The Somatic Core Series: Balancing the Hemispheres
Balancing the Hemispheres is the tenth and final portal in the Stomach Alive Somatic Core Series—where breath-led rhythm, gut–spine intelligence, and subtle strength weave into full-body coherence.
This practice integrates all five elements to align your system, refine your inner listening, and leave you with a clear, reliable internal signal.
Here, everything you’ve practiced—breath-led rhythm, gut–spine intelligence, subtle body awareness, and core steadiness—gathers into one coherent field.
The aim is simple and profound: align the whole system and leave with a reliable inner signal you can hear without strain.
We work with all five elements as a living framework:
Earth: stability, support, integration
Water: adaptability, lymph, fascia, inner flow
Fire: digestion, transformation, disciplined warmth
Air: clarity, movement, nervous system balance
Ether: listening, intuition, spacious presence
When you move through these elements consciously, the body remembers its order. Illness and agitation begin to repattern; attention refines; you re-inhabit yourself with precision and softness.
Nadi Shodhana: Balance the Channels, Quiet the Noise
We open with alternate nostril breathing—a cleansing of the body’s channels (nadi = channel, shodhana = purification). Alternating breath left/right balances the hemispheres:
Left nostril → right brain (intuition, creativity, emotion)
Right nostril → left brain (logic, focus, verbal reasoning)
In practice, this cross-patterning decreases heart rate, calms the nervous system, and sharpens cognitive clarity.
Subtly, it harmonizes Ida (lunar) and Pingala (solar), preparing Sushumna—the central channel—for upward flow. Coherence rises; noise falls away.
Colon Cleanser Twist: Clear, Then Kindle
From the breath, we move into a rhythmic Breath of Fire set that includes the seated Colon Cleanser twist:
Inhale, sweep arms up/right; exhale, cut down/left
Pair with Breath of Fire to stoke Manipura (navel fire)
The arc follows the colon’s pathway (ascending right → descending left), supporting motility, lymphatic movement, and the gut–brain connection.
Think of it as a reset for internal rhythm: twist clears what’s stale; breath rekindles what’s true.
Start the Somatic Series—
The first class and lecture are open to all.
Balancing Tabletop: Rewire the Cross-Pattern
If twist is the clearing gesture, Balancing Tabletop is the rewiring gesture. Opposite arm/leg lifts coordinate deep core, pelvic stability, and cross-hemispheric activation—a gait-pattern primer that integrates gut → spine → brain.
Where the twist eliminates, tabletop organizes. Together, they restore direction: digest, then move forward—steady, centred, awake.
Half Frog & Viparita Karani: Drain, Downshift, Integrate
We finish on the ground:
Half Frog (supported): softens inner thighs and belly; gentle pressure at colon/lymph nodes aids drainage and release
Viparita Karani (Legs-Up-the-Wall): reverses flow, calms inflammation circuitry, and invites lucid stillness.
Here, I often offer “Wahe Guru,” a wondrous mantra that invites one to move from shadow to light. Whisper “Wahe” on the inhale, “Guru” on the exhale. Let the mantra thread breath through tissue, sense, and mind until you feel the field smooth out.
Try This Now: Three-Step System Reset (4 minutes)
1) Nadi Shodhana (90s)
Right hand in Vishnu mudra (or use thumb/ring finger).
Inhale left → exhale right; inhale right → exhale left. Continue, slow and even.
2) Colon Cleanser Mini (90s)
Seated tall. Inhale sweep up/right; exhale cut down/left with light Breath of Fire.
Move rhythmically; stop while you still feel bright.
3) Balancing Tabletop (60s)
Opposite arm/leg extend; exhale to stabilize the belly. Switch sides, slow and exact.
Optional finish: 60–90s Legs-Up-the-Wall in silence.
Ask: “What is my body saying beneath words?”
Reflection Prompts for Integration
What arose in the quiet spaces — alternate nostril breathing, Half Frog, or Legs-Up-the-Wall?
Which posture or breath will you fold into a daily ritual, and when?
List five key takeaways from this series. Why do these matter now?
After clearing (twist) and organizing (tabletop), what single next action feels aligned?
Enter the Somatic Core Portals:
Reading opens the mind. Practice awakens the body.
The 10-class Somatic Core Series guides you through each portal with breath-led movement, somatic sequencing, and embodied integration.
Awaken the intelligence that lives in your core. This 10-part somatic series activates gut-led clarity, strengthens inner alignment, and expands your capacity to move through life with presence and power.
