The Magic of Breath Work, & The Science Behind it’s Power.

Breath work is a fantastic resource to call upon in times of stress, anxiety, and overwhelm, and yet there are so many of us who still don’t realise just how powerful it is at bringing us back down to earth when we need, or giving us some much needed drive and energy when a situation calls for it.

Each month, in our free online community practices, we always begin with a breath work practice that allows us to connect to the flow of prāṇa around the body, via the breath. Because prāna is not just the breath alone, and prāṇāyāma is not simply breath work. Prāṇa, is a Sanskrit word that roughly translates to “life”, thus prāṇāyāma is how we experience the flow of life circulating the body, which can be so much more than our breath alone. Connecting to our prāṇa is often easiest (initially) via breath work.

The beauty of breath work in-particular is how it works with, our central nervous system, via the Vagus nerve. The Vagus nerve is the tenth cranial nerve, and the longest nerve serving the autonomic nervous system, it originates at the base of the brain stem, and flows down either side of the spine, where it passes the thorax, and vital organs before inserting into the abdomen. Thus, the Vagus nerve serves as a highway of information between brain and body, regulating essential involuntary functions such as heart rate, breathing, and digestion, allowing it to support the parasympathetic nervous system (our “rest and digest” response), which helps keep us calm following stressful situations, by lowering the heart rate, aiding digestion, and maintaining overall homeostasis in the body.

This is where the magic, and science of breath work become really cool, because when we find ourselves in stressful situations, our sympathetic nervous system becomes activated, with information flowing to and from the brain and body via the Vagus nerve, naturally shifting us into “fight, flight, freeze or fawn”. In order to remain calm, we have the power to deactivate the sympathetic nervous system, activate the parasympathetic nervous system, and shift ourselves into “rest and digest”.

There are many breath work practices to help us do this, and today I am going to share a practice called, nadī shodhana, that has a balancing effect on the energy of the body, bringing us into a more grounded state of being by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Nadī shodhana is Sanskrit for “channel clearing”, and is also referred to as alternate nostril breathing because we consciously breathe through one nostril at a time, closing the other to do so. Let’s give it a try together…

Photo by David Kouakou 

Step by Step:

1. Bring your awareness to your right hand
2. Take your two peace fingers and place them on the centre of your forehead
3. Glide down to the space just above the centre of your brows (ājñā chakra)
4. Place your ring finger over your left nostril, closing it
5. Inhale through your right nostril
6. Close your right nostril with your thumb
7. Release the left finger from your left nostril
8. Exhale through the left nostril
9. Inhale through the left nostril
10. Close your left nostril with your ring finger
11. Release your thumb from your right nostril
12. Exhale through your right nostril

This is one round. Repeat for five to ten rounds to begin with, and either practice with your eyes closed or the gaze softened to thwarts the ground in front of you.

Key Benefits of Nadi Shodhana:

1. Calms the body and mind by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, shifting us out of “fight, flight, freeze or fawn”, and into “rest and digest”
2. Improves mental clarity, focus, and concentration because it is a practice of sustained attention training
3. Balances energy within the body
4. Improves respiratory efficiency thanks to slower, fuller, and more controlled breathing

Practice with me:

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Main – Photo by GuiGo Lopes