Nadi Shodhana (Channel Cleaning Breath)

Namaskaram

Image courtesy of gracefulwaves.com

The Headache and everything that follows along

Have I mentioned about how much I suffer when I have a migraine attack. It starts with a slight twitch at the side of my head and that twitch penetrates to my whole head, and creating a tension belt headache. It gets so painful that after an hour or two my senses around my heads numbs and I feel nausea, dizziness and loss of focus. I also suffer from temporary amnesia e.g. I drove to my parent's when I am supposed to be driving to work, forget the spelling of certain words, cannot seem to remember my telephone number. Scary? Yes, it is.

I am not sure if this is called migraine, because I never bothered to check. I have been through a very sick period in my life which led me to each and every top medical centers in Kuala Lumpur. I hated checkups, medical routine and whatsoever they call it. At one point, I just quit. I told myself, if I'd die, let it be, but I am not going to die this way for sure. Here I am now, a decade, typing about it in my blog :P

The Cure - at least for me

That explains why I never bothered getting my headache checked, it came by and went as it pleases. Until I found my dear yoga. Today I am going to share with you on this very relieving pranayama called Nadi Shodana. This breathing technique helps to relieve stress and helps to balance the energy flow on both sides of your brain. For some reason, this helped my headache. No more head pounding, numbness, memory loss experience for me. Thanks to Nadi Shodana.

The Steps

Image courtesy of yoga-mar.blogspot.com

1. Sit down in Padmasana / Full Lotus pose - Whichever that suits you best. Make sure you are comfortable.
2. Use your right hand. Place your 2nd and 3rd finger in between your eyebrows. Try to close your left nostril with your ring and little finger and then let it go. Then, try to close your right nostril with your thumb. Note: RIGHT HAND | RING and LITTLE FINGER, LEFT NOSTRIL | THUMB, RIGHT NOSTRIL. 
3. After trying out your fingers to close your nostrils, adjust your hand position to get comfortable if necessary.
4. Close your RIGHT nostril with your THUMB before we start.
5. Start by breathing in your LEFT nostril for 3 counts. Inhale slowly and deeply. Feel the air moving through your nostril, between your eyebrows (trikuthi), to inside your throat, and fill up your lungs.
6. Close your LEFT nostril with your RING and LITTLE FINGER. Hold for 3 counts.
7. Open your RIGHT nostril and exhale through it for 3 counts.
8. Inhale again through your RIGHT nostril for 3 counts.
9. Close your RIGHT nostril with your THUMB. Hold for 3 counts.
10. Then exhale through your LEFT nostril for 3 counts.
11. This is one set/one round.

Remember to always start on your LEFT and end on your LEFT. You may do about 3 to 5 sets in a day. You can also increase your count from 3 to 5 counts. As you practice you will notice how long and deep your can inhale and exhale with control. This pranayama will also help to train your lung capacity.

Hopefully you will close the doors forever to headaches and migraine.

Wishing you Peace, Love and Harmony

Om