ヨガの呼吸法と自律神経のお話
Timothy McCall先生の記事、お約束でしたので、掲載します。
2つのうちの一つです。
丁寧な訳ではないですが、先生の言わんとしていることは伝わると思います。
Yoga as Medicine Seminar で学んで来た彼のメソッドはこれからのヨガの核になると私は信じています。
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以前の記事でヨガの呼吸法を練習することの大切さとブラマリー呼吸(ハチの呼吸)について書きました。
今日は片鼻呼吸法に付いて書きます。
殆どの人が一日のある一定の時間片側の鼻から呼吸をして、またある一定に時間反対の鼻から呼吸をします。
(Yoga as Medicine 62ページ参照)今では右の鼻から呼吸することで交感神経が活性化され、左の鼻で呼吸することが副交感神経を活性化することが解明されてきています。
これとほぼ同じことが実は昔のヨギの本にも書かれています。左の鼻腔(イダ)は女性、月、冷却を象徴し、右の鼻腔は筋肉、太陽、加熱を表します。
現代社会では多くの人がこの自律神経系を崩していて交感神経が優位になっています。
少数の人は副交感神経が緊張し、慢性疲労症候群に悩まされています。
片鼻呼吸法を試したことがなくても、写真でみたことが有るでしょう。
大抵の場合右手の親指で右の鼻腔を抑え、薬指で左の鼻腔を押えます。
しかし意外と難しいものです。
そんな時は実際に指は使わずに想像力を高めながら「なんちゃって片鼻呼吸」をすれば良いのです。
とても簡単で効果は絶大、ヨガの初心者にはもってこいの練習法です。
これを練習するには瞑想時の姿勢を整えてあげると良いでしょう。
リラックスして座り腰は自然なカーブを保ち、脱力してゆったりとした呼吸何度か繰り返します。
最初は左の鼻から息を吸い、右の鼻から息を吐きます。次は右の鼻から息を吸い、左の鼻から息を吐きます。
そして繰り返します。
呼吸法の練習に慣れていなければ、最初は1分程度で十分でしょう。
そして時間があれば、瞑想も練習しましょう。
この片鼻呼吸(ナディショダナ)の練習は、心と身体を鎮め、瞑想に集中するマインドを整えてくれるぴったりの練習だと言われています。
もしあなたが、アサナを練習するヨギでこの呼吸法と瞑想を省略しがちなら、この先2週間、2分の片鼻呼吸と3分の静かに座る時間(瞑想)を食事の前(どの食事の時間でも)に持ってみて下さい。
その効果にはきっと目を見張るものがあるでしょう。
In my last post Pranayama for Everyone: Bhramari Breath I wrote about the importance of pranayama (yogic breathing practices) and introduced one of my favorites, Bhramari, the buzzing bee breath. Today, I’m going to tackle the pranayama I consider the most important: alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana or Anuloma Viloma).
It turns out that almost all of us breathe primarily through one nostril for parts of the day, and then switch to breathing primarily through the other nostril at other times. The ancient yogis knew wrote about this and modern science has confirmed it (see p. 62 of my book Yoga as Medicine for details). Research has confirmed that breathing through the right nostril is linked to the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), whereas left nostril breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system. This is pretty much exactly what’s described in ancient yogic texts, albeit using metaphoric language. The left channel ida [pronounced ee DAH] is the feminine, lunar, cooling side, the texts say, whereas the right channel pingala [pronounced peen gah LAH] is the masculine, solar, heating side.
Many people in the modern world have an imbalance in their nervous systems, usually too much activation of the SNS, the flight or fight response. Others, such as some people with chronic fatigue syndrome, have too much parasympathetic tone. In either case, alternate nostril breathing can be useful. In Ayurveda, Nadi Shodhana is felt to be good for people of all constitutional types. I have found it particularly useful for students with an increase in the vata dosha (see Autumn, Healthy Aging and the Ayurvedic Dosha Vata), which is especially common now as we move into the cooler weather of the fall season.
If you have never tried alternate nostril breathing, you may have seen pictures of yogis using their fingers to alternately close of one nostril, then the other. Typically the thumb of the right hand is used to close off the right nostril and the fourth finger (or sometimes the fourth and fifth together) is used to block the left nostril. This “digital pranayama” is a wonderful practice that I’ve done daily for many years. But not everyone can do it.
For example, some people with arthritis find it too cumbersome or painful to use the fingers this way. If you’ve got a deviated septum or nasal congestion, digital alternate nostril breathing similarly may not work well due to the obstruction to air flow. In these instances, mental alternate nostril breathing, where you simply imagine to air going into one side and out the other is a great option. And the practice is so simple and safe that I often teach it to beginners.
To practice mental alternate nostril breathing, sit as you would for meditation, relaxed but perched high enough that your lower back can have its healthy inward curve. With your eyes closed, slowly breath in and out a couple of times. Then imagine you are inhaling through the left nostril and that you are exhaling through the right nostril. Next imagine inhaling through the right nostril, and exhaling through the left. Continue this pattern:
Inhale left
Exhale right
Inhale right
Exhale left
If you’re new to pranayama, try this practice for just a minute or so. If it feels comfortable, you can continue for five minutes or longer. Since you began by inhaling on the left, end your session after an exhalation out the left nostril. Did you notice that your breath followed your intention?
If you are comfortable, I’d suggest you sit quietly for a few minutes after you finish or, if time allows, do a meditation practice. The ancient yogis taught that the balancing effects of Nadi Shodhana make it the perfect prelude to meditation, helping your meditation be calmer and more focused.
If you are an asana practitioner who tends to skip both pranayama and meditation, I have a challenge for you. For the next two weeks, try to do two minutes of mental Nadi Shodhana, followed by three minutes of sitting every morning before eating (or another time that suits you), and let us know how it goes. I suspect you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.
http://yogaforhealthyaging.blogspot.jp/2013/10/balancing-your-nervous-system-with.html