When was the last time you actually paid attention to your breath? Like really noticed it? If your answer is ‘Ummm… breathing is automatic, isn’t it?’ then this episode is for you.
While our autonomic nervous system does take care of breathing for us, so we don’t die, we can consciously use our breath to balance our emotions, boost our energy and even calm our mind so we can enjoy a restful night’s sleep.
Yes, our breath is that powerful! We simply need to know how to use it, so it can support us in living with more ease. That’s why today on I Love Me The Podcast, I’ll be teaching you my Balancing Breath Practice, and how to take that practice out into everyday life.
So whenever you’re scattered, stressed or overwhelmed… If you’re feeling flat or low on energy… You can use this simple, yet highly effective breath practice to re-centre, re-align, and bring your left and right brain back into blissful harmony.
Simple, inspiring lessons in self-love. Hello balanced being, it’s Tamra here.
We know our breath is important, because its the first thing we do when we come out of our mother’s womb; we take a breath.
Then our beautiful autonomic nervous system keeps us breathing, so we don’t even have to think about it.
Yet, as the years go on, we start to form some habits and ways of doing life, that can interrupt healthy breathing patterns.
Most of us end up breathing well enough to survive, but not well enough to thrive.
Neither are we taught how to use our breath to energise us when we’re flat, and calm us down when we’re.. well.. a bit agitated.
Yet that’s the magic of the breath.
By simply changing the way we breathe, we can change our mental and emotional state.
And through making these changes to our breathing, we can guide the body into deeper states of healing, and greater consciousness.
Pretty cool, right?!
So that’s what I’d like to share with you today; a breathing practice that can change your mental and physical state, depending on what you need at that particular point in time.
Because if you’re about to give a presentation at work, you might need an energy boost, whereas, if you’re trying to get to sleep, you might need your body to calm down from your busy day.
And we can use the breath to support us making those different physiological changes.
Taoist leader Mantak Chia once wrote:
‘The breath is the gate through which we gain control of our body.’
And I would like to add gain control of the ‘mind’ to that quote.
Because when we place our focus on the breath, it helps us be more present so we can connect more deeply with ourselves and our experiences.
So let’s begin by exploring how breathing through the Left Nostril creates a different affect in the body, to breathing through the Right Nostril.
When we only breathe through the left nostril we’re activating the right hemisphere of the brain.
The side that’s associated with creativity and feelings.
It’s also responsible for helping to calm us down while integrating unwanted negative emotions and stress.
So when we breathe through our Left Nostril, it activates our parasympathetic or ‘rest and digest’ part of the nervous system, lowering blood pressure and body temperature.
It’s cooling, relaxing and associated with lunar or yin energy.
So if you’re feel a bit hyped up, agitated, emotionally disturbed for whatever reason, or simply moving too fast and feeling pressured and stressed out, take a moment to sit up tall and spend 3-5 minutes breathing through your left nostril.
You simply use your finger to block of your right nostril, and then breathe, long slow deep breathes.
Or…
If you’re having trouble going to sleep at night, this the perfect time to do left nostril breathing.
If you notice you’re left nostril is blocked, simply roll onto your right side, and this will help your left nostril drain.
Then once it has…
Simply block off your right nostril, and spend 5 or so minutes just breathing through your left nostril.
I recommend left nostril breathing to my clients who struggle to get to sleep at night, or have trouble getting back to sleep when they wake up in the middle of the night.
Because this little practice is so simple, and so effective, in turning off that active part of our brain, so we can gently guide the body into a blissful state of calm.
What about if you’re feeling flat and need more energy?
Then you practice right nostril breathing.
Breathing in through the right nostril accesses the left hemisphere of the brain, giving us clarity and putting us in a positive mood.
The left side of the brain is our ‘thinking’ and ‘logical’ side.
When we breathe through our right nostril it increases circulation, body temperature, blood pressure and heart rate…
And can be described as warming, energising, projective and associated with sola or yang energy.
It’s the perfect pick-me-up in the afternoon, instead of heading to the snack machine.
Or a practise to put you in the perfect space for something that requires your full energy and attention; like performing, or doing a presentation.
Interestingly, when our breathing is on auto-pilot, there will be more air being taken in by one nostril, and then it will switch about 90-minutes later to the other nostril.
You can check now, which nostril you’re breathing in through by simply placing your hand under your nose, and noticing which nostril is releasing more air as you exhale.
Or you can block one nostril and breathe, then do the same with the other nostril, and notice which one feels easier to breathe through.
The easier of the two, will be the nostril that is most active for you right now.
And you may notice that correlates with how you feel overall.
So what happens when we practise breathing through one nostril then the other as part of a breath practice?
