Sitali Breathwork

Cooling for the mind and body

• It affects important brain centres associated with biological drives and temperature regulation
• Cools and reduces mental and emotional excitation
  • Reduce agitation and anger
    • Mental tranquility
    • Helps to reduces BP and stomach acid
• Encourages the free flow of prana through the body
  • Especially good for the Pitta body types
  • AVOID: if it’s cold weather or you have cold/flu symptoms
• Calming
  • Muscular relaxation
• Lowers body temperature
• Can help you to focus

Source: Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha – Swami Satyananda Saraswati

How to:

• Come to sit in a comfortable position
• Close the eyes and relax the whole body
• Extend the tongue out of the mouth without strain
• Roll the sides of the tongue to create a tube
  • If you’re not able to roll the tongue then lengthen the tongue out as much as you can
• Tilt your head upwards
• Inhale: draw the breaths in through the tube of the tongue, or along the surface if not rolling
  • At the end of the inhale, retain the breath into the body and bring the head to neutral
  • Imagine the breaths going all the way down into your body and cooling you on each inhalation
  • Let the breath have a sound of iciness
  • You should feel a coolness to the tongue and in the roof of the mouth
• Exhale through the nose
• Keep the breaths steady and calm
  • Not over-breathng or straining the breaths
• Hold your awareness on the coolness of the tongue and mouth
• Complete: 5-10 rounds – noticing how you feel

NOTE: As we are breathing through the mouth, the air doesn’t bypass the nasal passages which warms, humidifies and cleans the air before coming into the delicate lungs, so make sure you don’t do in cold weather or dirty/polluted air.

CONTRA-INDICATIONS: DO NOT do this practice if you:

• Suffer from Low BP
• Respiratory disorders ie: asthma, bronchitis, excessive mucus
• Heart disease – then do NOT retain the breaths in the mouth
• Chronic Constipation: as the lower energies of the body cool
• DO NOT practice in Cold or wintery weather

 

Source: Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha – Swami Satyananda Saraswati