Two Breathwork Practices

Hello, sweet patrons. Take a deep breath. 

In this short video, I share with you two Pranayamas that you can bring into your day that might help to calm your mind, release some anxiety, cool the body, and if paired with some other sleep hygiene habits, might even help you fall asleep.

Chandra Bhedana Pranayama:
Moon Piercing Breath is single nostril breathing. By always inhaling through the left nostril, and exhaling through the right, we focus our energy through Ida Nadi or the left energetic channel. If you have an interest in learning more about the energetic channels and bodies, let me know and we can enjoy practices that bring our attention to this fascinating aspect of ourselves. In the meantime, know that we have 3 main nadis that run through our centre - The Ida (left), Pingala (right), and Sushumna (centre).

In alternate nostril breathing, we are balancing the left and right. In Chandra Bhedana Pranayama we focus our energy through the left nostril, which is said to cool the body and calm the mind and nervous system. This in turn can help relieve anxiety and worry and can help with our sleep. It's important to know that we are all different, and although generally all of the above is true, it might not be true for you. Please try it a couple of times before you write it off. There can be a heap of reasons why something didn't work the first time, and then it did the next.

Go slow. Try to allow the breath to naturally slow down with each round.
You don't have to press very hard on your nose. Sometimes just a gentle touch on the crease of the nostril is enough.
Try to keep your head straight. Sometimes we lean towards our hands (I even did it in the video), but focus on keeping your head as neutral as possible.
DON'T OVERTHNK IT.

Box Breathing:
This is a wildly popular breathing exercise all over the wellness corners of the internet right now. It is a very good technique for calming the mind, and it has the added bonus of being able to be done anywhere without anyone noticing - if you care about that sort of thing.

Keep the inhales, exhales, and retentions even in length. Use counting or OMs or anything else that keeps you focused on the breath.
DON'T OVERTHINK IT.

You've got this. I believe in you. And I'm so proud of you.
If you have any questions, or if you have a suggestion for a topic, please be welcome to reach out to me. I'm here for you. I appreciate you endlessly.
Thank you so much for your trust.

Kim
OM