Single Nostril Breathing For Balance And Clarity

This simple yet effective single nostril breathwork practice helps you experience a gentle shift in your energy. By isolating the breath through the left and right nostrils, you can cultivate a sense of inner balance, sharpen your mental alertness, and clear away physical tension. This guided session incorporates rhythmic counting and brief pauses to help you ground yourself and find focus. It is the perfect short reset for whenever you need a refreshing moment of clarity during a busy day.

Transcript

Welcome, Today I wanted to offer you a very simple and short breath work practice which can be really supportive when you feel the need for a little bit more balance, Clarity or alertness both mentally and physically. So this is a variation of single nostril breathing, Chandra Vedana and Surya Vedana, And that just means that we'll begin on the left side, Letting the inhalation come in and the exhalation go out through the left nostril, And then we'll take a short pause and move to the other side, Allowing the breath to come in and out through the right nostril. So to set up, Take the right hand in front of you as if you're making half of the shape of prayer hands, And then using the outer edge of the right thumb to close down the right nostril. From here, Taking an inhalation only through the left nostril for a count of five, Pausing at the top and holding the inhalation for a moment, And now exhaling through the left nostril for five. Pausing at the bottom of the exhale, Holding, And then inhaling once more for five through the left nostril. Pause. And exhaling through the left. Pause. Inhaling through the left. Pausing at the top and exhaling through the left. Pausing at the bottom. Inhaling through the left. Pausing at the top. Exhaling through the left. Pausing. Inhaling. Pause. Exhale. Pause. Inhale. Exhale. Pausing at the bottom. Inhaling. Pausing at the top. And then exhaling. Inhale. Pause. Taking one last round here on the left hand side. And inhaling. Exhaling. And then releasing the right hand and taking a few recuperating breaths through both nostrils. And just paying attention to how it now feels to be able to breathe through both nostrils. Becoming aware of any sensations or any effects of the practice. Taking two more rounds of breath here. And then setting up on the other side. This time bringing the left hand in front of you into a half prayer hands. Using the outer edge of the left thumb to close down the left nostril. And then beginning on the other side. Inhaling for five through the right nostril. Pausing at the top. Exhaling for five. Pausing at the bottom to hold the exhalation. Inhaling. Pause. Exhaling. Pause. Inhale. Inhaling through the right nostril. Pause. Exhale through the right nostril. Pause. And now just continuing on your own. Breathing in and out through the right nostril. Letting the inhalation and exhalation last for five counts. And taking a short pause to retain the inhalation and the exhalation at the top and the bottom. Feel free to adjust the lengths of the counts at any point. Taking one last round here on the right hand side. The end of the hold of the exhalation. Just releasing the hand down. Allowing both nostrils to be free now. And taking a few recuperating breaths here. Breathing in and out through both nostrils. Allowing the breath to be slow and steady. And simply becoming aware of any effects of the practice. Noticing any sensations in the body. Noticing how things feel energetically. And noticing how you feel mentally. Thanks so much for practicing today. And just know that you can come back to this breath practice whenever you feel like you need a moment of clarity or a refreshing moment in your day. Thanks for practicing.