WhatYourBreathingTellsYou

Inthelastpost,wediscussedtheimportanceofhealthysleepcycles.Therearealsoothernaturaldailycycles
inthehumanbodythatwecaneasilyobserve.BeingintunewithNatureisanimportantpartofwellnessand
allroundgoodhealthphysical,mentalandspiritual.Sohereweexploreacyclethatguidesusonthebest
timesduringthedaytomeditate,dophysicalactivity,mentalactivityandrest.
Ifyouwatchyourbreathyouwillfindthatitisusuallyflowingmoreinonenostrilthantheother.Checkandsee
whichoneofyournostrilsisbreathingdominantlyatthismoment?

Intheancientyogicshastras,1greatsignificancewasgiventoobservingthebreathing.Therightnostrilwas
associatedwiththeSuryaNadi[Suncurrent]andisalsocalledPingala.Theleftnostrilwasassociatedwiththe
ChandraNadi[Mooncurrent]andisalsocalledIda.
Nadimeans'floworcurrent'.Intheancienttextsitiswrittenthattherearethousandsofnadisinthepsychic
bodyofahumanbeing.Likechakras,theyarenotlocatedinthephysicalbody,thoughthenervesofthe
physicalbodyaretheircorrespondingphysicalmanifestations.ThemeridiansofChinesemedicineare
somewhatcomparabletonadis.
Nadisarethesubtlechannelsalongwhichthevitalforcesofpranaflow.Outofthemanynadis,fourteenare
consideredmoreimportant,andofthese,threearethemostimportantida,pingalaandsushumna.2
Sushumnanadirunswithinthespinalcord,fromthebaseofthespinetothebrowchakraandissilveryin
colour.Chandranadiemanatesfromtheleftsideofthebasechakra,passingthrougheachchakrainturnina
curvingpath,finallyendingontheleftsideofthebrowchakra.Suryanadiemanatesfromtherightsideofthe

basechakra,passesintheoppositedirectionuptotherightofthebrowchakra.ChandraandSuryaarethe
pathwaysofthetwopolaroppositesoflifeforceflowingwithinus.
Thesecurrentsoperatealternatelyandthecurrentthatisflowingatanyparticulartimeisdeterminedbythe
flowofbreathinthenostrils.Ideally,therightnostrilshouldbepredominantduringthedaytimeandtheleftat
night.Theimpactofthesecurrentsonourphysiologyisdirectlyrelatedtothemovementofboththesunand
moon.

Whentherightnostril(Surya)isactive,thenvitalenergyismoreactiveforphysicalwork,digestingfood,etc.
Themindisoutwardfocusedandthebodygeneratesmoreheat.
Whentheleftnostril(Chandra)isactive,themindisintroverted,andanykindofmentalworkthatrequires
concentrationcanmoreeasilybedone.Chandranadiflowsmoreduringsleep.
Whensomethingisnotright,suchasanillness,aswitchcanoccur.IfSuryaflowsmoreatnight,youwill
becomerestlessandfinditdifficulttosleep.IfChandraflowswhenyouareeating,thedigestiveprocessis
affected,causingindigestion.
Allouractivitiesareinfluencedbytheflowofthesenadis,whichalternateapproximatelyeveryonetotwohours.

Itispossible,however,toaltertheflowvoluntarilybyusingwillpowerandcertainyogictechniques.For
example,ifthereisworktobedone,butyoufeelsleepy,youcandirecttheflowofpranatotheSuryanadi,
gainingenergy.ThiscanbedonebySuryaNadipranayama.3
Thesetwonadisappeartocorrespondtothetwohalvesoftheautonomicnervoussystemthesympathetic
andparasympathetic.Suryacoincideswiththesympatheticnerves,whichstimulateexternalactivities.The
parasympatheticnervesreducetheheartbeat,constrictthebloodvessels,andslowtherespirationsothatthe
individualbecomesintroverted.
Theflowofpranainthesetwonadisisinvoluntaryandunconsciousunlessyogicpracticescontrolit.Sothatis
whyintheoldendayspeoplewouldgetupandexaminetheirbreathing.Ifitwasnotasitshouldbe,theywould
drinksomehotwateranddothingslikepranayama,walking,etc.
Ifyouareverycareful,justaroundsunriseandsunsetyouwillwitnessaslowshiftfromrighttoleft,orleftto
right.Andifyouhappentomeditateatthattime,yourprogresswillgolikearocket,asitisjusttherighttime.
TheSushumnanadiisactiveandbalanceistherebetweenyoursympatheticandparasympatheticsystems.
Whenyougotosleepby9or10o'clockatnight,observetherightnostrilswitchtotheleft.Ifyougetsufficient
amountofsleep,yourrightnostrilwillautomaticallybepredominantfirstthinginthemorning.Overmillennia
thesesystemshaveevolvedinusandwhenthesunrisescertainhormonalpatternsaretriggered.Ifyoufollow
therhythm,thenyourhealthwillautomaticallyimprove.
Whathappensifyoustayuplateatnights?Whenyourstrengthandyouthfulnessstarttodecline,youwillbe
swimmingagainstthecurrentandyourdeclineinhealthwillspeakvolumes.Itisgoodtosetapatternearlyin
life,intunewithNature.
Allthebest,
Daaji
1ChandogyaUpanishad,verse8.6.6,PrasnaUpanishadverses3.63.7,VarahaUpanishad,54/5
2http://sahajmargyoga.blogspot.de/2015/12/suryaandchandranadisreferredby.html
3http://vaazhgavaiyagam.blogspot.de/2015/02/chandranadipranayamasuryanadi.html

WatchthehighlightsfromtherecentlyheldHeartfulnessMeditationConferences2016inDetroit,LosAngeles
andNewJerseyorlearntomeditateatwww.heartfulness.org
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