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.

Pranayama for Everyone: Bhramari Breath Practice

by Timothy

Bee and Flower by Melina Meza

One of the dirty secrets of the yoga world is how few yoga practitioners—and how few teachers—do pranayama, yogic breathing exercises. It's better in some yoga traditions than others, but overall I've been shocked to see how few of my colleagues practice pranayama regularly. This is a shame!

The breath is probably the single best way to affect the autonomic nervous system, which in turn controls the function of every internal organ, as well as systems like digestion and immunity. Pranayama can also be the gateway into meditation and higher yogic practices. Furthermore, there is a potential synergy: the regular practice of pranayama can make your asana practice subtler and more refined, and your meditation deeper and more concentrated. For therapeutic purposes, I believe there is synergistic benefit from doing some asana, along with pranayama, meditation, and other yogic practices.

Some schools teach that only experienced practitioners should attempt yogic breathing practices. There is wisdom in being careful, as pranayama done incorrectly—and especially if it's done too aggressively—can lead to problems with the nervous system and, in extreme cases, to psychological decompensation. But there are a few basic pranayama practices that I have found are safe for virtually everyone, and I'll be writing about them in this and my next few blog posts.

I'll begin today with one of my favorites: Bhramari [pronounced brah mah REE], which means the "buzzing of the bees." Although, in my experience, this is one of the pranayama techniques that's rarely taught (at least in many traditions), it's simple, safe, and has tremendous therapeutic potential.

To do a simple version of Bhramari, sit in a comfortable upright position as you would for meditation. Keeping your mouth closed, with your exhalation make a low- to medium-pitched humming sound in your throat. As you make the sound, which should last the entire length of the exhalation, tune into the literal vibration of the sound waves in your throat and even in your skull and brain. Then inhale through your nose, and if you're comfortable, repeat. Try to make your transitions into and out of each humming exhalation as smooth as possible.

At first, you might try Bhramari for a minute, but if it's goes well you can progress to a few minutes at a time. Depending on your breath capacity, the exhalation might vary from short to quite long. I'd suggest doing as long an exhalation as feels completely comfortable. At all times, each subsequent inhalation should be smooth, without any breath hunger. If you are feeling at all short of breath, you've likely pushed harder than you should, and if so, simply take a catch up breath and then resume Bhramari. If you feel at all agitated, I'd suggest you suspend the practice for the day and try it again another time with shorter exhalations.

Most people who do Bhramari as I've described it above will find the practice soothing. Since you will be lengthening your exhalation relative to your inhalation, the Bharmari breath activates the parasympathetic nervous system, and within a few breaths can bring you to a greater sense of relaxation and calmness. According to the classic text Hatha Yoga Pradipika, "with regular practice of bhramari, bliss arises in the heart."

A recent study Immediate effect of a slow pace breathing exercise Bhramari pranayama on blood pressure and heart rate suggested that the practice can lower blood pressure. In my yoga therapy work, I've found it useful for stress and various stress-related conditions, including insomnia (try a low-pitched sound). It's also useful for nasal congestion due to colds, allergies or sinus infections (use a slightly higher-pitched sound so that you can feel your nose and sinuses vibrating).

I even sometimes recommend Bhramari as a meditation alternative for people who find their minds so distressingly busy when they sit that they can't do the practice. It's harder for the monkey mind to go wild over the racket the buzzing of the bees makes internally, allowing you to settle in something moving in the direction of meditation.

Next up: Alternative Nostril Breathing.

Yoga Relaxation Techniques: They're Not Interchangeable

by Nina

Patterns in the Sand 2, by Brad Gibson

Okay, I admit it. It’s probably my fault. I’ve been going around saying that you can trigger the Relaxation Response (see The Relaxation Response and Yoga) using any of the following: restorative yoga, inverted poses, Savasana, pranayama, meditation, and yoga nidra, etc. as if all those practices were somehow interchangeable. This has led to questions like the following comment left on a Friday Q&A: Yoga Nidra, Restorative Yoga, Meditation and Savasana:

It is very helpful to read the distinctions between these four practices as I try to practice all of them, but it's hard to find the time. I'd be really interested to get your thoughts on whether it's important to do all four? For example, if you do restorative while listening to a nidra CD, do you also need to meditate? I'm interested to know what the various benefits are of these four practices, or are the benefits all the same?

Let me start by saying that what I said previously—that you can use any of these practices for stress management—still holds true. And it is also true that you can choose whichever techniques you prefer to trigger the Relaxation Response. However, these practices each have different roles to play in a balanced yoga practice.

