| Calm Breath | | Print | |
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Nadi Shodhanam (Alternative Nostril Breathing) is a Yogi practice used to slow down the mind. It is thought to calm the entire nervous system by balancing activity between the two hemispheres of the brain. Nadi is the Sanskrit term for channel or vessel through which breath and energy flow. There are reportedly over 70,000 Nadis, the equivalent of physical “arteries,” in the subtle body. Sit with the spine straight in a cross-legged position or in a chair with the feet placed on the floor. Inhale slowly and silently. Make a gentle fist. Place the right thumb on the right nostril while exhaling only through the left nostril. With the thumb still on the right nostril, inhale through the left nostril. Then close off the left nostril with the first and second fingers of the right hand and exhale out of the right nostril. Repeat the cycle. Inhale through the right nostril, then seal it off with the thumb, and exhale through the left nostril. Perform this practice slowly and smoothly. Establish a comfortable rhythm. To begin with, practice three times a day – three cycles. In the morning, begin with the left nostril exhalation. Midday exhale from the nostril that is most open and through which the breath flows most freely. In the evening, begin with exhaling through the right nostril. |
