ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING
Nadi Shodhana or alternate nostril breathing is a powerful breathing technique also called pranayama. We can translate nadi shodhana pranayama as a ‘subtle energy clearing breathing technique’.
This is a wonderful practice to calm the mind and relax the entire body, relieve fatigue and stress, and promote overall well-being.
You can use alternate nostril breathing before the meditation, to calm the mind, or after the yoga practice. But it is also very beneficial to do it during the day, especially when we feel that our energy and focus levels dropped and we need some fresh energy in our body.
Alternate nostril breathing may help you:
- Focus the mind
- Reduce the stress
- Calm and rejuvenate the nervous system
- Balance the left and right brain hemisphere
- Reduce anxiety
- Stimulate vagus nerve
- Increase the body flow to different organs
- Support respiratory system
- Clear toxins
- Clear the nadis/channels and ensure a smoother flow of prana (life energy) in the body
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Pranayama works directly with our physical and energetic channels inside our bodies. These channels are known also as nadis. There are three that we are most interested in – sushumna, ida, and pingala. These are passageways through which our inner energy flows and fuels the body. Ida, pingala and sushumna are the main ones. They flow along our spine – ida and pingala each on one side and sushumna in the middle. Ida ends in the left nostril, pingala in the right, and sushumna at the base of the nose between the nostrils.
Why are we mentioning this? Because ida represents the lunar nadi, that is the moon and our divine feminine. And pingala represents the solar nadi, that is the sun and the divine masculine energy.
Ida as feminine energy represents coolness, calmness, and nurture, but when overly dominant, it can be sleepy, passive, and depressed. Pingala as masculine energy is movement, transformation, and heat, but when overly dominant, it can bring fever, lack of concentration, and over-assertiveness. By this, they affect our lives. And with the help of pranayama we are calming them, balancing them, and bringing our awareness inwards instead of constantly engaging with the outer world.
How to do it?
- Sit in a comfortable position. The spine is long and straight.
- Your left hand is relaxed and resting on your lap or the left leg. You can also make a Chin Mudra with it – by pressing together the index finger and the thumb.
- With your right hand place the index finger and the middle finger in between the eyebrows while the ring finger and pinky finger will be closing the left nostril and the thumb finger will be closing the right nostril. Closing the nostrils is made in a gentle way, no need to press hard.
- If this is too challenging you can simplify the hand position and simply use the thumb finger for the right nostril, and pinky finger for the left nostril, while other fingers are tucked away in the palm.
- Close your eyes and take a deep breath through your nose before starting the practice.
- Close the right nostril with your thumb finger. Inhale through the left nostril.
- Close your left nostril with the ring finger (at this moment both nostrils are closed) and retain a breath for a short moment.
- Open your right nostril and exhale slowly through it.
- Inhale through the right nostril slowly.
- Hold both nostrils closed for a moment with the ring and thumb finger.
- Open the left nostril and slowly exhale through the left side.
- Repeat the cycle.
- Make sure you are not bending the head and supporting it with your right hand.
- You may feel that one nostril is more open and the air flows better than the other. Nothing wrong with that. Keep the focus on the breathing. But make sure that the next time you clean your nose as this can be the cause of the poor flow of the air.
You can repeat the cycles for a couple of times and however long you need it, to feel the benefits and calmness. It can also be done several times per day.
Calming the mind, and connecting with your breath will bring you long-lasting benefits.
With love,
