Alternate Nostril Breathing For Calm - Meditation

Hey there this is a 14 minute Nadi Shodana/Alternate Nostril Breathing meditation. You can practice seating in a chair, on a bolster or laying down. This technique is great for calming frayed nerves, for steadying your inner flame and bringing you in the present moment. A great beginning to your yoga practice and just as great at the end. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for being here.

Transcript

Hello there, This is Amanda from Ananda Amanda and we are going to do a short meditation here using a breathing technique known as Nadi Shodhana which is alternate nostril breathing and we are going to use it in a couple of different ways. So take a moment to find a comfortable seat, You might be seated in a chair on your bed, You might be seated on your yoga mat, You might like to use a cushion or even use a wall. So take this time to make yourself supremely comfortable and you might like to gently sway a little side to side and you might even like to sway a little forward and back, Allowing tension to release from the spinal column and from the back muscles. We don't want to be sitting too strongly, We want to have a little sense of softness in the muscles. Notice how your shoulders are feeling, The back of your neck, You might like to move your head a little side to side, You might like to shrug your shoulders a little, You might even like to wriggle your fingers and then take a moment to find stillness, Knowing that at any point in time during the meditation you can move. Notice your breath and as you notice your breath, Notice any temptation to try to control the breath and see if you can let your breathing be just as it is. Notice the in breath and where it travels to and notice the out breath releasing from the body. Just a few very natural easy breaths here, Staying soft in the body and it might feel really nice for you to sway a little as you take these breaths. And so let's settle in. We're going to place our hands in position, So you might like to turn your left palm up and join your thumb pad and your index finger pad in Gyan Mudra and extending the last three fingers so they're long but they're soft and then gently lift your right hand up off your knee or your thigh and bring your index and your middle fingers to the point between the two eyebrows and just gently rub them up and down and find a comfortable place for your two fingers to rest. Notice the back of the neck, Sense a little softness through the back of your neck and then when you are ready close off your right nostril just above the flare with your right thumb and inhale into your left nostril. Close your left nostril with your right ring finger and exhale out of your right nostril. Inhale right, Close the right nostril, Open the left, Exhale. Inhale left, Close, Open the right, Exhale. Inhale right, Close, Exhale left. One more round just like that, Breathing low into the belly. And once you've finished just gently lower your right hand down, Joining your right thumb pad to your right index finger, Letting your awareness, Your attention draw upward to the centre between the two eyebrows and here see a very still flame, Very steady and as you breathe in and out now through both of your nostrils let your breath be very light, Smooth and soft. Let this candle flame between the eyebrow centre point, Stay very steady. Feel your belly expand on your inhalation and gently fall back in on your exhalation. Store've been seeing realize, You are Mythoc Pedram, One, He is one, Emma again. And then gently release the mudra from your fingers and make very light fists with your hands. So now we're going to include the whole body in our breath practice. As you inhale, Open your left palm and breathe into your whole left side body. Close the left palm, Open the right, Exhale, Emptying out the right side of the body. Inhale into your right palm, Right side body, Close your right fingers in and now exhale, Opening your left hand to release tension and tightness from the left side of the body. Breathing in left and close, Filling up the whole left side of the body and then exhaling from the right side, Pouring the breath out of the right side of the body, Opening right palm, Inhaling right, Close, Exhaling left. One more round just like that. The next time you breathe out of your left hand, Open both palms and sense your whole entire body as a very still, Serene, Calm flame, Shining brightly, Shining steadily. Sense every cell in your body receiving breath now. Feel the breath, The energy, The chi, The prana, Feeding the flame that burns very steadily. Relaxed, Steady, Bright, And when you're ready, Deepen your breath, Move your body a little, Notice how you feel, Maybe gently bring the palms together at your heart and bow your head, Moving forward into your day or your night with clarity, Ease and clear direction. Namaste.