Alternate Nostril Breathing Technique (Nadi Shodhan Pranayama)
A beautiful breathing technique that helps keep the mind calm, happy and peaceful. A few minutes of Nadi Shodhan pranayama in a day brings the mind back to harmony and releases accumulated tension and fatigue. The breathing technique is named Nadi Shodhan, as it helps clear out blocked energy channels in the body, which in turn calms the mind.
This is a beautiful practice during pregnancy to keep your emotions balanced and your energy levels stable.
(nadi = subtle energy channel; shodhan = cleaning, purification; pranayama = breathing technique)
How To Do Alternate Nostril Breathing
Benefits Of Alternate Nostril Breathing
Points To Remember While Practicing Alternate Nostril Breath
A beautiful breathing technique that helps keep the mind calm, happy and peaceful. A few minutes of Nadi Shodhan pranayama in a day brings the mind back to harmony and releases accumulated tension and fatigue. The breathing technique is named Nadi Shodhan, as it helps clear out blocked energy channels in the body, which in turn calms the mind.
This is a beautiful practice during pregnancy to keep your emotions balanced and your energy levels stable.
(nadi = subtle energy channel; shodhan = cleaning, purification; pranayama = breathing technique)
How To Do Alternate Nostril Breathing
- Sit comfortably with your spine long and shoulders relaxed.
- Place your left hand on the left knee, palms open to the sky to receive.
- Place the tip of the index finger and middle finger of the right hand in between the eyebrows, the ring finger and little finger on the left nostril, and the thumb on the right nostril. You will use your ring finger and little finger to open or close the left nostril and thumb for the right nostril.
- Press your thumb down on the right nostril and breathe out gently through the left nostril.
- Now breathe in from the left nostril and press the left nostril gently with the ring finger and little finger. Removing the right thumb from the right nostril, breathe out from the right.
- Breathe in from the right nostril and exhale from the left. You have now completed one round of Nadi Shodhan pranayama. Continue inhaling and exhaling from alternate nostrils.
- Complete 9 rounds by alternately breathing through both the nostrils. After every exhalation, remember to breathe in from the same nostril from which you exhaled. Keep your eyes closed throughout and continue taking long, deep, smooth breaths without any force or effort.
Nadi Shodhan pranayama helps relax the mind and prepares it to enter a meditative state. It is a great practice to do before your Heart to Womb meditation, before bed, or before any other pregnancy ritual that you have created for yourself.
Benefits Of Alternate Nostril Breathing
- Excellent breathing technique to calm and center the mind. It is wonderful during pregnancy to keep you in the present moment, to help accept that which you cannot control, and to connect you with your truth.
- Works therapeutically for most circulatory and respiratory problems - a great complement to some ailments of pregnancy.
- Releases accumulated stress in the mind and body allowing you to fully sink into your experience.
- Helps harmonize the left and right hemispheres of the brain, which correlate to the logical and emotional sides of our personality.
- Helps purify and balance the nadis, the subtle energy channels, thereby ensuring smooth flow of prana (life force) through the body and energetic nourishment to your baby.
- Maintains body temperature.
Points To Remember While Practicing Alternate Nostril Breath
- Do not force the breathing, keep the flow gentle and natural.
- Place the fingers very lightly on the forehead and nose. There is no need to apply any pressure.
- If one or both or your nostrils are plugged or stuffed up, refrain from blocking the nostril and instead bring your awareness to the nostril on the inhale and exhale to receive the energetic benefits.
