瑜伽鼻孔交替呼吸法：改善你的睡眠质量

if your mind is racing and you are having difficulty falling asleep, a few minutes of simple but effective breathing exercises can help calm your nervous system on a chemical level and lead to greater success in hitting the sack. the awareness and control of breath has been a central component of yoga, martial arts and taoism for thousands of years. there are dozens of different methods and exercises you can explore through a good teacher or book. the practice of breath control in yoga is called pranayama. i'll detail a simple pranayama exercise here that is particularly effective for falling asleep called alternate nostril breathing (that's "nadi shodana" for the sanskrit posse

alternate nostril breathing is a great way to clear obstructed nostrils, balance the yin and yang energy of the body and focusing the busy mind on the present for a deliberate and calming exercise. when our nostrils are unobstructed, we involuntarily alternate breathing through one or the other about every two hours. breathing through your right nostril stimulates the left side of the brain (intellectual, analytical, rational thought) and prepares the body for physical action (yang energy). breathing through your left nostril stimulates the right side of the brain (creative, emotional thought) and prepares the body for passive mental activity (yin energy). if both nostrils are not clear, breathing will become imbalanced and so will the energy in your body.

when you are feeling restless at bedtime, head outside (weather permitting obviously, but even in wintertime, you can certainly spend a couple minutes on a balcony or porch in brisk air), sit in a comfortable chair and begin the exercise. you will likely have a really hard time focusing your mind on only the breathing exercise. establish a rule that whenever your mind wanders away from the breathing exercise to other random thoughts, you have to start over. with practice, you'll develop the esteemed ability to relax and center -- not just to calm the mind for bed but any time the stresses of life are closing in.

alternate nostril breathing is performed as follows: take one hand up to your face for blocking nostrils. for example, your right thumb will close off your right nostril while your right index or middle finger will close off your left nostril. block off the right nostril and inhale fully (notice how your inhale and exhale will be slower since you are only using one nostril). pause at the completion of your inhale and switch nostrils by using your finger to block the left nostril and releasing your thumb from the right nostril. exhale through the right nostril, inhale through the right nostril, then pause and switch to exhale through the left nostril. thus, you switch nostrils in the middle of the breath cycle. to complete a cycle of 10 breaths, count each inhale/exhale as one. after your complete your breathing session, you can return to bed with a calm brain and hopefully induce a good night's sleep.

如果你的大脑正在拼命转动让你很难入眠，那么几分钟简单而有效的呼吸运动会有助于在化学层面上使你的神经系统平静下来，从而获得更好的睡眠。有意识的控制呼吸是有几千年历史的瑜伽、武术和道教的核心组成部分。你可以从一位出色的老师或者一本好书那里学到几十种不同的方法和运动。瑜伽的呼吸控制方法被成为pranayama。在此，我将详细讲述一种简单的pranayama。这种被称为鼻孔交替呼吸法的呼吸运动对促进睡眠特别有效。

鼻孔交替呼吸法对于疏通鼻孔，平衡阴阳和将精神专注于从容平和的运动有很好的效果。当我们的鼻孔畅通时，我们每两小时就会不经意地用两个鼻孔交替呼吸。用右边鼻孔呼吸会刺激左边的大脑(控制人的理智和分析能力)，并让身体做好肉体运动(道家的阳)的准备;用左边鼻孔呼吸则会刺激右边大脑(控制人的创造力和情感)，并让身体做好精神运动(道家的阴)的准备。如果两个鼻孔堵塞，呼吸就会变得不平衡，身体的能量也就不会平衡。

当你在睡觉时间感到焦躁不安，那么走到户外(显然要天气允许，但即使是在冬天，你也当然可以在空气清新的阳台上或者走廊里花上几分钟时间)，坐到舒适的椅子上，然后开始练习。你可能很难集中精神专注于呼吸练习，那么建立一个规定，每当精神散漫不能专注于呼吸练习时，你就必须要从头开始。在不断的练习下，你将形成在放松和专注之间自由转换这种让人敬佩的能力——这不仅有助于睡眠，还可以在任何时候缓解生活中的压力。

鼻孔交替呼吸法的做法如下：用一只手捏住鼻子。比如，可以用右手的大拇指按住右鼻孔，用右手的食指或中指按住左鼻孔。按住右鼻孔，吸满一口气(由于只用一个鼻孔呼吸，所以呼气和吸气将会更慢)后停住，用手指按住左鼻孔的同时松开按住右鼻孔的大拇指，用右鼻孔呼气后再吸气，然后停住，再换到左鼻孔呼气。就这样，在呼吸循环之间交替使用左右鼻孔。一呼一吸为一次，十次为一个循环。在完成呼吸运动后，就可以带着一个平静的大脑回到床上睡个好觉。