Am I turning the steering wheel, or am I driving the car?

Am I turning the steering wheel, or am I driving the car?

For many decades, yogis have used the English phrase “alternate nostril breath.” Words matter. Language matters. The focus of that unfortunate phrase emphasizes the nostrils. Everyone who learns this simple beginner breath practice, is led to believe it is all about the nostrils.

The word nostrils doesn’t convey any sense of purpose. It trivializes the practice. Nostrils are a somewhat minor flap of skin. Relative to our major organs, the heart, lungs and brain, the nostrils are relatively insignificant.

This linguistic difference is like placing your focus on the steering wheel, instead of driving your car. Driving your car is what you are doing. Driving your car conveys the purpose of your activity. Saying that you are in your car, turning the steering wheel, misses the whole point.

I am proposing that yogis change our language, change our words to reflect the intention and purpose of this simple profound breath practice. Many yogi friends I have talked to, are inflexible to any name change. In time, I hope a name change reaches the level of acceptance.

In this breath practice, we breathe in such a way that alternates the stimulation of the left and right hemispheres of the brain. An area called the corpus callosum lights up.

“Alternate Left Right Breath” or “Left Right Breathing” are simple labels for this astounding practice. They accurately describe the process and maybe easier to say. “Alternate Brain Hemisphere Breath” is accurate, but a bit difficult to say and too many syllables. We want our words to communicate meaning and intention, and not misdirect attention.

Whatever the label, over many years of practice, Left Right Breathing leads to the slow growth of neurons and blood vessels that is extraordinary. It is the most important technique the yogis ever discovered.