Hi, I gave up pranayama since I can’t close one nostril, any of them, it just closes my sinuses completely and I my nose gets blocked.
So, knowing that I can’t close one nostril and breath through the other, is it worth doing pranayama at all?
I have a book or two on yoga/pranayama, could I go through them as described in the books and simply skip the pranayamas that involve closing one nostril?
Pranayama is integral part of yoga. Whole yoga science is based on it.
In fact, practice of pranayama will help fix your nostril issue also. But it will take some time. Also you should be practicing under expert guidance so that teacher can make some modification for you, based on your limitation.
I personally don’t think that real benefit of yoga is possible without pranayama practice. This is my experience and observation both.
I can’t do it for more then a few seconds until my sinuses close completely, I tried for years it’s just not possible.
So should I skip those one nostril pranayams? Or just not do pranayama at all?
Start doing Jalaneti. Other breathing exercises like Bhastrika and Kapalbhati may be useful.
I have one student having nasal polyps issue. She has seen around 80% relief in breathing issues.
But please make sure you do practice under guidance and not through books. If you can take breath , you should be able to do at least few pranayama (There are many pranayama by the way)
Instead of pressing down on the nose to close the airway, try to just cover the nostril with the finger and then thumb. Doing this gently might minimize closer.
I also concur with SohamYogaStudio, do Jala Neti - it definitely helps. It’s weird at first but after a few times the nose comes to love it.
As to your question, is it obsolutely neccessary - no. It is just another thing that really helps us on our Path. It helps stabilize the mind, purify the system, balances, increases, and gets the energy flowing, just being a few of the benefits. In the end though, Yoga is not dependent on pranayama.
Also, pranayama is not just about alternate nostril breathing. Check out Donna Farhi’s and Thich Nhat Hanh’s books on pranayama. Both introduce us to working with the breath without all the bells and whistles.
Hope this helps.
Be Blessed…
Pranayama should only be practised under the guidance of a competent teacher.
Since you are attempting some form of alternate nostril breathing you could attempt to do it mentally i.e. not closing the nostrils but imagining the breath moving up one nostril then down the other in a triangular shape.
Alternate nostril breathing forms only a small part of pranayama so do not be disheartened by this apparent setback.
Also, you could try Padadirasana for the blocked nostril.