You must be familiar with this tremendously amazing breathing practice (Pranayama) known as Nadi Shodhana, it is one of the primary ones which is recommended to practice if your goal is healthy living.
So when you hear about it, you get fascinated by it and want to try it to find out how it will benefit you. You sit down on your mat, close your eyes, and raise your hand to begin Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Shodhana).
What you realize after you start the practice by covering one of your nostrils and inhaling through the other, is that there is something surprising: one side of your nose feels wide open and clear, while the other one feels naturally congested and narrow.
You start to wonder if you have some issue but it's completely normal. Even though it feels there is something wrong, this asymmetry is not a cold or an allergy?it is your body?s natural nasal cycle. At any given moment, your autonomic nervous system selectively engorges the erectile tissue in one nostril, restricting airflow on that side while opening the other. Usually, this cycle alternates every 90 to 240 minutes throughout the day.
When we practice Nadi Shodhana, our goal is to achieve synchronization of this natural rhythm and this pranayama is designed specifically for this.
By manually altering nasal airflow, you send targeted electrical signals along olfactory pathways to opposite hemispheres of your brain, which helps you in balancing your sympathetic (alertness) and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) nervous systems. And makes it function at an optimal level.
3 Neurological Mechanics of Alternate Nostril Breathing:
1. Unilateral Nasal Resistance vs. Hemispheric Brain Activation
What Is The Mistake: Pushing the air out forcefully through your congested side or narrow side of the nostril by using strong pressure of breath.
What Happens In Your Body: By forcefully breathing against swollen nasal turbinate, it will create negative pressure inside the paranasal sinuses. This will cause facial tension, trigger mild sinus headaches, and make your sympathetic nervous system alert, which will defeat the relaxing purpose of the practice.
How to Correct It: Restfully keep the index and middle fingers of your right hand in between your eyebrows (Vishnu Mudra). Then gently close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale softly through the left nostril for 4 counts. Left-nostril airflow communicates via olfactory pathways with the right brain hemisphere, and this helps in inducing a cooling and parasympathetic effect on your mind.
2. Rapid Mouth-Breathing vs. Nitric Oxide Delivery
What Is The Mistake: Switching the nostrils too quickly during the practice or when you are breathing through the mouth which makes you gasp for the air as you are feeling difficulty in breathing through the nose.
What Happens In Your Body: Mouth-breathing bypasses the paranasal sinuses entirely. This depletes carbon dioxide levels too quickly and prevents nitric oxide ?a potent vasodilator produced in the sinus cavities?from reaching your lower lung lobes to maximize oxygen uptake.
How to Correct It: Keep your mouth gently closed during the whole practice. And while you breathe in through your left nostril for 4 counts, you do it by using your thumb to cover the right one and after that cover both gently and hold your breath for 2 counts. After that you let your thumb go and breathe out slowly through your right nostril for 6 counts. When the air flowing through your right nostril helps your left brain hemisphere. This is good for gaining more mental clarity. And most importantly it helps you think clearly without giving you any anxiety related issues.
3. Forced Breath-Holding vs. Rhythmic Autonomic Tuning
What Is The Mistake: Holding your breath (Kumbhaka) for way too long, which makes your chest feel tight and your heart beating faster.
What Happens In Your Body: When you aggressively retain breath, it elevates arterial blood pressure and simulates a defensive adrenaline surge, which completely overrides the parasympathetic benefits of pranayama.
How to Correct It: Maintain a smooth, unforced 1:1 or 1:1.5 breath ratio. Inhale through the right nostril for 4 counts, pause for 2 counts, and exhale through the left nostril for 6 counts. After you complete this, one full round balances both branches of your autonomic nervous system, stabilizing your heart rate variability (HRV).
Nadi Shodhana Practice Checklist:
Soft Touch: Are you keeping your fingers gently rested on the nasal bridge without putting pressure on the cartilage?
Sub-Maximal Flow: Is your breath flowing smoothly with no sound, even when it's passing through the narrower passage?
Extended Exhale: Are you making sure that you are exhaling for a longer time than your inhalation in and that too in a smooth manner?
Relaxed Face: Are you keeping your jaw region, shoulders, and forehead completely relaxed, un-clenched throughout the whole practice of Nadi Shodhana pranayama?
Medical Caution:
You must have this understanding that this practice of Nadi Shodhana pranayama should always feel calming, relaxing and without any effort in every breath and at every moment.
If you are having any type of issues while doing the pranayama, like lightheadedness, air hunger or sinus discomfort etc. We will highly recommend that you discontinue this technique immediately and return to natural nasal breathing.
If you are dealing with problems related to sinus infections or severe nasal polyps or you have blood pressure issues which are not under control, you must not do any type of breathwork which requires you to hold your breath. Instead you must do the breathing practice in which you focus only on gentle and natural inhalation and exhalation. Make sure that you consult your doctor before you begin this practice, especially if your situation is really bad.