Chandra means the Moon, and bhedana means passing through. In this prānāyāma, the left nostril is used for inhalation and right nostril is used for exhalation. It is said that on inhalation, energy passes through Ida (Chandra) Nadi and on exhalation through Pingala or Surya Nadi.
The word “nadi” is often mistaken – it is not a nerve. In Yoga, it means an energy channel though which prānā flows.
While there are thought to be 72,000 nadis though our body, the three main ones are इडा – ida (comfort), पिङ्गल – piṅgala (solar) and सुषुम्णा – sushumna (kind).
Ida is the feminine – the creative, the cooling aspect of our personality. The Chandra-bhedana prānāyāma activates the ida nadi, and it’s counterpart, the surya-bhedana prānāyāma activates the pingala nadi.
If you recall, I had spoken of Swara Yoga earlier. Swara means ‘the sound of one’s own breath’, and yoga means union. Swara yoga thus enables the state of union to be reached by the means of one’s own breath. You may also recall me saying that most of the time, we breathe from one nostril only. We will have a separate exercise to measure this phenomenon, and work on improving both the quality of our breath and it’s rhythm.
The ida and pingala are central to this practice of Swara Yoga, and we start by recognising these pathways, strengthening them, and switching the flow of breath from one nostril to another.
The tantric concept of Shiva/Shakti, the twin forces existing within each individual, can be seen in the structure of the brain and pranic body in terms of ida and pingala. It certainly substantiates the idea of a person having two minds, one positive and the other negative, and even the theory that there is a male and female side in everyone. The concept of “ying and yang” was extrapolated from this school of thought.
Since this is a preparatory course, we will just get introduced to such concepts. As we delve deeper, we will speak more about swara yoga and how something as simple as your breath, can end up changing the way you live, love and experience life!
अपाने जुह्वति प्राणं प्राणेऽपानं तथापरे ।
प्राणापानगती रुद्ध्वा प्राणायामपरायणाः ।
apāne juhvati prāṇaṁ prāṇe ’pānaṁ tathāpare
prāṇāpāna-gatī ruddhvā prāṇāyāma-parāyaṇāḥ
And there are even others who are inclined to the process of breath restraint to remain in trance, and they practice stopping the movement of the outgoing breath into the incoming, and incoming breath into the outgoing, and thus at last remain in trance, stopping all breathing.
Bhagavad Gīta
दह्यन्ते ध्मायमानानां धातूनां हि यथा मलाः ।
तथेन्द्रियाणां दह्यन्ते दोषाः प्राणस्य निग्रहात् ॥ ७१ ॥
dahyante dhmāyamānānāṃ dhātūnāṃ hi yathā malāḥ |
tathendriyāṇāṃ dahyante doṣāḥ prāṇasya nigrahāt || 71 ||
Just as the impurities of metallic ores are consumed when they are blasted, even so are the taints of the senses consumed through the suspension of breath.
Manusmiriti 6.71