Balance your energy in 5 minutes with Nadi Shodhan Pranayama

Nadi Shodhan is one of the most important Pranayama, by practicing it daily for five minutes you can balance your energy.

Nadi Shodhan is a Pranayama similar to Anulom Vilom, which we have already taught here. The difference between them is very small and both are very easy to do and learn.

‘Nadi’ is all the veins we have in our body and ‘Shodhan’ means cleansing and purification, therefore Nadi Shodhan means cleansing the veins.

It is important to understand that for Yoga there are three channels that are super important: Ida, Pingala and Sushumna. The channel called Ida represents the left side, its entrance is the left nostril. Pingala represents the right side and in the center we have Sushumna.

This Pranayama in the past was used by the great masters to meditate. Thus, this Pranayama is very important for meditation, to achieve balance.

The left side, ‘Ida’ represents the moon, the feminine, while the right side, ‘Pingala’ represents the sun, the masculine.

When we do Nadi Shodhan, the Prana is cleansed, the Prana that flows through the channels, when both sides are well worked through this Pranayama, we enter balance and are able to connect to Sushumna (the central channel) for cleaning.

Who should not do Nadi Shodhan Pranyama

There is no restriction for this Pranayama, that is, everyone can do it. Nadi Shodhan is the only Pranayama that should be done very slowly.

When to do Nadi Shodhan Pranyama?

As always, the best time to do this Pranayama is in the morning, while still fasting. But if you can’t, you can also do Nadi Shodhan in the afternoon, as long as three or four hours have passed since your last meal.

Benefits

This Pranayama brings great benefits to meditation and to balancing the energies of our body.

Nadi Shodhan Pranyama step by step

1. Sit comfortably with your spine and neck erect.
2. Rest your hands in your lap, one on top of the other on top of your foot.
3. Use your right hand to cover your right nostril using your thumb and inhale through your left nostril
4. Cover your left nostril with your middle finger and exhale through the right
5. Repeat procedure 3 and 4 for one minute
6. Take two normal deep breaths
7. Use your right hand to cover your left nostril using your middle finger and inhale through your right nostril
8. Cover your right nostril with your thumb and exhale through the left
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 for one minute

Yoga and Ayurveda can help you in different areas of your life. For more Yoga, meditation and breathing exercises check out this page here.