BaulOlogy: Vayu Flow Reversal

BaulOlogy

Vayu Flow Reversal

One of the first steps in doing ‘Baul Sadhana’ is self-purification through breath control. Traditional Bauls describe it as ‘Vayu Dharma’. According to them, ‘Baul’ is equal to ‘Vaul’ which, again, is equal to ‘Vayu Tula’ – which means to lift up the vital air. (Reference 1). I do not know whether, by this, they mean reversal of the air flow which is an essential ritual in ‘Baul Sadhana’.

Reversing the flow of the downward moving ‘Apana Vayu’ is not that simple as, to achieve that goal, one has to work against the gravity. First of all, it will require a perfect gut health to be ensured so that there is no sign of constipation, diarrhoea, ‘Irritable Bowels Syndrome’ (‘IBS’), or any other gut-related problems, which obviously tend to affect the normal flow and other properties of the ‘Apana Vayu’. Assuming that the person has a perfect gut health, he has to be trained to make conscious contraction of the muscles around the anal region so that it allows the Apana Vayu to move upward against the force of gravity. The movement of the body waste like urine, faeces and menstrual blood and potent stuff like semen, and vaginal discharge containing ova also get affected if the gut health is not in order. Besides, frequent blow-out of fart and gas is also a sign of ineffective ‘Vayu Management’ inside the body.

Now, let me move a little deeper into the ‘Science of the Vayus’. The nose feels congested with nasal fluid after prolonged sexual stimulation. Medically it has the name: ‘Honeymoon Rhinitis’. (Reference 2)

Biologically, your nose is lined up with the same kind of erectile tissue as your genitals and those tissues become swollen when you get excited. German physician Richard Kayser had observed way back in 1895, periodic cycles of congestion and decongestion that alternated between the right and the left nostrils which was later termed ‘Nasal Cycle’ (‘NC’). (Reference 3). As a matter of fact, the existence of ‘NC’ had been known in ‘Yogic Sciences’ from the time of the great sage Patanjali who lived between the 2nd & 4th centuries CE. Authentic Yogis have been making use of this biological phenomenon to change the body’s temperature, temperature of the ‘Vayu’ (‘Air’) and one’s mental state.

Scientific observations on the ‘NC’ phenomenon are as follows:

(1) At any given moment, you are both breathing in & out through one dominant nostril. Then, sometime later, you switch to the other automatically. The interval between the two is usually 2 to 2.5 hours; and, it continues in a rhythmical fashion.

(2) This rhythm changes over time for most people.

(3) It seems to be controlled by our brain’s ‘Central Nervous System’ (‘CNS’) which consists of the brain tissue and the spinal cord.

(4) ‘Swelling’ of the nostril is related to the activation of the ‘Sympathetic Nervous System’ (‘SNS’) that triggers the ‘fight-or-flight’ response; and, ‘Shrinking’ of the nostril corresponds to the ‘Parasympathetic Nervous System’ (‘PSNS’) triggering the ‘rest-relax-and-digest’ response.

At any given moment, you have ‘SNS’ dominance on one side of the body (breath mostly through the nostril on that side) and ‘PSNS’ dominance on the other. Then, after some time, the order reverses. So, basically, ‘NS’ is an indicator of the switch that happens between the ‘SNS’ and ‘PSNS’ from one side to the other.

When the ‘SNS’ is dominant on the right side of your body, you have (i) increase in body temperature; (ii) reduction in prolactin secretion (prolactin stimulates breast development & milk production in women – has no known normal function in men, although men with well-developed breasts are observed to have some feminine propensities); (iii) increase in male sex hormone Testosterone; (iv) increase in the neurotransmitter ‘Endorphin’ which is our internally generated stress-reliever & pain-killer.

When the ‘SNS’ is dominant on the right side, all these biomarkers indicate a reduction in value & intensity. (Reference 4).

Yogis & Tantrics use a different language. According to them, the energy balance in our biology is affected by the flow of energy along the ‘Ida’ nadi (lunar), ‘Pingala’ nadi (solar) & the ‘Sushumna’ nadi. Pingala is solar & warm like sunshine – it has masculine quality and terminates at the right nostril INCREASING YOUR SEXUAL DRIVE & LIBIDO.

Your sexual drive & libido can be inhibited by breathing in through the left nostril which is where the ‘Ida’ nadi ends – and breathing out through the right nostril. This practice is called ‘Chandrabheda’ in Yogic Sciences.

‘Right Nostril Breathing’ (‘RNB’) involves alternate cycle of inhalation & exhalation through the right nostril while the left nostril is occluded and ‘Left Nostril Breathing’ (‘LNB’) involves alternate cycle of inhalation & exhalation through the left nostril while the right nostril is occluded. (References 5 & 6)

[References:

1. Babu Kishan Aka Krishnendu Das Baul, “Baul History 101”, Speaking Tree In. 11th May 2011.

2. “Honeymoon rhinitis” – Wikipedia.

3. “Nasal cycle” – Wikipedia.

4. R Kahana-Zweig, M Geva-Sagiv, [….] and Noam Sobel, “Measuring and Characterizing the Human Nasal Cycle”, PLOS ONE

5. Rinku Garg, Varun Malhotra, […..] and Ritu Agarwal, “Effect of Left, Right and Alternate Nostril Breathing on Verbal and Spatial Memory”, Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research (JCDR), July 2016, Vol. 10, No. 2. Pp 1-3.

6. Olga Kabil, “Yogis ahead of science: One nostril breathing determines how you feel”, Sequence Wiz; sequencewiz.org/201.]