Alternate nostril breathing
If you feel dizzy, hear ringing in your ears or start feeling anxious, stop and breathe the way you normally do. Safety and limits
What it works with: the practice is built on alternating sides — in through one nostril, out through the other. The change of sides itself asks for attention to what you are doing, so it gathers a scattered focus and settles you. In yoga this is the technique for balancing the two channels, ida and pingala.
Sit comfortably and let the shoulders relax.
Where to focus: keep your attention on the change of sides and on the movement of the air.
How to breathe: close the right nostril with a finger and inhale smoothly through the left. Then close the left, open the right and exhale slowly through the right. Inhale through the right nostril, then change sides and exhale through the left. That is one full cycle.
Breathe without holds, without pulling the air in hard, and without pressing on the nose.
When to skip it
- a badly blocked nose
- sinus pain
- acute rhinitis
Preparing the practice…