Hey there,
Welcome back.
So this is part two of alternate nostril breathing,
Nadi Shodhana.
So the video you just watched hopefully was a warmup or showed you how to breathe through one nostril and then the other.
Seems obvious,
But it can be quite tricky.
If you noticed when you were breathing through one nostril at a time,
You may have noticed that heart rate lift a little,
That mind get a little bit busy,
Right?
Or a little panic set in.
Is there enough oxygen around?
And there is,
Right?
That's part of this breathing.
It calms the mind by slowing the breath down to a pace that the heart rate itself slows down and the mind itself can slow down,
Which helps you to feel and actually be a bit more present.
So that's what this breath is going to do.
We're going to help to balance ourselves.
So this variation,
Breathing does exactly what it says it does.
We're going to take air in through one nostril,
Release it out of the other,
Take it back in that other one,
And release it out of the one we started with.
Don't worry,
I'll take you on the journey.
Again,
I will be mirroring you so my hands will look different than yours.
You're just going to listen to what side.
So the right hand is the one we're going to use here.
Two-piece fingers,
I find it the most helpful to place them on your third eye,
Right in between your eyebrows so they get out of the way.
We'll be working with our thumb to control our right nostril and our ring finger to control our left nostril.
Some people,
Instead of placing the fingers on the third eye,
Like to curl them into the hand.
But if you're anything like me,
That ring finger goes along for the journey and it's not terribly comfortable.
Plus,
We get the added perk of two-piece fingers on that third eye,
Slowing the parasympathetic nervous system down even more.
So why not get that cherry on top if we can,
Okay?
So we'll start sitting up nice and tall.
Again,
Whatever seat feels good to you.
Heavy butt bones,
Light crown of the head,
Get yourself stacked up as much as feels good.
You can always lean back against the wall,
And by lean back I mean sit up tall against a wall.
You can sit on a blanket,
Which is what I love to do.
You can sit on a yoga block,
A prop,
A pillow,
Anything that feels good,
And you're also welcome to kneel as long as those knees are happy and healthy.
We want to take our body,
Set it out of the way,
And just focus fully on our breath.
Hands rest down.
Remember right and left side,
Not only for your hands,
But for your nostrils.
Good.
Eyes blink closed if that feels good or a soft gaze down.
Take a full breath in through both nostrils.
Big sigh out.
Breath in through both nostrils.
Big sigh out.
Good,
Seal your lips,
Breath in through both nostrils.
Breath out through both nostrils.
Good,
Right hand,
Two peace fingers,
Place them on your third eye,
Breath in through both nostrils.
Breath out through both nostrils.
Good,
Let's go on our journey.
Thumb seals off the right nostril.
Breathe in through your left nostril.
Pause,
Cover your left,
Release your right,
Breathe out through your right.
Breathe in through your right.
Pause,
Cover the right,
Breathe out through your left.
Breathe in through your lap.
Pause,
Cover the left,
Breathe out through your right.
Breathe in through your right.
Pause,
Cover,
Breathe out through your left.
Breathe in through your left.
Pause,
Cover,
Breathe out through your right.
Breathe in through your right.
Pause,
Cover,
Breathe out through your left.
Breathe in through your left.
Pause,
Cover,
And breathe out through your right.
Breathe in through your right.
Pause,
Cover,
Breathe out through your left.
Breathe in through your left.
Pause,
Cover,
Out through your right.
In through your right.
Pause,
Cover,
Out through your left.
Good.
See if you can find two more rounds on your own.
Breathe in.
Cover,
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Cover,
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Cover,
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Hover,
Breathe out.
Beautiful.
Two more rounds at your own pace.
As you complete your last round through your left nostril as an exhale.
No rush,
Release your hands down to rest.
Continue that deep breath in through both nostrils.
And out through both nostrils.
And see if you can sit up a little bit taller and notice what you notice now.
Breath comes in through both nostrils.
And slower,
Deeper out through both nostrils.
Good,
Gently flutter your eyes open if they closed or refocus them.
And notice how your mind feels.
Notice how your body feels.
Just a little bit of breath,
Right?
A few minutes of slowing down and really focusing that breath.
Again,
This one works magically any time in the morning or at night to settle you into bed and calm the mind or to focus the mind to head into the task at hand.
The left nostril connects with that parasympathetic nervous system,
Slowing everything down.
The right nostril connects to the sympathetic,
Turning everything on.
So by focusing breath through one and then the other and back again,
We're turning on the different parts of the brain on and then settling them off so they get used to working together.
And they can settle and slow.
Just notice how different you feel.
Don't get wrapped up on,
Oh,
Did I do it right or did the pattern work?
The more you do it,
The more familiar it feels,
Right?
The more the mind focuses on the pattern,
The more the breath flows,
The better you feel altogether.
Hope that helped.
And remember,
If you're stuffy,
Clogged,
Or sick,
It's not gonna work.
So set it aside for another time.
Maybe this one's to try another day.
But I hope you feel good,
And I'll see you soon.
