Alternate Nostril Breathing is perhaps the premiere technique for
awakening the third-eye and stimulating activity of the pineal gland. It
works by balancing the two major ‘nadis’ (energy channels or meridians) that
run the length of the spine and govern the yin and yang aspects of the
mind/body/spirit, primarily at an energetic level. These nadis,
correspondingly called Ida and Pingala in Sanskrit, are each connected to
eithier the left or right nostril. Throughout the day, corresponding
to the varied lunar/solar cycles and energies, either Ida or Pingala is
dominant and hence either the Yin/receptive/female or Yang/outward/male
energies will be expressed. However, through the use of the Alternate
Nostril Breathing technique, traditionally known as Nadi Shodhana, one can
bring these energies back into balance at will. Typically this results in
greater mental, physical and spiritual harmony as it has the effect of
balancing the hemispheres of the brain, lowering the heart rate, and
harmonizing the nervous system.
Nadi Shodhana is a powerful practice and it is suggested to start
slowly and work your way up to a longer practice. It is also importance
to clear, balance and energize the other 6 primary
chakras as well when working with Nadi Shodhana, as practicing this technique
in isolation can lead to energetic imbalances.
In a recent six-year study conducted on over
2800 men from Copenhagen, Denmark, scientists discovered that the resting heart
rate has a whole lot to do with the length of our lives. Ancient yogis knew
this too, when they pointed to elephants and other large mammals with slow
breathing rates and slow-beating hearts that lived to be over 100. Conversely,
animals like dogs and squirrels live short lives because their hearts beat
faster and their resting heart rates are often higher.
Our
resting heart rate is an indication of many important vital functions in the
body, including our ability to regulate important endocrine secretions to
balance hormones, and also to ensure the health of the autonomic nervous system.
The
typical resting heart rate (RHR) is around 60-100 beats per minute, and while
exercise has shown to lower the RHR over time, the new study from Denmark is
showing that despite our attempts to stay young by racking up the miles on a
tread mill, a high resting heart rate can kill us sooner
rather than later. According to
Thorsten Jensen, a cardiologist who worked with colleagues in a study at
Copenhagen University Hospital, people with an RHR of 80 beats per minute die up to five years earlier than those with, say, a resting pulse of 60
beats per minute.
Our Nervous System is Like Grand Central Station
The
autonomic nervous system is what controls every involuntary activity of the
body – our breathing, our heartbeat, digestion, respiration, cellular
functioning and more. As our bodies require different levels of oxygen and
nutrients, the heart rate, or cardiac output fluctuates to meet these needs.
When we are stressed out (even by strenuous exercise) the nervous system
responds to fluctuations in the heartbeat to make sure the body stays in
balance.
The
master controller of the autonomic nervous system is in the medulla oblongata
of the brain. It is here where messages are given to sustain appropriate
influences on the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system via
specialized neural pathways. Many techniques of yoga aim at changing the messages at Grand
Central Station, instead of trying to usher changes from the myriad trains
running in all directions to a number of boroughs like in the maze of subways
originating from New York City. If you can communicate to the whole fleet of
trains with one relaxation response, why do it any other way? As our nervous
system channels the excitable moments into our medulla oblongata, it regulates
the heart beat to either speed up or slow down.
As
the Copenhagen study is revealing, a faster resting heart rate may mean your
body is ready for action at every moment, but quite possibly at the expense of
your long-term vitality.
Nadi Shodhana and
Balancing the Active and Passive Aspects of Ourselves
Nadi
Shodhana is practiced in Hatha yoga, primarily, but in other branches as well.
The word Hatha, actually is derived of two Sanskrit words meaning ‘sun’ and
‘moon’ and these are metaphors for the parasympathetic, or feminine aspect of
ourselves, and sympathetic nervous system, or the active, masculine aspect of
ourselves. They were both important evolutionary developments so that we could,
on one hand, breathe and keep our hearts beating without thinking about it, and
on the other, run like mad should a large jungle animal want to devour us, or
if we needed to take our hands away from a hot fire quickly.
The
unfortunate aspect of modern life is that it has driven our sympathetic nervous
system and adrenal glands into a state of constant fight-or-flight due to the
low-level (and sometimes off-the-charts level) stress that accompanies our
every day activities.
