The aim of this practice is to work with the breath to balance our nervous system,
The left and right hemispheres of the brain and our emotions,
And to bring a state of calm and clarity.
Before we begin,
Let's talk a little bit about the hand position we're going to use.
We want to bring the index finger and the middle finger to rest between the eyebrows centre,
And we're going to use the pad of the thumb and the ring finger to block off each nostril gently as we work to alternate the breath between the two nostrils.
So have a go now,
Bringing the index finger and the middle finger up,
Blocking off each nostril in turn,
And press into the space at the top of the crease of the nostril there.
Okay,
Now relax the hand down,
Sitting comfortably,
Spine long.
Take a few breaths in and out,
And each exhale,
Relax.
To begin,
Let's focus on the flow of breath up and down the spine.
Inhale,
The breath moves from the base of the spine up to the eyebrow centre,
Exhale from the eyebrow centre down to the base of the spine.
Slowing the breath down,
Having a sense of breath and energy moving along the length of the spine as you breathe in and out.
And now let's bring the hand up,
Right or left,
Whatever is comfortable for you.
Placing the two fingers at the eyebrow centre,
And let's begin by blocking off the right nostril and taking a breath in through the left nostril.
Block off the left nostril with the ring finger and breathing out through the right.
Breathe back in through the right,
Block off the right,
Open the left nostril and breathe out the left.
Breathe back in the left nostril,
Blocking it off,
And breathing out the right.
Back in through the right,
Block off the right,
And breathe out through the left.
Continuing,
Breathing in and out through each nostril.
And just let the breath be gentle and easy to start with,
Allowing it to get used to that slight constriction we've introduced by blocking off each nostril.
And as you work with the breath,
Keep the focus on the flow of breath up and down the spine.
As you breathe in the nostril,
Feel the breath move up the length of the spine to the eyebrow centre.
As you breathe out the nostril,
Focusing on the breath moving from the eyebrow centre down the length of the spine.
Bringing your breath to an even count,
Inhale the same length as your exhale.
Ensure that you fully breathe all the way out as you exhale,
And a full inhalation right to the top of the lungs.
And if you've gotten a bit lost,
Just checking in.
Inhale through one nostril and then out the opposite nostril,
Then back in that nostril and out the other.
So this breathing called Nadi Chodhana,
The aim of this is to balance our autonomic nervous system.
In times of stress,
The sympathetic system is more active,
Bringing on that fight or flight response,
And it's highly stimulating.
So we want to increase the activity of the parasympathetic system,
Which is associated with rest,
Digest and relaxation.
As you become more comfortable with the practice,
You might like to let go of the count and just intuit it,
Fully focusing on the breath as it's moving up and down the spine.
Knowing that we're also working with the left and right side of the brain,
Balancing the activity of the logical,
Thinking,
Planning,
Organizing,
Doing left brain and the creative,
Emotional,
Imaginative,
Intuitive right brain.
And on a deeper,
Subtle level,
We are working with energy channels in the left and right nostril and the spine.
Just relax,
Ensure that there's no strain or tension in the breath,
That the shoulder and the face is relaxed,
And be sure that you have full attention to your breath at each moment.
And the next time that you breathe out through the left nostril,
Relax the hand down and let go of any conscious direction of the breath,
Any counting.
Just observe,
Experiencing the body and the breath as it is now.
Just allowing yourself to be fully here in the present moment.
Allowing yourself to just be.
To bring the practice to a close,
Become aware of your whole body sitting.
Observe the outline of your body and the space your body occupies.
Become aware of your position in the space of this room.
Aware of the walls around you,
The ceiling above you.
You might like to move the body in gentle ways,
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes.
