Nabhi - navel chakra

[Questioner]

Dear Mukunda:

As meditation is often part of a therapeutic yoga recommendation, I have a question about my own practice. While not every time, quite often during my seated meditation, I find my torso turned slightly to the left. When I become aware of this, I gently guide my physical body back to center and continue my meditation. It's not a significant turning, but it is a little disruptive to my practice. I have a sneaky suspicion that it's my Nabhi that might be the central cause of this turning, and it's always to the left. My Nabhi has been "off" before. My question is fourfold; first, what causes the Nabhi to shift, second, could you remind me of the technique to bring the Nabhi to center, third, if it's not the Nabhi, what other cause could it be, and four, what is a remedy for the other cause? Blessings, T

[Mukunda]

The rotation of the Nabhi or navel chakra (mentioned in the Yoga Sutras III, 30) can be on the physical level also affecting the pulse of the abdominal aorta. When it is there a series of backbends bow, locust, bow and wheel can be done to move it to center. They need to be individually guided for this purpose. Once this is done you can learn to feel the shift and how to replace it. When it is on the subtle level one should also assess the predominant nostril breath and see if there is a shift there too. Usually there is and when so adjusting the breath current to be even on both sides usually results in Nabhi coming central as well. If this is a consistent issue then I would recommend you do nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) for 3-5 minutes prior to meditation practice as this helps the swara (alternating current) to come into harmony and returns the current to even on both nostrils.
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