‘Surya’ means sun and ‘bhedana’ means piercing and in Yoga the right nostril is the Surya nadi so Suryabhedana pranayama the right nostril is used for inhalation and left for exhalation.
Suryabhedana Pranayama technique:-
1. Sit comfortably in any meditative posture on the mat or chair with an erect spine.
2. Place your left hand in Chin Mudra on your left knee and adopt Nasagra Mudra with your right hand.
3. Press the left nostril with the little and ring, placing the forefinger
and middle finger to the center
of the forehead. Close your eyes.
4. Inhale to a count of 4-6 breaths from the right nostril, filling up the lungs to maximum capacity, then
hold the right nostril and exhale through the left nostril to a count of 8-12 breaths.
5. This completes one round of Suryabhedana Pranayama.
6. Practice 8-10 rounds.
7. Then relax and come back to
normal breathing.
Benefits:
1. Suryabhedana Pranayama activates the sympathetic nervous system.
2. Increases the efficiency of the digestive system.
3. Cleans the frontal sinuses, destroys disorders of Vata and destroys intestinal worms.
4. Increases the body temperature and provides warmth and is very
effective for weight loss.
5. Relaxes the mind reducing stress, tension and other mental illnesses.
6. Provides relief to people suffering from cold, low blood pressure
and asthma.
7. Destroys all the diseases that are caused by insufficiency of oxygen
in the blood.
8. Gives all the benefits of deep breathing as well.
Precautions:-
1. To be practiced on an empty stomach, in the morning or evening.
2. People with heart diseases, high blood pressure or epilepsy should avoid this pranayama.
3. To be avoided if you have fever.
4. Inhalation and exhalation should be in a ratio of 1:2 and can be reduced if you are uncomfortable.
Namaste!
Neelanjana Bharadwaj
Yoga Expert
neel_bharadwaj@yahoo.com
Instagram: – yoga_me_and_more