This
is where Nadi Shodhana comes
in. This practice of breathing through one nostril and then the other, awakens
dormant energies in the Ida and Pingala nadis,
secondary charkas that are located in the left and right nostrils, and
associated to the left and right brain, and yes, also the parasympathetic and
sympathetic nervous systems and their regulation.
Nadis,
for those who are not trained in yoga, are like small points of energy
throughout the body much like acupressure/puncture points in Chinese medicine.
In the yogic perception of the body there are over 72,000 points that must be
free from energetic stagnation before we can be truly healthy and awakened.
When
we practice Nadi Shodhana, we do it primarily as a means to pacify the
sympathetic nervous system, which runs on the neurotransmitter, adrenaline, to
allow us to fight or flee in stressful situations, or perceived stressful situations. If sitting at a red
light too long instigates your fight-or-flight response, you also increase all
the nervous system-induced casualties of that feeling – a heightened heart rate
and respiratory rate, more adrenaline and cortisol being pumped into your
blood, and as a terrible feedback loop, more stress in reaction to the initial
discomfort or displeasure of having to wait behind a slow driver. You can
imagine how many instances like this one throughout the day might trigger this
sympathetic nervous system.
When
we can control this response, through practices like Nadi Shodhana, the brain
is given different signals. We also regulate the pranic energy of the body –
the subtle energy that allows us to eventually reach enlightenment. Shodhana
means ‘to purify’ and since we are breathing through the Ida, or left nostril,
more passive, feminine nostril, we purify those qualities. When we breathe
through the right nostril, or Pingala nadi, we purify the more masculine or
‘sun’ centered aspects of our personalities. Ideally we need enough
get-up-and-go, and passive, allow and flow to accomplish anything positive in
life.
While
breathing through the right nostril only, can be beneficial for those who
suffer from ailments like obesity and diabetes, since it builds heat in the body, the
balanced breathing of Nadi Shodhana through both the right and left nostrils,
allows the air that is heated by the right nostril to be cooled by the left. We
always begin by breathing through the left nostril, because this is the aspect
of us that needs to be awakened – the passive, allowing, nurturing aspect which
neutralizes the heat, or excess of stress.
While
the physical benefits of Nadi Shodhana are almost immediate,
with practitioners experiencing a lowered resting heart rate and
respiratory rates within as little as one month of consistent practice for just
five minutes a day, longer term practice can start to augment other Hatha yoga
practices that aim at dissolving the ego-bound self and helping one to reach
full enlightenment. This happens when the purified energies of both Ida and
Pingala nadis are joined with the other purified energy of the charkas along
the spinal column or Sushumna, and reach the higher charkas, first Ajna chakra,
or the pineal gland, and later the crown, or Sahasrara chakra. When the subtle
energy channels are thoroughly clear, kundalini energy can rise to cause an
awakening. Consciousness then expands greatly.
How to Practice Nadi Shodhana
For
best results, Nadi Shodhana should be practiced after a Hatha yoga session of
asana (yogic postures), or if you don’t already practice yoga, in a peaceful,
meditative posture without distractions.
You
should begin with a basic yogic breath. This means as you inhale your belly
will expand, utilizing a full diaphragmatic breath, and as you exhale the belly
will hollow out as you pull it back in toward the spine. Start with a 1:1 ratio
of breathing in and out. Over time you can increase this. You will form a
pranava mudra (hand gesture) of curling in your pinkie and ring finger of the
right hand, in order to close the right nostril with the thumb to begin. You
will not retain the breath in the basic version of nadhi shidhana, however, in
more advanced versions; you can add a retention of the breath with three bhandas or energetic
locks.
Exhale
through both nostrils. Cover the right nostril and inhale slowly through the
left. Cover the left nostril and exhale slowly through the right. Slowly inhale
through the right, cover the right nostril and exhale slowly through the left.
This consummates one round of Nadi Shodhana. Your breathing pattern will
resemble a rainbow as you close one nostril and breathe through the
other. Attempt to practice around five to ten rounds every day for
at least one month. While many yogic texts will also recommend a vegetarian diet to augment the
efficacy of this practice, you can just start by eating a cleaner diet, with
more organic fruits and vegetables in order to help the body purify itself.
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