What Nostril Are You Dominant & How Does it Affect Your Health?

I’ve been doing lots of studying Eastern Medicine lately as part of my continuing education credits for Ayruvedic Massage. There are so many fascinating health principles that actually make lots of sense. Probably the only time you think about breathing through your nose is when you can’t. Lot’s of people have been suffering from allergies since it’s spring and pollen and blooming is in full swing.

There is a natural rhythm called the nasal cycle and every hour and a half it is said that your body rotates dominate nostril breathing. You likely don’t notice it. Seventy-five percent of the time you are likely to breathe mostly from one nostril.

Which nostril are you predominant?  To see which one you could hold a nostril close and test breath which is better or hold a mirror below and see which is last to have condensation evaporate.

Left nostril breathing is something well known in yoga, meditation and kudalini yoga.

With regular practice, alternate-nostril breathing can bring better balance to your nervous system and less stress response and activity over time. It lowers blood pressure. Deep breathing and alternate-nostril breathing slow your heartbeat and lower your blood pressure. It improves breathing.

In the yogic system of breathing, the right nostril dominance corresponds to activation of ‘Pingala’, the subtle energy channel of yoga, which is related to sympathetic arousal; the left nostril dominance to ‘Ida’, which is the representative of parasympathetic activation.

Reminder…..The sympathetic system controls “fight-or-flight” responses. In other words, this system prepares the body for strenuous physical activity. This system is often in overdrive in people that stay stressed out all the time and just crank out the cortisol which can lead to weight gain, poor sleeping and adrenal overload. The parasympathetic system regulates “rest and digest” functions. The two systems work together to keep your body in balance which in fact many people are often unbalanced. Put a another way, Yogic practices suggest, and scientific evidence demonstrates, that right-nostril breathing is involved with relatively higher sympathetic activity (arousal states), while left-nostril breathing is associated with a relatively more parasympathetic activity (stress alleviating state).

Energy flowing through the left nostril is described as feminine energy and is characterized by a more introspective mood. It is symbolized by the moon, expressed in self-reflection, manifested in intuitive or artistic forms of thought and right brain activity, receptive by nature, and generates coolness.

Alternate Nostril Breathing

Continue that for about ten times on the right side: close the left nostril, inhale through the right, then close the right, and exhale through the left, close the left, and inhale through the right, close the right, and exhale through the left.

Alternate-nostril breathing is safe for most people. Although gentle exercises like this can help your breathing, if you have a lung condition like asthma or COPD, you might find it hard to take deep breaths. Take your time through the practice. If you use inhalers, keep them nearby.

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