The role of meditation in a balanced yoga practice is particularly important. That’s why I asked Timothy to write an article on the purpose of meditation (see his absolutely wonderful post Is Meditation an Essential Par of Practicing Yoga?). Basically, although you can use meditation for stress reduction, its role in classical yoga is to quiet the mind to allow union with the divine or “liberation”:

1.2 Yoga is the cessation of movements of consciousness.
1.3 Then the seer dwells in his own true splendor.

— from Yoga Sutras, trans. B.K.S. Iyengar

Meditation is also, as Timothy mentions, a “fabulous tool to study your mind and slowly gain more control over it.”

Pranayama is also an important component of classical yoga, which precedes meditation as one of eight steps on the path to samadhi (union with the divine). It is considered an instrument to “steady the mind” and a gateway to dharana (the first phase of meditation).

“Pranayama removes the veil covering the light of knowledge and heralds the dawn of wisdom.

Its practice destroys illusion, consisting of ignorance, desire and delusion which obscure the intelligence; and allows the inner light of wisdom to shine. As the breeze disperses the clouds that cover the sun, pranayama wafts away the clouds that hide the light of intelligence.” — Sutra 2.52 trans. by B.K.S. Iyengar

On the other hand, the two types of asana I recommended for triggering the Relaxation Response, restorative yoga and supported inversions, are brilliant 20th century inventions, mostly developed by B.K.S. Iyengar, which are designed specifically to maximize physical relaxation and reduce stress. Judith Lasater, one of the most renowned teachers of restorative yoga, writes in the introduction to her book Relax and Renew:

“The antidote to stress is relaxation. To relax is to rest deeply. This rest is different from sleep. Deep states of sleep include periods of dreaming which increase muscular tension, as well as other physiological signs of tension. Relaxation is a state in which there is no movement, no effort, and the brain is quiet.

"Common to all stress reduction techniques is putting the body in a comfortable position with gentle attention directed toward the breath.”

Likewise, yoga nidra is also a 20th century invention (though you may see some claims to the contrary) developed by Swami Satyananda Saraswati. The first sentence of his book Yoga Nidra defines the practice like this:

“Yoga nidra, which is derived from the tantras, is a powerful technique in which you learn to relax consciously.”

In yoga nidra, you lie in Savasana while the voice of a teacher (or a recording) guides you through a physical and mental relaxation process. So, like restorative yoga, yoga nidra is specifically intended as a relaxation technique, and as such does not replace meditation or pranayama in a balanced yoga practice. This would be true of any form of Savasana in which an external voice is providing instructions and/or imagery for you. Unlike other relaxation techniques, yoga nidra includes a sankalpa (an intention) that allows you to influence your subconscious (or so it is claimed). For example, “I will awaken my spiritual potential,” “I will be a positive force for the evolution of others,” or “I will be successful in all that I undertake.” So this may be something you wish to take into consideration when choosing your relaxation practice.

Unlike the modern restorative postures, Savasana is a much older pose. Based on what I’ve read about the original practice, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Savasana is a reclining form of meditation. For some traditional yogis, it was a meditation on death, hence the literal translation of the name Savasana is “Corpse pose,” and it was sometimes even practiced alongside actual corpses. To practice Savasana properly, however, you must actually do the work of meditating while you are in the pose (and make sure you don’t fall asleep). If you don’t actually meditate while in Savasana, then, well, you are simply relaxing. But that's okay, too, if that is what you are after.

So there you have it. Which of these practices you decide to adopt really depends on what your goals are as well as your preferences. If you’re just after stress management and better health, it doesn’t really matter which you chose. However, if your goal is the “liberation” that is yoga’s ultimate aim, both pranayama and meditation are essential steps along the path.

Sorry if I caused any confusion!

Ultimate liberation is when the gunas, devoid of any purpose for the purusa, return to their original [latent] state; in other words, when the power of consciousness is situation in its own essential nature. —Yoga Sutra 4.34 trans. Edwin Bryant

Friday Q&A: Pranayama on an Airplane

Q: I have a question for your esteemed teachers on Pranayama: I do a lot of air travel: Internal (within US) and international. My international trips involve a minimum of 10-12 hrs of continuous travel. Flying at an altitude of more than 30,000 feet and with the air pressure being so low outside, we are breathing in compressed air inside the plane. Is it safe to do Pranayama inside the plane on long flight duration since the air is primarily re-circulated?

