The Delicate Power of the Ida Nadi
If you’ve been reading this series up until now, you've learned about Pingala nadi. So let’s delve into Ida. This nadi can be thought of as Pingala’s partner; each is reliant on the other. The Ida channel runs along the left side of the body mirroring that of Pingala, on the right side. Ida controls right brain activity.
The energy of Ida crosses with that of Pingala like a double helix. When clear and balanced, both of these nadis carry prana to Shushumna nadi, the central nadi that runs from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. At the base of Shushumna lies our Kundalini wrapped around Shakti holding her in place. When prana enters our systems, it unwinds our Kundalini allowing Shakti to travel to Shiva. When Shiva and Shakti unite we can experience oneness, the state of Samadhi, or what Tantrikas call the experience of nothingness (all things at once).
You have already learned that Ida will be dominant to Pingala and vice versa every hour and twenty-minutes. On a scientific level, the brain sends a message to the mucus membranes in one of the nostrils causing it to swell and the other to open. So when Ida is about to be dominant, the message goes from the brain to the right nostril. The right nostril swells closing it off. At the same time, the left nostril, which feeds Ida, opens. You can probably assume at this point how a common cold and stuffy nose would affect the delicate balance of the shifts between the dominance of Ida and Pingala.
Are you curious to know what happens during the time that Ida is dominant? Contrary to Pingala, which brings out the mathematician, the financier, the lawyer in us, when Ida is dominant, the artist, the singer, the novelist, or the chef manifests. Ida is associated with the energy of the moon, which is creative, feminine, restful, calming, cooling, and healing. Lunar qualities bring out the Mother Nature (Shakti) force.
Ida is also associated with our parasympathetic nervous system, which controls involuntary actions such as breathing, peristalsis, and sleep. In yoga, the parasympathetic system triggers the relaxation response, which brings us to a state of peace and calm. How does this happen? Certain asanas (forward bending) and pranayama techniques begin to change our brain waves from alpha to beta to theta to delta. Such changes in our brain waves induce the relaxation response manifested by the quieting down of the mind. As the chatter of our minds begins to dissipate, we can move towards meditation and also sleep. Nap time!
When Ida becomes too strong or dominant for a longer period of time than eighty- eight minutes, tiredness, depression, introversion, and an inability to see things with a clear perspective can take over. Grey clouds settle in and the mind’s chatter becomes overtaken by negative thoughts. That's why when we are stuffed up, we want to crawl into bed, curl up like a fetus, and shut out the world.
The delicate balance between Ida and Pingala is what brings towards the final steps leading to Samadhi. The purification of these nadis must occur before we can contemplate the union of mind, body and spirit.
Exercise: Surya Bedhana
Sit in a cross-legged seated position. Take Vishnu mudra with your right hand. Block your left nostril, inhale with your right, then hold block both nostrils, exhale through your right nostril. Again, Inhale through your left nostril, hold block both, exhale through the right. Repeat this several times.
--Julie Wilcox
