How to calm down your racing mind?
Left nostril breathing and its benefits
We were two, three minutes into our session when my life coach stopped me:
“Hazel, wait, wait, wait! Wait for a sec. Your mind is racing, and we need to do something about it.”
Normally such a feedback wouldn’t surprise me at all. I’m well aware that my mind goes a thousand miles an hour. I speak fast, then faster, eventually too fast. No matter how fast I speak though, there is never enough time to finish my sentences.
But that night, I wasn’t being my usual hyperactive self. As it was late, I’d just came home from my basketball training, had a shower and I was feeling exhausted. Even my mind was slow. That’s why I was stunned by her reaction.
How come in such a short time did she realise that my mind was going nuts? Well, I guess she’s an expert.
She told me, “Here’s your first homework. I want you to do left nostril breathing for eleven minutes every day”.
Excuse me? It didn’t sound fun and 11 minutes sounded like an eternity.
That’s how I got introduced to left nostril breathing for the first time and I’ve been doing it ever since.
What is Left Nostril Breathing aka Ida Nadi?
Both ancient wisdom and modern science tell us that we have two energies in our body. In Kundalini yoga they call them Ida (the feminine) nadi and Pingala (masculine) nadi. The modern science refers to them as the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
Ida is associated with the energy of the moon. It is calming, reflective and receptive. If you need to simmer down, when your mind is racing faster than a hurricane, or when you can’t go to sleep, try left nostril breathing.
Right after the call that day, even though I was quite reluctant, I decided to be a good student and at least try to do my homework.
Firstly, 11 minutes passed more quickly than I was anticipating. Also, the exercise wasn’t as much of a torture as I thought it would be.
Once you start doing it regularly, you’ll start to see (seeing) its effects on your circulatory system and nervous system.
I experienced clarity in my mind for the first time in my life. I had easiness falling into sleep. I could concentrate better.
I also experienced the opposite when I skipped the exercise. Some weeks I was busy, so I didn’t have or make time to do the exercise. Inevitably, my mind was going back to that previous state of chaos. Shutting down my brain was then impossible.
Now I know how to bring my awareness to my mind and when to do the exercise. I try to do it everyday. Of course, I might skip or forget somedays. Some days, I wake up and realise that my mind starts to rush before I could even open my eyes. That means I need left nostril breathing. Other days, I do it before going to bed. Just focus on your mind and listen to what it says.
Additionally, a little info about Pingala nadi, the right side. It has the energy of the sun: bright, fiery, awakening and male. If you need energising and waking up, then use right nostril breathing.
How to do Left Nostril Breathing?
- Sit in an upright, but comfortable position.
- Shoulders up, back and down.
- Take a few deep belly breaths before you get started.
- Bring your right hand up. With your thumb, gently press on the right nostril. Have the rest of your fingers straight, pointing upwards towards the ceiling. Make sure to have your fingers together, touching each other rather than having them spread.
- Start inhaling and exhaling from your left nostril. Your breath should be relaxed and deep. Focus on breathing from your belly.
I like breathing in for 4 beats, then holding it for another 4 beats, then exhaling for 8 beats. It may take some practice to do it this way. You can start by only focusing on your breath without counting the seconds or holding it. Then with time, you can increase the length.
How often and for how long should we do Left Nostril Breathing?
The science says, you should do it for at least three minutes to see its effects on your body. My coach told me that yogis do it for 31 minutes every day.
I started doing it for 11 minutes everyday as my coach asked me. I’ll admit that I was quite nervous before the first try. I told you I’m hyperactive right. The idea of doing nothing for 11 minutes scares me. My past experience with meditation didn’t help me either, since after doing it only for a few minutes, it felt like an eternity.
This time, I promised myself that I’d try it properly. I set my timer to 11 minutes and focused on my breathing. Actually the time passed quite fast. I was surprised when I heard the timer.
Difficulties
I find it difficult to keep my arm, hand and fingers in this position for 11 minutes. Sometimes I sit with my knees folded above me and rest my right elbow on my knee.
Sometimes my thumb aches as well. I try to support it somehow.
Another point is that it might look a bit weird. A few days ago, I was walking at the beach and stumbled upon a swing. I thought such a perfect spot to do my breathing exercise. While I was doing it, I felt as if people around me were looking at me. I tried not to care and not to look like as if I’m sniffing something into my nose.
My favourite spot
The Swedish sauna at the gym is my favourite place to do this exercise. The hourglass measures 15 minutes. So I can guess more or less how much time is equivalent to 11 minutes. Nothing bad happens if I do it 10 or 13 minutes either.
Hope this article gives you enough nudge to go out and try it out.
If you already have a calm mind, you might try the right nostril breathing.
If you’d like to read more about this exercise, here are two concise articles about the subject.
Left Nostril Breathing (For calming) https://www.grdhealth.com/articles/left-nostril-breathing-calming
The Ins and Outs of Alternate Nostril Breathing https://yogalondon.net/monkey/the-ins-and-outs-of-alternate-nostril-breathing/#:~:text=The%20first%20breath%20in%20nadi,calming%20side%20of%20our%20bodies
