Left or Right?
You might not realise as you sit here peacefully reading this, but your body hard at work on the never-ending task: trying achieve balance, or homeostasis.
A delicate act, like walking a tightrope. Fluidly tilting from one side to the other, never still.
The body has several in-built mechanisms to do this, and many of them act by influencing the nervous system. One such mechnaism is the Nasal Cycle.
Every two hours, your body automatically cycles between the left nostril, and the right nostril. At any given time, one nostril will always be more dominant, with more airflow.
Try it out: place a finger horizontally underneath both nostrils, and exhale, slowly.
You should notice that one nostrils is more strong, or flowing than the other
But how?
The inside of each nostril is lined with a special type erectile tissue, yes, exactly the same kind of erectile tissue 🍆
When this erectile tissue inside a nostril fills with blood, the nostril closes up. This restricts airflow, and makes it harder to breathe through that nostril.
At the same time, blood exits the erectile tissue of the opposing nostril. This opens up the nostril, making it easier to breathe.
If you’ve ever gone to bed with a blocked nose, you’ll know the exact feeling – when you lie your head sideways on your pillow, gravity increases blood flow to the nostril on the bottom – and it blocks. Whereas the nostril on top, clears of blood, and becomes easier to breathe from.
What are the effects of the nasal cycle?
Each nostril induces different activity in the nervous system and the brain. So depending on which nostril is dominant, at that time, we see differences in the body and mind.
Ancient Yogis were 10 steps ahead of us, even without modern scientific technology at their disposal, they proposed that each nostril is part of a separate, and opposing nadi (energy channel):
The left nostril is part of the cooling, calming Chandra (moon) nadi
The right nostril is part of the warming, energising Surya (sun) nadi
Millenia later, modern science has finally caught up, and this is what we see:
Knowing this, we can use it our advantage, and manipulate the body just by changing which nostril we breathe through. For example, if you’re having trouble falling asleep, try lying on your right side. The left nostril will be more open, and dominant - helping your body to relax, and fall asleep.
Many alternating nostril breathwork and pranayama exercises, balance airflow between the nostrils, and in doing so bring balance to the body and mind.
Techniques such as Nadi Shodan, Anulom Vilom, and others, can help us momentarily neutralise nostril dominance. Creating a calm & relaxed, but energised & awake state.
Well, give it a go!