Balancing Your Nervous System with Alternate Nostril Breathing

by Timothy

Mountain, Sky, Clouds by Melina Meza

In my last post Pranayama for Everyone: Bhramari Breath I wrote about the importance of pranayama (yogic breathing practices) and introduced one of my favorites, Bhramari, the buzzing bee breath. Today, I'm going to tackle the pranayama I consider the most important: alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana or Anuloma Viloma).

It turns out that almost all of us breathe primarily through one nostril for parts of the day, and then switch to breathing primarily through the other nostril at other times. The ancient yogis knew wrote about this and modern science has confirmed it (see p. 62 of my book Yoga as Medicine for details). Research has confirmed that breathing through the right nostril is linked to the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), whereas left nostril breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This is pretty much exactly what's described in ancient yogic texts, albeit using metaphoric language. The left channel ida [pronounced ee DAH] is the feminine, lunar, cooling side, the texts say, whereas the right channel pingala [pronounced peen gah LAH] is the masculine, solar, heating side.

Many people in the modern world have an imbalance in their nervous systems, usually too much activation of the SNS, the flight or fight response. Others, such as some people with chronic fatigue syndrome, have too much parasympathetic tone. In either case, alternate nostril breathing can be useful. In Ayurveda, Nadi Shodhana is felt to be good for people of all constitutional types. I have found it particularly useful for students with an increase in the vata dosha (see Autumn, Healthy Aging and the Ayurvedic Dosha Vata), which is especially common now as we move into the cooler weather of the fall season.

If you have never tried alternate nostril breathing, you may have seen pictures of yogis using their fingers to alternately close of one nostril, then the other. Typically the thumb of the right hand is used to close off the right nostril and the fourth finger (or sometimes the fourth and fifth together) is used to block the left nostril. This "digital pranayama" is a wonderful practice that I've done daily for many years. But not everyone can do it.

For example, some people with arthritis find it too cumbersome or painful to use the fingers this way. If you've got a deviated septum or nasal congestion, digital alternate nostril breathing similarly may not work well due to the obstruction to air flow. In these instances, mental alternate nostril breathing, where you simply imagine to air going into one side and out the other is a great option. And the practice is so simple and safe that I often teach it to beginners.

To practice mental alternate nostril breathing, sit as you would for meditation, relaxed but perched high enough that your lower back can have its healthy inward curve. With your eyes closed, slowly breath in and out a couple of times. Then imagine you are inhaling through the left nostril and that you are exhaling through the right nostril. Next imagine inhaling through the right nostril, and exhaling through the left. Continue this pattern:

1. Inhale left
2. Exhale right
3. Inhale right
4. Exhale left

If you're new to pranayama, try this practice for just a minute or so. If it feels comfortable, you can continue for five minutes or longer. Since you began by inhaling on the left, end your session after an exhalation out the left nostril. Did you notice that your breath followed your intention?

If you are comfortable, I'd suggest you sit quietly for a few minutes after you finish or, if time allows, do a meditation practice. The ancient yogis taught that the balancing effects of Nadi Shodhana make it the perfect prelude to meditation, helping your meditation be calmer and more focused.

If you are an asana practitioner who tends to skip both pranayama and meditation, I have a challenge for you. For the next two weeks, try to do two minutes of mental Nadi Shodhana, followed by three minutes of sitting every morning before eating (or another time that suits you), and let us know how it goes. I suspect you'll be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Diving Deeper into Prana

by Baxter

When I want to dive a little deeper into any yoga-related topic, I feel blessed to work with one of the smartest and well-studied yoga teachers in America today, Richard Rosen. Richard is the owner of the Piedmont Yoga Studio in Oakland, CA, as well as author of two books on pranayama (a word I will let him define in a moment) and a Shambhala audio series on pranayama, as well as a new book on the earliest yoga poses Original Yoga (see here to read the introduction). To experience Richard’s writing firsthand, in addition to getting one of his books, you can sign up to receive Piedmont Yoga Studio’s monthly email newsletter (see piedmontyoga.com/). He always includes a fascinating article on some aspect of yoga, which I always learn a lot from!

When I asked Richard if he had written anything specifically on prana, or energy, he immediately sent me a twelve-page word document on pranayama that contained some intriguing kernels of information about prana that I thought would complement our initial look at prana last week (see May the Prana be with You). If you read that post, you'll see that I was not too far off in my definition of prana last week if we look at how Richard frames it:

“Prana is not specifically the breath, but rather the “life force,” a subtle energy that pervades the universe and manifests, in one important way, as breath and breathing”

He mentions breathing here, because he is ultimately interested in prana’s relationship to the yogic practice of pranayama. There are a lot of definitions of pranayama floating around out there. If you take a public class, you might think it refers to simply watching or observing your breath. Or you might think it refers to one particular way of breathing, namely taking a longer in breath and out breath. If you have been a student of Pattabhi Jois’s Ashtanga yoga, you might equate pranayama to the Darth Vadar-like breath technique known as ujjayi breath. And you’d be partially correct, as all of these things are part of the branch of yoga practice known as pranayama.

View from First Bridge by Brad Gibson

But let’s step back for a moment and take a look at Richard’s definition of the word. We have his take on prana, but what about the second half of the term, ayama?

