Ajapa Mantra

Hi, I thought that we could practice some pranayama together and the technique that we will explore is is actually called a mantra, if you can believe it. It's called the Ajapa mantra and the Ajapa mantra is like a constituent or almost like a precursor to Ujjayi pranayama and we'll get into the technique in a minute but I think first it's useful and helpful to talk a little bit about working with the breath in general and the first thing to remember is that the shape that you take should be one that is comfortable where you feel at ease and where you feel as though you have access to the lungs like where you have full and easy access to your body from the points of the hips all the way up to the collarbones and beyond and for a lot of people that's lying down maybe in constructive rest with the knees bent and the soles of the feet on the floor maybe sitting like this maybe sitting another way and the second thing to remember is that you know working with the breath can really and truly be a portal to another place and so if at times it feels overwhelming or you feel uncertain when you're practicing it remember that you're normal and that it's helpful and useful particularly as you're beginning to pepper in just some normal easy breaths in there if that makes you feel more comfortable I distinctly remember the first time that I became aware of the spaces between the breaths and it tripped me out and I had been practicing for a couple of years and I remember where I was with my teacher Jen we were practicing just some very basic movements and I became aware of these pauses these spaces and my mind was blown and I was not even sure if the earth beneath my hands and knees that I had always known was there was actually there so if you ever feel like that you're normal I think that's the point so on with the show a japa mantra the basic idea here is to take breaths in through the nose and to breathe out through the mouth making a sort of sound almost as though you were fogging up the mirror in the bathroom or the window in your friend's station wagon not super forceful super gentle a japa means unwhispered but we'll keep this at a whisper for now so let's do we'll do a couple of rounds of that and then we'll take it just one level deeper in our bodies so find your breathing seat and maybe allow your eyes to close settle into what is already supporting you and relax into the natural and elegant length of your spine that's already happening and so for the next five or so breaths we'll breathe in through the nose and we'll breathe out through the mouth making that sort of sound and after the fifth or so breath like that just allow the natural rhythm and sound of your breath to return and notice any sensation that you feel in your body and so from here we'll we'll take this practice one layer deeper sort of into the body where we'll breathe in through the nose and we'll breathe out through the mouth and we'll make some sound we'll take that and turn it into a don't worry about what it sounds like just notice what you feel so about five breaths like that breath to return notice sensation thanks for sharing this practice