Right side, left side?

Yoga Discussion Structural Yoga Therapy
#1

Hello, I want to thank you for being so available for answering questions. I also have some confusion about the breath. You have told us that lying on the right side activates the left nostril. And did you say that if they will be going back to work or returning to some activity where they have to be alert, t hat we should have them roll onto their left side, so that the right nostril is activated? Let me see if I can get this right. The left nostril is the yin energy. That feeds into the right brain then? Now, Maya Tiwari has said that when you go to bed, you should activate the right nostril, the yang energy, so that there is balance with the predominant yin energy of night. And she says that during the day, the left nostril should be more active. So, if that is true, if I am teaching a noontime yoga class at a corporation where people have to go back to work, should I have them roll over onto their right side to activate the left nostril.

Thanks for your help. H

#2

The reflex you understand is an axillary reflex that opens the opposite nostril. Studies reported in Breath, Mind, and Consciousness by Harish Johari speak of research on this by a Kundalini Yogi scientist on the effects to brain patterns and as potential therapy. I find going to sleep lying on the right side works best. For an active group I would end class with them lying on the left side. The reflex takes 30-120 seconds to activate. So unless you keep a group class there for 2 minutes it may not work for them. Yin and Yang are Chinese concepts and i cannot correlate them to understanding Yoga concepts.