A: I have had the good fortune to travel to Estes Park, Colorado on a number of occasions to teach or study at an annual yoga conference there. Many of the classes held there include breathing practices or pranayama. The altitude at Estes Park just happens to be 7552 feet above sea level. I had no problems, personally, adjusting to the altitude and participating fully in my classes. In the history of yoga, there are many stories of yogis doing their training in the mountains of India, Nepal and Tibet, at high altitudes. My reason for mentioning these facts is that a pressurized, temperature controlled modern jet plane creates an atmospheric pressure of somewhere between 5 to 8000 feet above sea level, not unlike my elevation while studying in Colorado. This means that the percentage of oxygen in the air inside the plane is the same as it would be in Estes Park. So, from a purely atmospheric pressure standpoint, pranayama could safely be practiced on your flight.

Regarding the safety of the air you breathe on planes, I found this online article by an airline pilot illuminating and reassuring in regards to both the amount of fresh air and re-circulated air (50:50 mix in most cases) and the high quality filters that are used on modern jets, considered hospital quality (To read the pilot’s full post, see Cabin Air Quality. And if you want to understand how pressurized cabins in airplanes developed, here’s a great article for Air and Space Magazine online that will give you all the details: How Things Work: Cabin Pressure) In fact, when I posed this question to my colleague Richard Rosen, author of two books on pranayama, he pointed out that the air quality in a plane is a lot better than the hot, polluted air in Pune, India, home of the Iyengar family.

As I researched this topic, the one fact that did jump out at me that could have an effect on the quality of your pranayama practice is the relative humidity of the air in a modern jet. It runs around 12%, which is equivalent or lower than the humidity in a desert setting, which is pretty darn dry! So, the one recommendation I would make regardless of whether you are practicing yogic breath techniques or just napping on the plane, is to drink more water than you might normally at home. This would be doubly true for longer flights. This way you will avoid the dehydrating effect of air travel and you will likely feel better physically when you land at your destination! Richard mentioned that caution should be used with any pranayama technique that you’d be careful with at home or if you were inexperienced. He mentioned bastrika, or bellow’s breath and kapalabhati, or skull brightening breath, as two he would suggest you avoid. Richard did suggest that the “best bet” for airplane breathing is the modern version of ujjayi (in the traditional version the right nostril is closed on exhale), with a “special focus on the exhale and then a pensive pause at the end of each exhale.” So, there you have it, some common sense advice and some expert suggestions from one of the experts on pranayama in this country. To learn more about yogic breathing, check out Richard’s two books on the topic:

The Yoga of Breath
Pranayama, Beyond the Fundamentals

Yoga for Healthy Eating, Part 2

by Baxter

Today, as I was driving to the Farmers Market in Berkeley to enjoy my weekly ritual of buying local grown and produced fruits, veggies and animal protein, I happened to catch a bit of the show “Your Health and Fitness” on KPFA. The host posited the assertion that “health” bestows on each of us the opportunity to live a full life. I gotta say, I loved the simplicity of this notion, and all that it really implies. Then I got home to read the following comment on my recent post regarding yoga for healthy eating, full of more wisdom born out of personal experience. It came from an old friend and colleague of mine, and with her permission, I share it with you now:

“Hey Baxter,

Kudos on taking on such a complicated subject! I have a few ideas I think are worth adding to the discussion on mindfulness and healthy eating, and when I say "ideas", I really mean personal opinions I've formed along the journey of nurturing my personal health.

The first idea that really drives my weight management is focusing on eating more good food rather less bad food. "Eat less" is very common advice, but when we set out attempting to do this, what happens is, we end up eating meals that are less than we need to feel satisfied, and then, when we are inevitably hungry in an hour or two, we reach for a convenient snack. This snack is rarely nutritious, and does two things; it keeps us from our goal of losing weight and gives us a sense that we are inept in managing our food. This second part is often the killer. When people ask me for advice about weight loss, I always say the same thing; "EAT MORE VEGGIES". If you add a large serving of vegetables to lunch and dinner, you will not be hungry in between meals. And these vegetables are of tremendous value to your long term health. Your body will shift naturally a healthier size. Eat more, not less.

Also, I believe that living in the modern world means being absolutely inundated with information about dieting, and most of this information is not helpful. Find a plan that works for your lifestyle and stick to it. I've used the same food plan through two terms of weight loss (one in my early thirties & one after my daughter was born), and I generally use the same plan for maintenance today. Find a plan that works for your lifestyle and stick to it.

Lastly, I think exercise is vital to weight maintenance, not because it assists in weight loss (I've actually found it to hinder my weight loss), but because it helps with stress reduction and confidence in the long run. Stress is perhaps the most important factor in why we eat and why we fail at weight loss. When we find exercise that we enjoy and we can integrate into our lifestyle, we have a useful tool in managing our long-term health through stress reduction. Secondarily, we gain in the process an enjoyment of our bodies that is necessary to continue on a path of nurturing self -care. Exercise we enjoy makes us feel good. Feeling good helps us to want to continue on the journey.

