Have you ever heard the word Pranayama?
They are breathing techniques or exercises, which provide multiple and different benefits to our body.
There are different Pranayama, so called in the ancient East and each of them is indicated for a different purpose. Some breaths activate and invigorate the body, and others help calm and regulate it.
At GGcare we like to promote general well-being. Everything nourishes, feeds, protects or harms our body. The foods and products that we ingest, the substances that we put in the skin and also the breath.
To feel completely healthy at all levels, we must know how to choose everything we give to our body.
Therefore, it is beneficial and essential to learn to be aware of our breathing to achieve complete and healthy functioning of our interior, of all the organs that are connected and also of our emotions and therefore of our well-being.
Our breathing is related and connected to our mind and emotions. As we feel, we breathe and vice versa. Do you know that we only use 20% of our lung capacity to breathe?
The benefits are very high for both our physical and mental well-being. If we learn to breathe correctly and above all to be aware of it, we will be able to control and regularize our mood, emotional and nervous state.
Alternate Breathing - Pranayama nadi sodhana
Today we share with you this breathing technique. It is a pranayama that calms, oxygenates and nourishes the brain in addition to regulating energy and oxygen in the lungs and the rest of the body.
How it works
- Synchronizes the two hemispheres of the brain.
- It acts by reducing mental noise (excess thoughts) because the brain is oxygenated.
- In the brain we have 3 glands that control the rest of the body: the pineal gland (3 eye for Hindus), the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. These 3 glands feed on breathing and oxygen and the way to do this is through nasal breathing.
- By regulating and providing necessary oxygen to the brain, we control, regulate and cleanse our body.
- By being aware of breathing as in this case, we manage to relax the nervous system and therefore obtain a state of emotional and general well-being.
Benefits
- general calming effect.
- decrease in thoughts.
- regulates the correct functioning of the hormonal system.
- calms the nervous system.
- decreases heart rate.
- reduces stress and anxiety.
Why it works
In the brain, the two sides are different and at the same time complement each other. In the nasal passages the meaning is the same, so it is important on the side we breathe to be able to control or regulate some of its functions.
- Left side: it is the emotional, intuitive and feminine part. In India it represents the cold and the moon.
- Right side: it is the most mental, decision-making and masculine part. In India it represents heat and the sun.
Every day we can feel more covered up on one side.Being aware will help us improve our well-being.
Trick: Look at which side you feel most covered up and that is where you should work more in your life.
In cases of headache, tension is of great help because it clears the head, the mind and eliminates tension.
How to perform the technique
Sit with a comfortable posture. It is important to keep the spine straight, without straining. You can use a cushion on the floor, bed or just a chair.
We will use 3 fingers of the right hand, the thumb to cover the right nostril and the ring and little fingers (both together) to cover the left nostril.
It's easier than it seems. By covering the right you breathe through the left and vice versa.
- Thumb, right nostril cover.
- Ring and little finger cover the left nostril.
- Keep the remaining two fingers lowered, touching the palm of the hand.
- you must intersperse your fingers to cover one side of the nose and the other, while you inhale and exhale on the opposite side.
In the following sequence we show you the order of breathing.
- Cover the right nostril and exhale through the left . Take a breath to the left and change sides.
- Cover the left and take air from the right . Take air from the right and changes sides.
- Cover the right and exhaust air from the left. Take air from the left and changes sides.
- Cover the left and draw air from the right . Take air again from the right and change sides.
When to perform pranayama
- practice 5 minutes when you need
- When you go to bed: it will take you to a moment of concentration, eliminate mental noise and relax your muscles to enter a restful sleep.
- When you wake up: You will feel more energy, calm to start the day. They oxygenate the brain, the glands regulate themselves and therefore regulate the rest of the body.
- You can do it at any time of the day, just by being in a place where you can sit and be aware for 5 minutes.
Contraindications: pregnant women, flu and colds. GGcare always recommends that you consult with a professional when in doubt.
