Every day, while you're engaged in your usual activities, you're likely to experience a
number of stressful events or even threatening situations. For example, encountering drivers
on the road who are careless or aggressive, or meeting with managers at work who are unreasonably
demanding and easily angered, or coming home to screaming children or rebellious teenagers.
Events like these can make you feel vulnerable or overwhelmed. They can also trigger your body's
fight or flight response. And when that happens again and again, tension and stress gradually
build up - in your body, in your nervous system, and in your mind. An accumulation of tension and
stress like this can lead to many problems. Obviously, it can make you feel miserable,
but it can also cause more serious issues like sleeplessness, anxiety, and clinical depression.
According to some medical researchers, it can even make you more susceptible to physical disease.
Not surprisingly, the buildup of tension and stress is also an obstacle to the practice of
meditation. To address this problem, certain kinds of pranayama, breathing exercises, are especially
helpful because they directly affect the nervous system, as we discussed in the previous lesson.
A particular technique known as nadi shodhana,
is specifically intended for releasing tension and stress.
Nadi is the Sanskrit word for nerve, and shodhana means cleansing or purification. The ancient yogis
discovered that this particular practice exerts a powerful calming effect on the nervous system.
Nadi shodhana is also known as anuloma viloma, which, loosely translated, means alternate nostril
breathing. In this practice, you alternately direct your breath through your left and right
nostrils by closing one nostril at a time. There's no single correct way of doing this,
but here are two commonly used methods. One is to bend the index and middle fingers of your
right hand down, folding them into your palm and leaving your thumb and remaining fingers
free. Then, you bring your hand up with your thumb and ring finger next to either side of your nose.
It's often helpful to support your right arm by bracing it with your left hand.
To breathe through your left nostril, press your thumb very gently against the side of your nose
to close the right nostril, like this. Be sure to use as little pressure as possible.
To breathe through your right nostril, shift your hand to release the right nostril and press your
ring finger very gently against the left side of your nose.
Another way is to extend the index and middle fingers of your right hand and place them on your
forehead, between your eyebrows, like this. Then, bend your thumb and other fingers down, next to
either side of your nose. Again, you can support your right arm by bracing it with your left hand.
As before, press your thumb very gently against the side of your nose
to close the right nostril. To close your left nostril, shift your hand to release
the right nostril and press your ring finger gently against the left side of your nose.
Always use as little pressure as possible to stop the flow of air. For the exercise we'll practice
shortly, you'll need to discover which of these methods is most comfortable for you. So right now,
please pause this video and try them both, then select one for the exercise.
In this exercise, you'll learn how to perform the basic technique of nadi shodhana. Then in the next
lesson, we'll practice a guided meditation using this technique. This exercise will take
less than 10 minutes. When practicing this or any other pranayama technique, be sure to adjust
your breathing so that you remain completely comfortable at all times. You should never feel
lightheaded or short of breath. Since we're only learning the mechanics of nadi shodhana right now,
we'll skip the sankalpa and physical relaxation exercises that we usually perform.
Now, using either of the hand positions taught before, gently close your right nostril.
Inhale and exhale through your left nostril for five breaths. Focus your
attention on the flow of air in and out of your left nostril.
After finishing five breaths, shift your hand to release your right nostril and gently
close your left nostril. Inhale and exhale through your right nostril for five breaths.
Focus your attention on the flow of air in and out of your right
nostril. After completing five breaths, let your hand rest in your lap.
For the next part, bring your hand up to close your right nostril
and inhale through the left. Then shift your hand to close your left nostril and
exhale through the right. Repeat this sequence, shifting to inhale through your left nostril,
and shifting again to exhale through the right. eyes closed. Inhale left, exhale right.
Inhale left, exhale right.
After completing one more breath, let your hand rest in your lap.
The next part is the reverse of what we just did. Bring your hand up to close your left nostril
and inhale through the right. Then shift your hand to close your right nostril and exhale
through the left. Repeat this sequence, shifting to inhale through your right nostril,
and shifting again to exhale through the left. Inhale right,
exhale left. Inhale right,
exhale left.
After completing one more breath, let your hand rest your hand.
Now, we're ready to practice the complete sequence used in nadi shodhana.
The sequence is inhale left, exhale right, then inhale right and exhale left. Remember
to adjust your breathing to remain completely comfortable at all times. Bring your hand up
to close your right nostril and inhale through the left. Then shift to close your left nostril
and exhale through the right. Now, without moving your hand, inhale through your right nostril.
Then shift to close your right nostril and exhale through the left. Repeat this sequence,
inhaling left, shifting to exhale right. Then inhale right and shift to exhale left.
Inhale left, exhale right.
Inhale right,
exhale left. That's three cycles. Inhale left,
exhale right. Inhale right,
exhale left. Complete one more cycle and then let your hand rest in your lap.
In the final part of this exercise, we'll practice the entire sequence
of nadi shodhana five more times, but without verbal instructions.
Simply repeat the sequence, inhale left, exhale right, then inhale right, and exhale left. After
you've completed five full cycles, let your hand rest in your lap. You can begin now.
Take your time.
Don't hurry.
OK. Now that you've learned the basic technique of nadi shodhana,
we'll use it for the guided meditation practice in the next lesson.