The Ujjayi Breath

Yoga Breathing or Pranayama, is the foundation of your yoga practice.  This deepening of your breathing helps you stay focused and calm while doing yoga poses, especially difficult ones.  You will find "breathing" is the foundation for many sports and exercises, allowing to push yourself, and really enjoy your work out.

I was introduced Ujjayi Breath in Phuket at the Traditional Ashtanga Yoga Shala in Phuket when I first got into Ashtanga Yoga.   The instructors, a Russian couple were simply great and I really advanced my Yoga skills.  Ujjayi btw means victorious.

Breathing especially helped me advance my practice, it's funny how some of the most important fundamentals, that we do without thinking, are often overlooked, never mind improved or perfected. 

 

Lately I have been finding myself applying breathing exercises when I hit the gym.  I have been bulking up a little, following the "Body for Life" plan that I followed back in the day, alternating days of cardio and weight training with a simple meal plan.

 

So circling back like a Seinfeld episode, what does Ujjayi Breath have to do with Forex?  Well if you want to be "victorious" in trading you need to have to be calm and focused. While breathing can help here too, it can go "deeper".  A set of systems, safeguards, and standard operating procedures. And a lot of analysis.   What exactly depends on you.  Just stay calm, and keep trading ;)

 

Forex and Yoga

Trading the Forex Market requires a lot of patience. Sometimes it feels like you are going the wrong way or sabotaging yourself. Other times you are entering a trade too early or exiting too late. Then there are those days where you see everything clearly but you don't act all. And my favorite days, when you are at peace with yourself and you everything just goes your way.

Recently I started practicing yoga 5 days a week again. And I'm not talking about the stereotypical stretching and a little bit of exercise, we're talking breath taking, challenging, omg I don't know why I do this, type of yoga.

Five years ago it all started with a Groupon (and I have to admit some hot babes), Yoga really help me work of some steam, relax, and provide some variety to my Boxing and Muay Thai Training at the time. About 1 year ago I was hopping around different Yoga places, it's not easy to find a great Yoga place here in Thailand, let alone a good one, and I started practicing 5 days a week, Ashtanga. I never had sweated so much (in a cold yoga room) and lost 10 lbs, got lean, felt great, and calm.

Six months ago I moved and given my new location and available yoga teachers, I ended up only being able to go 2 to 3 times a week. Better than nothing but definitely not as good as 5 days a week. What a difference it makes when you push yourself 5 days a week.

So what does that have to do with trading Forex? A few things...

1. If you haven't done so in a while, commit to trading every day and see how it changes your trading style. Watch the market and get into the groove.
2. Just like in Yoga, you will find bumping up your frequency of trading will push you further.
3. Regular trading (and yoga) will give you confidence that with every new day, there will be a new opportunity to work on your trade (or your yoga pose).
4. Every day becomes a learning experience. 
5. Practice is the mother of skill.

If you haven't tried yoga then I highly recommend you try it!