This session is part of the 21 Day Breathwork Challenge.
If this is the first time tuning in and you'd like to start at day one,
If you follow my profile Inge Volsink,
You can find all the available previous sessions there.
You can also find all the other tracks in the playlist,
The 21 Day Breathwork Challenge.
Are you ready?
Let's begin.
Hi and welcome to this practice session on slow nasal breathing.
This breathing session is about slowing down your breath in a coordinated way.
In case you suffer from anxiety,
Asthma,
High blood pressure,
Are pregnant or for any other reason your BOLT score is low,
Please be aware that the slowest pace of breathing in this session may be too slow for you.
This may result in unconsciously hyperventilating,
Breathing too deep,
Too fast to deal with a feeling of not having enough oxygen.
Or it may result in feeling anxious or jittery because you're not used to having your carbon dioxide levels rise.
If you feel nauseous,
Anxious,
Dizzy or you feel tingling sensations,
This is a sign that your body needs a bit more time to get used to slow breathing.
That's okay and know that this will improve with time.
The most important thing is to keep your breathing regular and sustained over the full length of your breath as you slow down your breathing consciously.
One of my favorite pranayamas is Nadi Shodhana.
Nadi Shodhana is the purification of the relaxing Ida and activating Pingala,
Which are,
According to yoga philosophy,
Energy channels.
It is also called alternate nostril breathing and it is an ancient yoga nasal breathing technique that was designed for you to balance the use of your nostrils and find balance between energy and relaxation.
This technique involves breathing through one nostril at a time and switching from one to the other.
Alternate nostril breathing is also an excellent technique in mindful nasal breathing and you will find it works very well for calming and steadying the breath and your mind.
And it's an excellent tool to retain memory of motor skills as we have learned in our theory session on nasal breathing.
As you may also remember from the theory session on nasal breathing,
The flow of air through each nostril is rarely equal.
The nostrils alternate in dominance approximately every 90 minutes.
If you check each nostril for airflow right now,
You are likely to notice that one is more open than the other.
The one that is more open is considered the dominant nostril.
Our Nadi Shodhana will take about 5 minutes in which we will slow down our breathing pace to about 6 cycles,
10 breaths per minute.
At some point you will notice that I start counting down seconds.
If that happens,
Try to extend your breath over all the seconds so it becomes as steady,
Slow and light as possible.
You can aid this process by allowing your diaphragm to move freely which,
As you learned in module 1,
Is aided by an erect posture and by your abdomen and the intercostal muscles of the ribs.
Make sure you sit up straight,
Shoulders are relaxed and allow your belly and ribs to release and expand on the inhale so your diaphragm has space to move.
And use your deep core muscles and ribs to assist the exhales so you exhale completely.
Between breaths,
You allow a natural pause to occur.
If you know your bolt is low,
So below 10 seconds,
And if at any point you feel like breathing slowly becomes irregular,
Don't force yourself.
You can always take a break and join me again when you feel ready.
When you are ready,
Let's begin.
Sit comfortably,
Hold up your right hand and place the middle and peace finger between the eyebrows.
You now have your thumb and ring finger free to close off your right and left nostril and alternate between them.
Take a few conscious breaths through the nose using both nostrils.
Close your right nostril and exhale fully through your left.
Inhale fully through the left.
Close the left nostril,
Open the right,
Exhale fully through the right.
Inhale fully through right.
Close right with your thumb,
Exhale left.
Close left with your ring finger,
Exhale right.
Switch,
Exhale left.
Switch,
Exhale right.
Inhale right.
Switch,
Exhale left.
Inhale left.
Switch,
Exhale right.
Inhale right.
Switch,
Exhale three,
Two,
One.
Inhale three,
Two,
One.
Switch,
Exhale three,
Two,
One.
Inhale three,
Two,
One.
Switch,
Exhale three,
Two,
One.
Inhale three,
Two,
One.
Switch,
Exhale three,
Two,
One.
Inhale three,
Two,
One.
Switch,
Exhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Switch,
Exhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Switch,
Exhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Switch,
Exhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Switch,
Exhale five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Switch,
Exhale five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Switch,
Exhale five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Switch,
Exhale five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Inhale five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale left.
Exhale right.
Inhale right.
Exhale left.
Inhale right.
Exhale left.
Exhale right.
Inhale right.
Exhale left.
Exhale right.
Inhale right.
Exhale left.
Exhale right.
Inhale right.
Release your nose.
Relax your hands onto your knees.
Relax your shoulders.
Breathe normally through the nose and gently open your eyes.
There are several ways to determine which nostril to start Nadi Shodhana with.
We have now started with the left,
But you can also start with the dominant nostril or determine the start by the time of day,
Starting with the left in the morning and the right at night.
I encourage you to experiment with this and see what feels good for you.
To maintain a habit,
Do things matter most,
Make it simple and make it enjoyable.
So find the best and easiest way for you to do this practice.
As always,
If you enjoyed this particular practice or are enjoying the breathing journey you are on,
Please leave your insights,
Your experiences and your feedback in the review section.
Your input means a lot to me and might mean a lot to any people who are trying to find these practices in order to improve their health.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
Have a lovely rest of your day.