Hope this is helpful to the greater discussion.

Amelia”

Yes, Amelia, I think this is very helpful to the greater discussion around healthy eating. Implied in Amelia’s approach is, as I see it, the idea that a longer vision goal is being set by each of us as we decide to make healthy changes in our eating habits. It seems prudent, as an example, that if my goal is weight loss for me to sit and consider what my expectations are when my goal is reached: do I expect to feel better physically, emotionally or mentally? Do I expect a present health problem to resolve itself secondary to my weight loss goal being met? Is there an expectation of an underlying happiness that will arise? In all likelihood, quiet contemplation around this goal of “weight loss” will reveal these sorts of underlying hopes and expectations that could ultimately be more important than any number on the scale.

The practices of yoga, starting with pranayama as a beginning method to quiet the normal mental chatter and give the busy portion of the mind a rest, can be quiet helpful in this process of introspection.  From there, dharana and dhyana, one-pointed concentration practice and continual meditation practice, will refine and sharpen the ability to be receptive to these deeper goals. One of the qualities that is always mentioned in either succeeding or failing at these sorts of attempted changes is the presence of “will power.”  And according to Stanford psychologist, author and yoga teacher Kelly McGonigal, scientists now consider will power to be like a muscle, versus something you either have or don’t have. We all have the muscle, and you can strengthen it with practice. And yoga is a discipline that teaches us about practice, or abhyasa, as one of the main tools for succeeding in meeting our highest goals. 

So to recap Amelia’s wisdom:

• Eat enough good food (VEGGIES!) to satisfy your energy needs and satisfy you hunger.
• Find a plan that works for your lifestyle and stick to it, ie practice it everyday!
• Don’t underestimate the value of exercise as a stress reducing and confidence-inspiring tool (a strong asana practice could be part of that I’d think!), as stress is a huge trigger for unhealthy eating.  And exercise makes us feel good, which has a positive feedback on motivation.

Keep those comments coming! We love ‘em!

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!

Your Key to Your Nervous System: Your Breath

by Nina

Have you ever wondered why you tend to yawn when you’re sleepy? Well, a yawn is a great big inhalation. And because your heart rate tends to speed up on your inhalation, that yawn in the middle of that boring lecture or business meeting is little message to your nervous system: wake up! On the other hand, when you are upset about something, you tend to sigh. That sigh—try one!—is an extra long exhalation. Because your heart rate tends to slow on your exhalation, that sigh while you are feeling emotional turmoil or are just stuck in traffic is a little message to your nervous system: take it easy, buddy, slow down a bit.

Your autonomic nervous system is the part of your nervous system that controls the functions of your body, such as digestion, heartbeat, blood pressure, and breathing, that are “involuntary,” meaning the functions that you don’t have to think about. The autonomic nervous system is also the part of your nervous system that sends you into stress mode (fight or flight) and that triggers the relaxation response. And while you cannot tell your nervous system directly to slow your heart beat, digest your food more quickly (that would be nice, wouldn’t it?), or to start relaxing right this minute, you can control your breath.

Think about it: even though you breathe without thinking about it, you can intentionally hold your breath, speed up your breath, slow down your breath, breathe through one nostril instead of the other, and so on. And this ability to alter your breathing is what gives you the key to your nervous system, providing you with some control over its “involuntary” functions.

Tide Under First Bridge by Brad Gibson

In my post on the stress response (see "Chronic Stress: An Introduction"), I mentioned that in stress mode your body uses more oxygen (for fighting or fleeing) while in relaxation mode your body needs less oxygen (for resting and digesting). It turns out that by intentionally taking in more oxygen (either by speeding up your breath or by lengthening your inhalation) you can stimulate your nervous system and that by taking in less oxygen (by slowing your breath or lengthening your exhalation), you can calm yourself down. It’s that simple. (See "Stress Test" for my example of using breath practice to stay calm during oral surgery.)

Yogic breath practices have evolved over thousands of years as yogis experimented on themselves and passed on their discoveries their students. And while some schools of yoga teach yogic breath practices (pranayama) to beginners, the type of yoga that I’m trained in, Iyengar style, considers breath practices to be so powerful that pranayama is introduced very gradually.

We’ll be introducing some simple breath practices in the coming weeks, but until then start by tuning into your breath throughout the day. When you’re standing in a long line at the post office, fighting the crowds at the grocery store, or are stuck in traffic, are you taking quick breaths, deep breaths or sighing? When you’re taking a hot bubble bath, petting your dog, or chatting with your partner after a good dinner, are you taking slow breaths, shallow breaths, or—oops!—yawning?

