“Breath is life. We ought to pay as much attention to it as any other aspect of beingness.” ~ Swami Nostradamus Virato
I’ve battled persistent stress and anxiety, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) my whole life.Due to different distressing occasions and situations in my youth, my little mind and body became conditioned to run on a continuous state of high alert and in a defense mode from very early on.In numerous ways, this survival-driven state of being is the only method I have actually ever understood. It might sound weird to some, however stress and anxiety has been something like a “convenience zone” for me, if you will.
research studies show the possible power of routine ujjayi practice in helping in reducing irritation, overactivity, tension, stress and anxiety, sleeping disorders, depression, and anger.Ujjayi is so efficient at helping manage reactivity and anger, that it’s even been utilized with Vietnam Veterans with
PTSD. It’s also been utilized as a reliable coping tool with natural disaster victims.It sounds nearly too great to be real that such a basic breathing technique can be so effective, and yet when tension and anxiety strike, just a few minutes of ujjayi breathing can offer us a sense of control, and a wave of calm groundedness. When we pair ujjayi with the other end supports the neck, shoulders, and head.3.
Close your eyes and relax the body– specifically the back, neck, shoulders, face, jaw, and mouth.4. Bring the idea of your tongue to carefully rest on the roof of your mouth and keep it there.5. Accentuate your breath, simply observing it as it is, without judging, without attempting to alter it in any way. If the breath is long, let it be long. If it’s brief, let it be short.6. Let’s remain here for one minute … 7. From this point on and throughout of the meditation, we’ll be breathing through our nose just. Keeping the mouth closed, let’s exhale fully, allowing our lungs to fully empty of air.8. Breathing in and out by constricting the back of our throat, we’ll now breathe like the ocean.9. Breathing in deeply and audibly for 8 counts, breathing into our lower belly and broadening it outwardly as our lungs fill with air.10. Exhaling deeply and audibly for 12
counts, as the lower tummy contracts inwardly towards our spinal column, and the lungs empty of air.11. Keep repeating actions nine and 10 for an overall of 12 rounds(one round equals one full breathe in, plus one complete exhale, do this for an overall of four
minutes.)12. We can activate inner calm even further by bringing conscious attention to the audible sound of our breath. With each inhale and exhale, picture the waves receding and streaming around us as we breathe the waves through us. The more we flow with the waves
, the more we liquify stress and anxiety— triggering inner calm.Once we have actually completed the 12 rounds, we can stop practicing and continue breathing normally through the nose. Simply allowing ourselves to spend some time to be, keeping your eyes closed and allowing the side effects of this practice to integrate. Then whenever you’re ready, you can slowly
open your eyes.
Source
https://www.elephantjournal.com/2018/10/conquer-anxiety-with-this-5-minute-technique/