Ujjayi Breathing

Ujjayi Breathing
Ujjayi (victorious) breathing should be both energizing and relaxing.  Patanjali explains that the breath should be both dirga (long) and suksma (smooth).  Try opening your throat at the base of your neck and feel your breath cooly brush down your trachea.  Imagine sipping your breath in through a straw.  Gently pull your breath in on inhalation and gently push your breath out on exhalation sounding like the sound of ocean waves rolling in and out.  It should feel invigorating and calming.  It's proven that when under stress we do not breathe correctly.  Our breath is short and we deprive our cells of oxygen, thus giving us headaches among other sometimes more serious ailments.  Oxygenating your cells with deep, intentional breathing is good for your body, mind, and spirit.  Happy breathing, everyone!
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Pratyahara

5. PRATYAHARA: the fifth limb of The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali
Withdrawal of the senses.  Can occur during meditation, breathing exercises, or yoga postures (asanas).  It is anytime you're directing your thoughts and attention inward.  Your focus is no longer interrupted by distractions.
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Pranayama

4. PRANAYAMA: the fourth limb of The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali
Prana is the energy or life force that exists everywhere and flows through every living thing that breathes.  Pranayama is how we control the breath.  Inhalation, retention of breath, and exhalation are the basic movements of pranayama.  "The yogi's life is not measured by the number of days, but by the number of breaths... Therefore, he follows the proper rhythmic patterns of slow, deep breathing."  -Lyengar.
Pranamaya clears the mind for meditation.
biomedicalephemera:

Top-down view of lungs and surrounding anatomy.

Om

Om
"Ahh-Ooo-Mmm"  |  "AUM"
A universal sound like "Amen."  It is the sound of Creation, the divine all-encompassing consciousness in the form of an original vibration manifesting the divine in our bodies.  It is the reflection of our absolute reality, our existing without beginning or end, and embracing all of existence.  The mantra Om is the name of God, a vibration of the Supreme.
Letter by letter, A-U-M conveys the divine energy (Shakti) united in its 3 basic aspects: Creation (Bhrahma Shakti), Preservation (Vishnu Shakti), and Liberation and/or Destruction (Shiva Shakti).
It is profound religious meditation, the highest spiritual sound.  A- kara means form or shape like earth, trees, or any other object.  U- kara means formless or shapeless like water, air, or fire.  Ma- kara means neither shape nor shapeless like dark energy that exists in the Universe.  A-U-M.
Om opens the chakras, our third eye.  Om is universal.  It is a safe chant for meditation.
image source  |  Om Wikipedia

Three Important Things In Every Pose

• Grounding
• Lengthening
• Breathing