THE RELAXATION RESPONSE AND YOGA

by Nina

Last week I wrote about the stress response, and how dangerous chronic stress is for your physical and emotional wellbeing (and possibly your longevity). So at this point you might be wondering: wouldn’t it be nice if there were an easy way for you to switch off your stress? I mean, something quicker and less expensive than a month in Tahiti or a week in a spa.

Well, it turns out there is. Remember, between stressful situations, your body needs to rest, recover, and acquire new energy. So your nervous system responds by:

• lowering your blood pressure
• reducing your heart rate, diverting blood back to the skin and gastrointestinal tract
• contracting your pupils and bronchioles
• stimulating your salivary gland secretion, accelerating digestion, and promoting normal movement of food through the gut

Dr. Herbert Benson coined the term “the relaxation response,” to describe this phenomenon, and he discusses it in detail in his book The Relaxation Response (which I highly recommend). I’ve also heard the term “rest and digest” to describe this state, when your body is recovering and restoring itself, and I find this is a helpful way to think about it, as the opposite of “fight or flight.”

Of course when you are stressed out, you can’t just tell yourself to relax. (I remember when I was suffering terribly from chronic stress, a therapist told me to “stop worrying.” I said, “Are you kidding?” and, duh, never went back.) But this is where yoga performs so brilliantly. Because, as Dr. Benson discovered, to trigger the relaxation response all that is required is:

1. A quiet environment

2. A focus for your mind, such as a sound, word, phrase, physical sensation (breath or body part), or fixed gaze at an object

3. Passive (non-judgmental) attitude

4. A comfortable position

5. 10 to 20 minutes

A Garden Path by Joan Webster

If this makes you immediately think of meditation, you’re right about that. But yoga has bunch of different options that you can use to trigger the relaxation response:

1. Meditation. See here for information on how to meditate.
2. Breath practices (pranayama). See here for information your nervous system and your breath.
3. Restorative poses with a focus for the mind (such as your breath or the relaxation of your muscles).
4. Corpse pose (Savasana) with a focus for the mind (such as your breath, the relaxation of your muscles, or peaceful imagery). See here for information.
5. Yoga nidra (yogic sleep), a long, structured form of Savasana. See here for information about yoga nidra and here for a mini version of yoga nidra that you can stream or download.

Eventually, after his initial studies, Dr. Benson removed two items from the list: a comfortable position and a quiet environment. He soon realized that a mind-body practice, such as the yoga asana practice, can be a “moving meditation,” as long as there is a focus for your mind (such as the physical sensations of your body in the pose) and a passive attitude (refraining from judging yourself in the pose, such as how you look or whether you’re doing it “right”). See "What is Mindfulness?"

Finally, studies by Dr. Roger Cole proved that inverted and semi-inverted poses, where your heart is higher than your head, trigger the relaxation response through the mechanisms that control your blood pressure. This is why supported inversions, such Legs Up the Wall pose and Easy Inverted Pose (legs on a chair), are so effective. I’ll write soon specifically on inversions and how they work (see "Just in Time for the Holidays: Inverted Poses").

And in weeks to come, we’ll provide further information about all seven of these options for triggering the relaxation response: meditation, breath practice, restorative yoga, Savasana, Yoga Nidra, mindful yoga practices, and inverted poses.

By now you may be saying to yourself that while these practices definitely seem like a bargain compared to vacations and spas (free to be exact), they seem like a bit of work. Can’t I just skip all this “practicing” stuff and get a bit of shuteye instead? Sorry, but it turns out the state of conscious relaxation you achieve by triggering the relaxation response is very different than sleep, and I’ll be discussing that difference in my next post (though, of course, a good night’s sleep is also important for your physical and emotional health). See here for a comparison between conscious relaxation and sleep.

What about turning on the TV or reading a good book? Activities, such as TV and reading, while good distractions, aren’t necessarily relaxing. Hey, suspense, though good for a plot, can be very stressful, and I not only cry at the movies, but sometimes during sad parts of a novel! I’m not saying you should never watch TV or read, just that these activities can’t take the place of the conscious relaxation that yoga provides. So as Baxter said last week, "Got 10 minutes?"

And now, dear readers, I’d like to ask you for your help. What are your favorite yoga stress management techniques? What do you find the most useful? And have I overlooked anything? Also, if you’d like to vote on which yoga stress management techniques you’d like to hear about first, let me know. Leave your answers in a comment to this post or email them to me (see Contact Us on the right side of the blog).