Surya and Chandra Nadi: UnderstandingPolarity, the Nasal Cycle and Balance in Yoga

Teachings of Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani

One of the fundamental principles of Hatha Yoga is balance.

We often think of Hatha Yoga today primarily in terms of Asana, but its traditional understanding goes much deeper. It is concerned with the equal and opposite forces that exist throughout nature and within our own body, mind and energy.

Sun and Moon.

Activity and rest.

Prana and Apana.

Right and left.

Pingala and Ida.

Surya and Chandra.

The purpose of Yoga is not to make one of these forces victorious over the other. It is to learn how to work consciously with both.

As Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani explains:

“The goal of all of this was balance. Because balance is health.”

The Nadis: Our Subtle Energy Pathways

Yoga describes a vast network of subtle pathways known as the Nadis, through which Prana flows.

Among these, three are particularly important:

Pingala Nadi — associated with the right side and the solar principle.

Ida Nadi — associated with the left side and the lunar principle.

Sushumna Nadi — the central pathway.

Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani describes Pingala as having the quality of redness, like the Sun and fire. It is associated with activity, energy and dynamism. Ida carries the complementary lunar quality.

These energetic pathways are reflected in something extraordinarily tangible: our two nostrils.

The right nostril relates to Surya, the solar flow associated with Pingala.

The left nostril relates to Chandra, the lunar flow associated with Ida.

And our breath is continually moving between these two expressions.

Have You Ever Noticed Which Nostril You Are Breathing Through?

Try it now.

Gently close one nostril and breathe through the other. Then change sides.

Is the airflow equal?

Often it isn't.

At different times during the day, one nostril naturally becomes more dominant than the other. This alternation is known physiologically as the nasal cycle.

The yogis observed this phenomenon long before modern physiology began studying it.

In the traditional teaching of Swarodaya, Swara refers to the flow of air through the nostril, while Udaya conveys the idea of arising or rising. Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani points out the beautiful connection with Surya Udaya— sunrise.

Rather than regarding this changing airflow as insignificant, the yogis recognised that it corresponds with changing states of our whole being.

Surya: When the Right Nostril Dominates

When the right nostril is flowing more freely, the Surya or solar aspect is dominant.

Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani relates right-nostril breathing to sympathetic nervous-system activity — the aspect of our autonomic nervous system concerned with activation and our capacity to respond to the demands of the world.

Traditional teaching therefore associates the Surya flow with:

• activity

• dynamism

• external engagement

• warmth

• energy

• action.

It is the part of us that says: go out into the world and do what needs to be done.

Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani describes this very practically. Right-nostril breathing can be useful when we feel dull, lethargic or unable to get ourselves moving. Surya Nadi Pranayama can help bring greater activation when activation is actually what is needed.

Chandra: When the Left Nostril Dominates

The left nostril represents the complementary Chandra or lunar flow.

Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani associates left-nostril breathing with parasympathetic activity, including the restorative functions often described as “rest and digest.”

This is the movement towards:

• quietness

• contemplation

• relaxation

• recuperation

• restoration

• internalisation.

During his class, Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani actually checked his own nasal dominance and found that his left nostril was flowing more freely. He observed that this was drawing him towards a slower, calmer and more contemplative state.

When the left nostril is dominant, the traditional advice is therefore not to push constantly outwards, but to recognise the body's invitation to “contemplate, be calm, and rest.”

Surya and Chandra Nadi Pranayama

Yoga takes this natural phenomenon one step further.

Rather than merely observing which nostril is dominant, we can consciously influence our state through unilateral nostril breathing.

In Surya Nadi Pranayama, we breathe both in and out through the right nostril.

In Chandra Nadi Pranayama, we breathe both in and out through the left nostril.

This distinction is important.

These practices are not alternate-nostril breathing. The inhalation and exhalation both occur through the same selected nostril.

Through Surya we can encourage activation.

Through Chandra we can encourage deactivation, relaxation and recovery.

But neither is inherently “better.”

The appropriate practice depends upon what is needed to bring us towards balance.

Vishnu Mudra: More Than Closing a Nostril

In the Gitananda Yoga tradition, these practices may be performed using Vishnu Mudra.

Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani explains that his Guru, Yogamaharishi Dr Swami Gitananda Giri, taught Vishnu Mudra as more than a convenient hand position for controlling the nostrils.

Its symbolism itself expresses the purpose of the practice.

Vishnu is the Preserver — the force that maintains balance.

The Mudra symbolises the relationship between Pingala, Ida and Sushumna, with awareness brought towards the midpoint between the eyebrows as we consciously regulate the nostril through which we breathe.

It reminds us that the practice is ultimately about balancing complementary aspects of our existence:

Surya and Chandra.

Pingala and Ida.

Sympathetic and parasympathetic.

Activity and rest.

Externalisation and internalisation.

We are not simply manipulating airflow.

We are learning to regulate ourselves.

The Right and Left Brain — With an Important Caution

Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani also discusses the relationship between the sides of the body and the brain.

Broadly, the right side of the body communicates with the left cerebral hemisphere, while the left side communicates with the right. He connects this with the traditional understanding of right and left energetic flows.

However, he also gives an important caution.

Popular explanations often reduce this to “the left brain is logical and the right brain is creative.” Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani acknowledges that contemporary neuroscientists rightly challenge such an oversimplification. The hemispheres are not two completely independent brains with neatly separated personalities.

This is an important feature of his approach: traditional Yogic understanding and modern science can illuminate one another, but we should be careful not to distort either simply to create an attractive explanation.

What Happens When Both Nostrils Flow?

There are also periods when the airflow becomes more balanced between both nostrils.

Traditionally this has special significance.

When Surya and Chandra are balanced, attention turns towards Sushumna, the central pathway.

Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani explains that when the right nostril dominates, tradition encourages engagement with the external world. When the left dominates, it favours contemplation and rest. But when both are flowing, rather than rushing outward into activity, the practitioner can turn deeply inward and utilise that moment for spiritual practice.

This gives us a very different understanding of Pranayama.

The ultimate objective is not simply to become more energised.

Nor is it simply to become more relaxed.

It is to develop the capacity to move appropriately between the two and ultimately discover the still point between them.

Hatha Yoga Is the Science of Polarity

Towards the end of his teaching, Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani brings all of these ideas together.

He relates Hatha Yoga itself to the balancing of complementary forces, including Prana and Apana, inhalation and exhalation, right and left, Surya and Chandra.

Whether we work with the breath, the two nostrils or the two sides of the body, we are continually exploring the relationship between equal and opposite energies.

This is why the goal is not extremism.

It is Samathwam — a state of balance.

In physiological language, Rishiputra Dr Ananda Balyogi Bhavanani relates this to homeostasis and particularly to what he calls sympathovagal balance: the dynamic relationship between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity.

We don't want to spend our entire life in sympathetic activation.

But neither do we want to remain permanently in a passive parasympathetic state.

Health requires adaptability.

Yoga teaches us how to recognise what is happening within us and respond intelligently.

Learning to Listen to the Breath

Perhaps this is one of the most valuable lessons of Surya and Chandra Nadi Pranayama.

Before attempting to control the breath, observe it.

Which nostril is flowing?

How do you feel?

Are you energised or depleted?

Restless or lethargic?

Externally focused or naturally contemplative?

The breath is constantly communicating with us.

Through the practices of Surya and Chandra Nadi, we gradually become sensitive enough to listen — and skilful enough to respond.

This blog was created from the Satsanga transcript from the 500hours Pranayama Yoga Teacher Training Course Led By Deepika Giri and mentored by Guruji Dr Ananda Bhavanani.