Physical Education · Ch 3 — Yoga as Preventive Measure for Lifestyle Disease
Surya Bhedhana Pranayama
Surya Bhedhana Pranayama
Surya means the sun and bhedhana means to get through or to pierce. In Surya Bhedhana Pranayama all inhalations are done through the right nostril and all exhalations through the left. In yogic physiology the right nostril is linked with the warming, energising solar channel, so this is a heating, stimulating breath. For obesity it is prescribed because raising the body's internal heat and digestive fire helps improve a sluggish metabolism and digestion.
Drawn by us to help you understand the concept clearly, and verified to make sure it's accurate. For exams, practice from your textbook's own diagram.
A person seated in a cross-legged meditation posture with the spine erect, using the right hand in Nasagra mudra at the nose — the ring and little fingers closing the left nostril so the breath is drawn in through the right (solar) nostril, wi …
Procedure
- Sit in any meditation posture, for example Padmasana or Sukhasana, and close the eyes.
- Keep the left nostril closed with the middle and ring fingers of the right hand.
- Slowly inhale, without making any sound, through the right nostril, for as long as is comfortable.
- Then bring the hand down to the knee and retain the breath, firmly pressing the chin against the chest (chin lock) and at the same time contracting the rectum muscles (anal lock).
- This degree of retention cannot be reached at the very start; increase the period of holding the breath gradually — this is the limit of the practice.
- Exhale very slowly, without any sound, through the left nostril, closing the right nostril, and then release the anal lock and the chin lock.
- Relax and come back to the original position. Do this 3 to 5 times.
Breathing pattern (as a board question often asks): inhale through the right nostril, retain the breath with the chin lock and anal lock, then exhale slowly through the left nostril — never the other way round.
Benefits
For obesity, this heating pranayama supports metabolism and cleansing:
- Performed regularly, it purifies the brain and destroys intestinal worms and diseases arising from excess wind (Vayu).
- Helps manage rhinitis and various kinds of neuralgia. …