyone in particular, but only wanting to give my personal view in response to all the posts I read.

Perhaps my response was not the desired one and I apologise for that.

#19

Sometimes yoga students- usually beginners OVER-do some things in practice. Breath is one of those things. I am a yoga teacher, and every single class I teach, even if i know everyone there, I briefly go over how to practice ujayyi breath, including volume levels. But still, I sometimes will have one or two people doing the loud, fill-the-room-with-sound breath! Even if I correct them, sometimes they will still do it! It can be distracting to other students. I have been in classes with loud- breathers, and you hate to let that kind of stuff get to you as a yogi, but sometimes it does!

The proper volume, in Ashtanga yoga is exactly what you described. Unfortunately there is nothing anyone else can do about- even the teacher. The teacher can tell the student that they are too loud, and what the proper volume is, but whether or not the student follows that advice is their own prerogative!

The only thing you can do in such a situation is to let go. Let go of holding on to that distraction. Let go of feelings and emotions tied to it. Bring your focus onto your own breath and practice. If it is still bothering you, after class let the teacher know, and perhaps they will help fix the situation.

#20

Perhaps you’re getting good practice of limbs 5 & 6,pratyahara,sensory introversion, & dharana,focus & concentration.