Alternate nostril breathing, well-being breathing.
Alternate nostril breathing is a basic yoga technique that involves breathing alternately through one nostril or the other, blocking them alternately with your finger.
Are you familiar with alternate nostril breathing or Nadi Shodhana Pranayama? It's a breath-control technique (Pranayama) that helps reduce nervous system activity and blood pressure. This technique soothes both body and mind!
It's both calming and energizing. Whether you practice it in the morning, evening, or both, you'll feel its many benefits.
Nadi Shodhana – Alternate Nostril Breathing, what is it?
As the name suggests, it involves alternating breathing between the two nostrils. The alternation can be between two breaths (inhalation + exhalation) or between inhalation and exhalation. But we'll come back to that a little later. We'll start by talking about the nasal cycle, because yes, we do have a nasal cycle; we don't breathe the same way through both nostrils.
The nasal cycle:
Throughout the day, we alternate between nasal cycles. Our nasal cavities alternate between a decongested (deflated) state and a congested (swollen) state. When one is in one state, the other is in the other. Therefore, we breathe primarily through one nostril at a time, allowing more air to circulate better and in greater quantity through the decongested nostril. This alternation or cycle lasts from 1 to 5 hours.
Changing these cycles through controlled breathing helps rebalance, focus, and calm the nervous system. In fact, Nadi Shodhana brings calm, relaxation, and concentration. It's an excellent way to refocus before starting the day, but also to calm down at the end of the day. Practiced before bed, it helps you fall asleep.
The technique:
We are going to offer you 3 variations of alternate nostril breathing:
– an introduction
– alternate nostril breathing
– alternate breathing counted + bonus: alternate breathing counted with a ratio of 1 to 2
First of all, here is the basic technique:
Start by getting into a comfortable position with your back straight (cross-legged on the floor, sitting on a chair – even standing if necessary, but it will be less comfortable).
For hand position: favor your stronger hand, right for right-handers, left for left-handers. The other hand will be resting on your thigh.
If the position of your fingers is uncomfortable, you can fold your ring finger and use only your little finger and thumb.
Alternate nostril breathing : the idea is to breathe through one nostril at a time while blocking the second.
Introduction: (to make it easier to read we will describe the technique using the right hand, for the left hand simply reverse it)
To get familiar with alternate nostril breathing you can start by:
-
Block the right nostril with the right thumb: 5 breaths (1 inhalation + 1 exhalation) with the left nostril then change to 5 breaths to the right while blocking the left nostril. To block the nostril, use the ring finger (see the photo)
This is a sequence. You can repeat it as many times as you see fit.
Alternate Nostril Breathing
This is the “real” alternate nostril breathing:
- Block the right nostril with the right thumb: inhale deeply with the left nostril. Ideally, you should breathe through your stomach (the stomach expands when you inhale and depresses when you exhale).
- Hold the breath by blocking the second nostril with the right ring finger without releasing the thumb, this transition lasts 1 to 2 seconds
- Release the right thumb and exhale through the left nostril.
Repeat 5 to 10 times (or more if you feel the need or desire). You can practice in the morning and/or evening, or at any other time of day when you feel your mind racing.
Alternate Nostril Breathing Counting. Once you've mastered the alternate nostril breathing technique, you can take it a step further and count your breathing time.
The idea is to mentally count the length of time it takes to inhale and exhale for the same length of time. If your inhale lasts as long as it takes to count to 5, then you exhale for the length of time it takes to count to 5.
To go further:
- It is possible to change the inhalation/exhalation ratio, for example by doubling the exhalation time. If you inhale for 5, then exhale for 10.
It's up to you to try!
And what about the sinuses?
While the alternate nostril breathing technique has many benefits, to benefit from them you need to be able to breathe! And that means having a clear nose and sinuses.
Find here our 5 natural tips for taking care of your nose and sinuses .