We put ourselves into a state of peak performance, where we can combine the qualities of both sides of our brain.
And this leads me to share with you the Balancing Breath Practice.
If you’re a keen yogi you may have heard this practice referred to as Alternate Nostril Breathing.
But whatever name you choose to use, this practice soothes and calms, while at the same time energises the whole nervous system.
Yes, consciously alternating our breath between either nostril activates the whole brain, creating a deep sene of wellbeing and harmony on all levels; physical, mental and emotional.
When the right and left hemispheres of the brain come into synchrony, they energetically fuse to create a standing wave form, that resonates with the transpersonal space.
What that means in non scientific talk, is that when our logical and creative parts of our brain work together in harmony, they create a powerful, stable energy pattern.
This energy aligns us with the part of us that is free from limiting beliefs and ideas.
It helps us see beyond our perceived limitations, so we can start to experience ourself as our True Self.
I talk more about limiting beliefs in Episode 2, and more about our True Self in Episode 4, if you want to learn about those ideas in more depth.
So if you’re looking to create change in your life and bust through some old patterns and beliefs, or simply want to enjoy calm and greater overall harmony, the Balancing Breath Practice is a powerful tool you can use.
It’s a practice that will help get you out of your head, so you more easily access your inner voice of truth.
In just 3 to 5 minutes you can revitalise your whole nervous system.
It’s a pretty handy practice to pull out of your self-love tool-box when you feel off-centre but have to do your job or study or go about your day.
If you feel nervous or irritated about an upcoming business meeting..
This practice will help you ground and recenter, so you can be effective in your communication at the meeting.
So let’s look at how to do it…
The Balancing Breath Practice works with the breath pattern of inhaling through the left nostril, exhaling out the right nostril, inhaling through the right nostril, then exhaling out through the left nostril.
If you’re in a place where you can practise now, I’ll guide you through, so you can have an experience for yourself…
So simply come into a seated position…
You can be on a chair, or sitting cross legged on the floor, whichever feels comfortable in your body, and allows you to sit up tall on your sit bones.
Those pointy bones at the bottom of your pelvis.
Feel your heart lift, as your shoulders melt down your back and allow your left hand to rest on your left knee, palm facing up.
Then bring your right hand up to you face.
Let your middle finger, ring finger and pinkie rest on your palm, so you can use your thumb and index finger to block off your nostrils.
You may like to close your eyes, or simply soften your gaze, so you can connect more easily with your breath.
Blocking off your right nostril now with your thumb, inhale slowly through your left nostril, feeling your lungs expand in all directions, and when they’re full, pause, releasing your thumb, close off your left nostril with your index finger, and exhale through your right nostril.
Once you’re empty, inhale through your right nostril until your lungs are full..
Then releasing your finger, place your thumb on your right nostril, and exhale through your left nostril.
Inhaling through your left nostril, feeling the air enter your lungs, as you reach capacity switch nostrils, and exhale out your right nostril.
Spine tall, as you inhale through your right nostril, pause as you block off your right nostril, and let the air out through your left nostril.
Continue this breathing pattern, going as slow as the breath will allow.
Each time you fill up with air, switch nostrils.
As you allow the breath to guide you into presence, you’re activating the right and left hemispheres of your brain, creating a deep sense of harmony and wellbeing, emotionally and physically.
So as you continue to breathe in this way, simply notice how you feel.
Making this your last cycle now.. feeling the breath balancing and centring you…
Once you complete this round, take your right hand down to your right knee, palm facing up.
Inhale through both nostrils… and exhale a soft silky sigh… ahhhhhhhhh…
Gently fluttering your eyes open, take a moment here to notice how you feel.
Once you get the hang of this practice, you’ll start to feel yourself connecting with it more deeply, so that all you need is a few minutes of it, to reap the benefits.
And to get started I would encourage you to do it once a day – at a time that feels manageable for you – make a habit of it, and then allow yourself to use this practice as you need it.
What I LOVE about this Balancing Breath Practice, is that it really doesn’t take much time at all, to help bring you back to centre.
Which is such a gift in the crazy busy world we live in; to have a tool we can use to guide us back into a more harmonious state, so we can communicate better, be more productive, and simply feel good as we go about our day.
Don’t forget…
If you need a pep up, you can do right nostril breathing, and if you need help coming into a calm, peaceful space, you can do left nostril breathing.
And if you’d like to learn more breath practices like this one, I teach more techniques and tools around the breath in both my Sexual Self and Yoga for the Vagina programs.
You’ll find all the details at my school gettingnaked.com.au where I teach people how to strip off the layers of conditioning, so they can love and accept their most beautiful selves.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed this episode and want to leave a short review or rating, I would be so grateful.