Hatha Yoga: Nauli (Stage 2)
Nauli gives many benefits. It massages the entire abdomen and stomach in a way that is unmatched by any other practice. It also massages the heart and lungs. This inducesmpositive repercussions at both the physical,mpranic and mental levels. The following is amvery brief summary of the benefits:• Improves digestion and helps to remove various malfunctions.
• Directly helps to remove constipation.
• Harmonizes the functions of the solar plexus and adrenal glands.
• Helps to alleviate diabetes by improving the efficiency of the pancreas.
• Speeds up the blood circulation and reduces blood stagnation.
• Purifies the blood.
• Strengthens the abdominal muscles; this ensures that the abdominal organs are supported properly.
• Prevents hernia. Hernia is caused by weak and inefficient abdominal muscles. Nauli strengthens these muscles and therefore prevents the occurrence of hernia. (Note: if you actually suffer from hernia you should not do nauli.)
• Nauli massages the external organs and tones up the associated nerves. This helps to remove and prevent sexual deficiency of various types.
• Increases general vitality of the whole body.
• Directly influences the manipura chakra trigger point and kshetram. The manipura is the centre of energy distribution, both
gross and subtle, in the whole body. Nauli helps to remove blockages in the energy flows of the body. This leads to better healtb and more energy. Indirectly, nauli helps to increase mental clarity and power by harmonizing the energy flows in the body.
NAULI - STAGE 2
ABDOMINAL ROTATION
Preparation
Only if you have mastered the preparatorystage, nauli, stage l1, should you begin to practise stage 2 as described here. Otherwise continue to practise stage 1. Do not attempt stage 2 prematurely.
Body position
You should stand with your hands on your thighs, legs slightly bent and feet slightly apart.
Technique
Stand in the correct position. Relax the whole body. Breathe out deeply. Accentuate the exhalation by contracting the
abdominal muscles into uddiyana bandha. Hold the breath. Do madhyama nauli1. Then do vama nauli (contraction on left side). Then uddiyana bandha. Do dakshina nauli (contraction on the right side). And finally madhyama nauli again. This is 1 complete rotation of the abdominal muscles. The whole movement should be smooth and rhythmical. Do more rolling movements or rotations. Do as many rotations as you can with one breath retention. Do not strain. Stop the churning movement. Relax the abdominal muscles. Breathe in. This is the end of 1 round. Wait for a short time while allowing the
heartbeat to return to normal. Then again breathe out and do uddiyana bandha. Hold your breath. Rotate the abdominal muscles in the opposite direction; that is, madhyama, dakshina, uddiyanya, vama and finally madhyama again.
Do more rapid rotations, while retaining the breath. Then release the contraction of the muscles and slowly breathe in.
This is the end of the second round. Do some more rounds if you have the energy, rotating the muscles first anticlockwise and then clockwise. Do not strain. At first you will find rotation difficult, but with practice it will become easier; you will gain more and more conscious control over the muscles.
Breathing
Breathe out deeply before doing madhyama nauli. Hold the breath while rolling the abdominal muscles. Breathe in after releasing madhvama nauli. Breathe normally for a short period between rounds.
Speed of rotation
The speed can be very rapid or slow; it does not matter. The important thing is that the rotation should be rhythmical and combined with a strong contraction of the abdominal muscles.
Number of rounds and rotations
At first you should do no more than 10 rotations in each round. The rotations can be slowly increased up to a maximum of about 25 Beginners should only do 2 or 4 rounds, no more. As you gain more control over the muscles the number of rounds can be increased up to a maximum of 10. This is sufficient for most people.
Utility in other techniques
Nauli is an integral part of basti2 and vastra dhauti1. These are two important hatha yoga techniques (shatkarmas) which will be fully explained in the near future. Nauli is not an easy practice to describe nor learn from a book. If you have any problems we suggest that you contact an experienced local teacher or ashram.
