Hello and welcome to today's breathing practice.
Today we are going to practice alternate nostril breathing or also referred to as Nadi Shodhana and it's a breathing practice of inhaling and exhaling through one nostril at a time and alternating between both sides and it's a technique that can calm the nervous system.
It can be really relaxing,
Help reduce anxiety and stress.
It can balance the flow of energy in the body and it can improve focus and clarity.
It can also be a helpful practice to do in preparation for meditation if you find that sometimes it's difficult to drop into your meditation practice.
So depending on how clear your nostrils feel it might help to blow your nose before this practice so feel free to pause this meditation if you need to do so.
Otherwise we will begin by finding a comfortable and seated position.
Maybe you are seated on a cushion or a pillow or maybe you're seated in a chair with your feet flat on the earth.
You can let your hands rest against your thighs or maybe resting in your lap and your eyes can soften or be closed.
Relax the muscles in your face and your jaw.
Maybe taking a moment to unhinge the jaw,
Moving it left and right.
Let your shoulders soften down your back.
Just take a moment to tune into the internal weather of your body and your mind.
Seeing if you can acknowledge with a non-judgmental approach to the sensations you might be feeling in your body.
Any tension,
Any pain.
Does the mind feel busy,
Agitated,
Calm?
And just noticing.
Letting.
Allowing.
And noticing if there's anywhere in the body that is ready to soften,
Ready to let go.
Any place where you might be holding or grasping.
And now we'll take several rounds of deep breaths together to connect with the breath and to invite fresh air into the body.
To letting out all of the air that you currently hold in the body.
And then taking a deep breath in through the nose,
Filling the belly,
The lungs.
And a slow exhale either through the nose or the mouth.
Again a deep smooth inhale through the nose.
And a slow exhale through the mouth or the nose.
Softening even more,
Letting go.
Again a deep inhale through the nose.
And a slow exhale.
And taking a few more rounds going at your own pace.
Softening into the rhythm of your own breath.
With each exhale just softening a little bit more.
And as always throughout this practice or even now if you notice your mind is quickly wandering,
Maybe lost in thought or getting attached to sounds around you,
Just notice that the attention has wandered.
And then gently bring the awareness back to this moment,
To the breath,
To your practice.
And after your next exhale letting your breath return to its natural rhythm.
And we'll begin by bringing the right hand toward the face,
Resting your pointer and middle fingers in the space between your eyebrows.
And then rest your thumb near the outside of your right nostril and your ring finger near the outside of your left nostril.
And your pinky can rest wherever it feels comfortable.
And we're going to begin by breathing several rounds through one side and then several rounds through the other side.
And then we'll move back and forth between the left and the right nostrils.
So to begin close your right nostril with your right thumb and take a long inhale through the left nostril.
And then exhaling again through the left nostril keeping the right nostril closed.
Inhale again through the left nostril.
And exhale through the left nostril.
Again inhale through the left nostril.
And exhale.
And two more times.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
And now closing your left nostril with your ring finger and releasing the thumb from the right nostril.
Inhale through the right nostril.
Long smooth breath.
And exhale through the right nostril.
Again inhale through the right nostril.
And exhale through the right nostril.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Exhale.
And one more time.
Inhale.
And exhale.
And now close the right nostril with your thumb and inhale through the left nostril.
And at the top of the inhale close your left nostril with your ring finger and exhale through the right nostril.
Now inhale through the right nostril.
Close the right nostril with your thumb and exhale through the left nostril.
Inhale through the left nostril.
At the top of the inhale close the left nostril and exhale through the right nostril.
And continuing on your own breath,
Inhaling through the right.
Exhaling through the left.
Letting each breath be smooth,
Slow,
And equally balanced between the inhales and the exhales.
And if this feels a bit awkward or uncoordinated,
See if you can just be patient with yourself as you settle into the practice.
It can take a minute to find your flow.
And if you feel congested or notice that this practice makes you feel more anxious than relaxed,
Then you always have the option to release the right hand and just simply visualize the breath alternating between your right and left nostrils without closing them.
And so inhaling through left nostril.
Closing left nostril and exhaling through right nostril.
Inhale through the right nostril.
Pause,
Close right nostril and exhale through the left.
Inhale through left nostril.
Pause,
Close left nostril and exhale through the right.
Inhale through right nostril.
Pause,
Exhale,
Close right nostril and exhale through the left.
And again,
Continuing on your own breath.
Finding balance between both the left and right nostrils.
Between both the left and right hemispheres of the body.
And if one side feels more clogged or more difficult to breathe through,
Just noticing that.
And again,
If it feels too clogged or it's causing a sense of anxiety or feels very difficult to breathe,
Then you're always welcome to release the right hand and visualize the breath moving through the left and the right nostrils separately.
And just a few more rounds on your own.
And at the end of your next exhale through the left nostril,
Release the right hand and take a deep breath in through both nostrils.
And pause at the top of the inhale and then release a slow exhale through the nose or the mouth.
And letting the breath return to its natural,
Uncontrolled rhythm.
Noticing how the body feels.
Noticing the quality of the mind.
Just taking a moment to be with all the sensations that you're feeling,
The body,
Staying with the breath as it moves effortlessly in and through the nose.
I'm just resting for a moment in this feeling of being balanced.
And the feeling of unity,
Of both nostrils receiving oxygen equally.
Nourishing the body.
And when you're ready,
You can bring some movement into the wrists,
Maybe the shoulders.
Taking your time to come back into the space.
And when you're ready,
Slowly blinking your eyes open.