“Ayama means both “extension” and “restraint.” I think of pranayama as the conscious, intelligent cultivation and refinement of the life force through the medium of the breath.”  

Because we in the west have such a love affair with yoga poses, that is, asana, we have come to equate yoga with asana. As Richard points out, “you might be surprised to learn that traditionally pranayama is considered the central practice of hatha yoga.”  So if pranayama is the central practice of yoga, what kind of boon does it promise if we actually start to practice it regularly? Richard points out many documented (meaning they are mentioned in the source books on hatha yoga we have available to us) benefits that come from regular, consistent practice, done over a long time, including such things as stoking the digestive fire, appeasing thirst and hunger, opening the sinuses, curing may diseases and conditions, and purifying both the gross and subtle energy systems of the body. In addition, prana and the practice of pranayama are said to destroy illness and increase longevity. The ancient yogis were interested in this because it gave them more time to achieve their yogic goals.

Richard  also points out some more benefits that we should eye with a bit of skepticism, such as making you look like you are sixteen, making you a second God of Love, and bestowing even more extraordinary mental and physical powers. For us regular “householders,” what can we realistically expect from a regular breath practice? This of course depends a bit on what you put into it!  Richard states:

“It’s likely that you’ll become more aware of, and gain greater control over, your everyday breath. Why is this a benefit? It’s already well known and widely accepted that your breath and your mental states are closely related, that the former reflects and can be used, to a certain extent, to influence the latter…. With the instrument of your breath then, you can monitor and modulate you psychic “temperature” throughout the day, cooling yourself down when the mercury rises, and heating yourself up when it drops off.”

Both Richard and I have heard from students who claim their work with prana via breath has resulted in a more relaxed and energized life on and off the mat. And, finally, Richard concludes: “all this to say that your breathing will become less effortful and more efficient.” Realistically, the more efficient and responsive your respiratory system is, the better you are able to handle stress. The lower your stress levels, the more beneficial the effect of yoga on the aging process. It all seems to come full circle once again. From my vantage point, I love the fact that so many different techniques are available to us under the large umbrella of yoga to assist us as we age!

Next time we look at pranayama, I’ll share with you my favorite summer breath technique, so until then, do what you can to stay cool!

STRESS TEST

by Nina

“You did great,” my oral surgeon said. “In fact, you were the most relaxed patient I’ve ever worked on. You even fell asleep there for a while.”

“Wasn’t asleep,” I mumbled through my numb and swollen lips. “Was doing yogic breathing.”

He looked at me with fascination, then quickly handed me a piece of paper and a pen. “Could you write down what you did for me?”

“Uh, email you later?”

Of course I didn’t become so good at yogic breathing just so I could stay, uh, relatively relaxed during gum surgery (though it was certainly an interesting test of my skills). As someone who once suffered from agitated depression, I’ve been using yogic breathing, along with many yoga techniques, for many years to manage my stress levels for my emotional wellbeing.

Under the Beach Umbrella by Joan Webster

Now it turns out that I’ve been practicing yoga for healthy aging while I was at it. Because I can tell you right now that along with exercise and diet, stress management is one of the most important keys to healthy aging. Chronic stress contributes to many common age-related diseases, such as high blood pressure and heart disease, and can cause a weakened immune system overall. It also affects the quality of your life. Possible effects of chronic stress include: chronic anxiety or depression, insomnia and/or fatigue, headaches, and digestive disorders.

And how does yoga help you manage your stress? Let me count the ways:

1. breath practices and meditation trigger the relaxation response 

2. inverted poses (and semi-inverted poses) physically reduce your stress levels

3. restorative yoga poses relax your body and quiet your nervous sytem 

4. active yoga poses (such as standing poses, twists, and backbends) release stress from your body and create a focus for your mind

5. yoga philosophy teaches you to cultivate equanimity in the face of difficulty

Over time, I’ll be providing detailed information and instructions for techniques in each of these different categories. And I hope very much that you’ll find one or more that’s useful.

And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did eventually email my oral surgeon. Next time you’re in a dentist chair (or are lying sleepless in bed, need a break after a stressful day, or just want to experiment), maybe you can try:

Breath awareness. Focus your attention on your natural breath, observing how your abdomen or chest rises with your inhalation and falls with your exhalation. When your mind wanders from your breath (to the dental procedure or any other topic), simply, and without judgment, return your attention to your breath. It is natural to be distracted from this practice, but it seems to work even if your attention wanders repeatedly.

Focusing on your breath will enable you to keep your mind of neutral topics rather than stressful ones, and after 10 or 20 minutes, the relaxation response (identified by Dr. Herbert Bensen of Harvard Medical School in the 1970s) will be triggered.

Extending the exhalation. The heart slows during the exhalation (and speeds up during the inhalation) so extending your exhalation is a relaxing breath practice (and also provides the benefits of breath awareness above). Take a deep soft inhalation followed by a deep soft exhalation. At the end of the exhalation, instead of inhaling again, retain your exhalation for one or two beats. Repeat through the procedure. Keep it easy. At no time should there be strain. If needed, return to your natural breath at any time.

During my procedure I did the second breath practice (extending the exhalation). But I’m very experienced with yogic breathing, and we generally recommend that beginners to start with simple breath awareness.