Ocean Breath

Ocean breath: 

it's the foundational breath to my practice ujjayi, victorious, the ocean breath, and I use it through my sun salutation flow and other asanas, as well as an underlying breath to certain pranayama techniques where it lends itself to greater calm and focus. This is the sound of the ocean, a slight restriction in the back of the throat though inhale and its release that reminds me of the tide during the quiet of the night, a low hum of waves arriving from their hidden depth and then once more pulled back from shore. 

with this breath...I breath as the ocean. 

this isn't surprising as we are traced back to deep, ancient waters, our first ancestor being a microscopic species known as Saccorhytus, a common origin to many other animals as well, and from this humble start we evolved to more complex forms, eventually wandering far from our original home. Yet the ocean itself remains within us, our blood similar to its makeup, altered now by million of years of surviving on land, but still tidal in its very essence. 

an ocean's breath is our return. 

pranayama is the practice of breathing with intent and reason, cultivating life force for benefit of energy, calm, and clarity. Each technique has a certain value to its measure, a purpose that offers us a means of channeling the subtle force that animates every life form. Breath is life, an easy equation, without doubt, and yet we take this gift for granted, Pranayama calls for us to appreciate what's given, drawing air in grateful fashion and released once more to sky. We are breathing prana, life, constantly, exclusively, a chemical process that sustains us through interaction with plants that thrive on our exhalation, and in return cleanse the air for the breath's return. 

ujjayi reminds us of this connection. 

it's the foundation of my practice. 

breathing...as the ocean.

~

Peace, Eric