If you breathe normally during exercise, your breathing rate naturally speeds up as your body copes with the exertion. If you practise ujjqi breath, however, you can control the length and pressure of your exhalation very precisely. and this enables you to maintain breath control and avoid panting, even during intense exercise. An experienced Astanga yoga practitioner is able to execute the entire Primary Series while breathing evenly and rhythmically throughout. This facilitates a stillness of mind even during the most challenging of physical postures.
Astanga yoga without ujjdyi breath makes the postures more akin to a gymnastic workout. Quite simply, the continuous, steady flow of ujjayi breath is what makes your Astanga practice into yoga.
if you practise u)jayi breath while applying the lower bandhas (see pages 35—37), you’ll find that this quickly generates heat within your body. internal heat (see page 34) is a characteristic trait of Astanga yoga practice. In yogic teaching there are two types of prun1 (energy) which flow in opposite directions in the body: prune which flows upward and apuna which flows downward. When you apply all the bandhas and use ujjayi breathing, the downward force of apona is pushed upward and the upward force of pmna is pushed downward. This creates a combustible force of energy in the centre of the body at a point known as Agni (fire) where heat is created. Experiment by breathing naturally and then doing a few rounds of ujjayi breathing with the lower bandhas applied and see if you feel any warmer — the effect can be almost instantaneous’.
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