Today's talk is inspired by the radical rest that we're creating within our bodies,
Within our beings,
And in our communities as an individual and collectively,
Right?
So today I want to talk to you about a breath work technique that is known as Nadi Shodhan.
Okay,
You might hear it pronounced Shodhana.
Okay,
And so I lived in India for a little under a year and in this time I learned that,
You know,
The same way that,
You know,
Down south people pronounce things different than people that live in Ohio or New York,
Right?
And that is the same exact way with India.
There's different dialects,
Right?
So fun fact,
Boom,
Boom,
Boom.
So Nadi Shodhana is a cleansing pranayama technique.
So when I say pranayama technique,
There's a couple different aspects that come with that.
So prana,
Life force energy,
This is in everything,
Everywhere.
Ayama,
To control or to expand.
So when you bring those together,
You are expanding the dimension of prana.
Where?
Within your being,
Within your space,
Within your atmosphere,
Within your aura.
Must be nice.
So Nadi,
Let's go back,
Let's rewind.
Nadi is channel.
We have so many channels in our body.
We have meridian points,
Over 72,
000 meridian points.
We have channels in our body.
We have nadis,
Which can translate to river,
Channel,
Streams,
Right?
It is the passageway that's happening.
We're talking about the three main ones,
The passageway that's happening between the ida,
Which is the feminine,
The pingala,
Which is the masculine,
And the shishunma,
Which is the center neutral energy.
And these nadis are the channels.
So we are purifying our chakra system through Nadi Shraddha,
The purification.
Because where is this left and this right,
This ida and this pingala?
It's flowing back and forth.
It's starting on one side and moving back and forth through the chakra system in the shishunma channel,
In Nadi,
Right?
So it's important to remember,
If you've ever taken a live with me,
If you've ever taken a class with me,
If you've ever heard me share yoga,
You will hear me say,
Lengthen through your spine.
Why am I asking you to lengthen through your spine?
Because when you lengthen through your spine,
You sit up nice and tall.
You're allowing that prana,
Life force energy,
To flow freely through your shishunma.
Shishunma is located in the center point.
Where is the center point?
That's spine.
So when you are sitting up nice and tall,
You are aligning yourself for exactly the moment for shishunma to be cleansed.
The moment for this prana to rise.
So there's a circular motion that happens and I want to talk to you about Nadi Shodan.
So Nadi Shodan is a gentle practice,
Great for everyone.
So we don't practice any breath techniques on an empty stomach.
So make sure that you do take that into context.
Nadi Shodan.
To practice Nadi Shodan,
The cleansing of the channels,
Balancing the left and the right hemispheres of the brain.
Ida being feminine or moon energy,
Chandra energy,
And pingala being masculine and surya energy.
So you know,
We say surya namaskar,
Right?
That is a salutation to the sun.
Surya,
Sun energy,
Solar,
Masculine,
Right?
Pingala.
Okay.
So if you come back and you listen to this a few more times,
You'll get this into you.
Okay.
It's like,
Kind of like vocabulary.
It almost feels like a mini YTT because I share these,
These very,
Very,
Very much so fundamental things in the YTT.
Nadi Shodan,
Practicing it for four minutes a day for the next 21 days,
I want you to take a pledge.
I want you to come back here after the 21 days and re-listen and let me know exactly how it went for you.
Four minutes a day,
You are going to rewire,
Cleanse,
And clear.
Oh my gosh.
I love this for you.
This metamorphosis.
So sitting up nice and tall,
We're using our right hand.
We're bringing the middle finger and the pointer finger together.
Okay.
Middle index are coming together.
Ring finger is going to be the one that's blocking off the left nostril and thumb is going to be the finger that's blocking off right nostril.
Now the pinky is just going to hang out real,
Real,
Real,
Real,
Real fancy like,
Okay.
You can hold it out on the side.
You can grip it in.
Just try,
Try to find as less tension as possible.
Okay.
So with that right hand bringing the middle finger and the index finger together,
That's that pointer finger.
We're going to place it right in the center of the eyebrow,
Right here on the third eye center.
We place it here because we want to bring some stimulation right here.
Again,
It's a technique that's happening so we can quiet our mind from the outside distractions,
Right?
That space of pratyahara,
That sensory withdrawal.
So when we withdraw our senses by closing the eyes,
We enheighten other senses.
Okay.
We are going to begin by bringing the index and the middle finger together.
They're going to rest at the center of the third eye.
Okay.
And then we're going to take our thumb,
Block off the right nostril.
Inhale into the left nostril.
Close your left nostril with the ring finger.
Exhale,
Right.
Inhale into the right nostril.
Close right.
Exhale,
Left.
Inhale,
Left.
Close left.
Exhale,
Right.
Inhale,
Right.
Close right.
Exhale,
Left.
Last time.
Inhale,
Left.
Close left.
Exhale,
Right.
Inhale,
Right.
Close right.
Exhale,
Left.
I'm going to bring that right hand down.
Inhale into both nostrils.
Exhale out from both nostrils.
When you try this for four minutes a day,
Come back and let me know your experience.
Namaste.
