Alternate Nostril Breathing Made Easier (Anulom Vilom)

Alternate nostril breathing (Anulom Vilom) is a beautiful practice for calming the mind, balancing the breath, and cultivating inner awareness.

In this video, I guide you through the correct technique of Anulom Vilom, step by step. I also share a simple adjustment I discovered through my own practice that can make the experience more comfortable and enjoyable.

Like many people, I noticed that one nostril often felt narrower than the other, making it harder to experience a smooth and relaxed flow of breath. By gently supporting and opening the side of the nostril with the free fingers of the hand—similar to the effect of a nasal breathing strip—the airflow can feel more open and effortless.

This adjustment can be especially helpful if one side feels restricted, while many practitioners may simply enjoy the added sense of ease and openness it brings.

The intention is not to force the breath, but to invite more relaxation, awareness, and presence into your practice.

Transcript

Hello everybody. Thank you for joining. In this video I will be doing a guided Anulom Vilom or alternate nostril breathing meditation with you. And what I want to offer in this session specifically is a little trick that I kind of came up with. For those of us with maybe some narrow nasal passages or maybe trouble breathing through one nostril. It's extremely simple and yet I think maybe you haven't thought of it maybe it will help you. So. First to begin with the general technique, So the alternate nostril breathing. You can do it many different ways, But the way I've learned it is you'll use your right middle and ring finger to close your left nostril and you will use your thumb to close your right nostril respectively. Now you always start with an inhalation on your left nostril. You always end a cycle with an exhalation out of your left nostril. So as we begin, Don't do it now, I'll just explain it first. Unless you already know how to do it, Then go right ahead. But assuming you don't, You will always begin with closing your right nostril with your thumb, Breathing in through your left nostril, Then you're closing your left nostril, Breathing out through your right nostril, Then in through your right nostril, Then closing your right nostril, And out through your left nostril. It's important to always start and end like this. So it's in, Out, In, Out. In, Out, In, Out. You can do as many cycles as you like, As long as you keep that thing. So one more time, You start inhaling on the left, Exhale on the right, Inhale on the right, Exhale on the left. Then another thing to know is that you want to breathe very lightly. You almost or completely don't want to hear it. So make sure you have this kind of very gentle constriction is a big word, But very gentle kind of control of your breathing muscles so that the breath becomes very deliberate. And do it very quickly. Silently and quietly. Then I just want to show you my trick now. So if you have, Like me, A bit of a constricted nasal passage, What you'll simply do is this. So if I breathe in through my left muscle, I will close my right nostril, But I'll just simply use my fingers to expand The skin hair. See, So this is an enormous difference. It may not look like much, But it's an enormous difference if I do like this. I'll inhale like this with more space. Conversely, On the other side, If I close my left nostril, I'll use my thumb to do that little extra thing there. This works exactly like one of those nose strips and they work really well. I actually use them because they really do allow me to sleep on my side and be able to breathe. So let's try this now. I want you to do this at your own pace, So don't follow me. Just make sure that you start on inhalation on your left nostril, And then out in on your right nostril, And then out again on your left nostril. So now for about five minutes, Let's just do the practice. By the way, I still want to say one more thing. I recommend this to do sitting up. So don't be slumped, But make sure you're straight. Don't be kind of rigid. You want to be upright, But also relaxed. You also want your head to be not too much tilted back, Not too much tilted forward, But tilted a little bit forward, Just a little bit. Make sure that your breathing passage is open. And for this, I also do recommend closing your eyes. Okay, That's the final instruction. Now for about five minutes, Let's do the practice. And by the way, When you begin, First exhale completely all the air from your lungs, Then start on the inhalation on your left side. There we go. I love you so much. It's a pretty cold winter. Peace. I love you guys. I love you guys so much. Oh, You little spaceship! Wow. Keep on going, I'll just give you a few additional instructions. So don't watch the screen, Just keep your eyes closed and keep on breathing. Left in, Right out, Right in, Left out. Make sure that your body is completely relaxed. Sometimes it can happen that we tense up somewhere, Maybe the face, Maybe the arm, Maybe the torso. So be as relaxed as possible, Keeping your posture upright but. . . Relaxed. Now you can stay practicing like this. If you want to Add one layer of Let's say. . . Attention. Then without constructing your awareness, Keeping a broad, Spacious, Awareness. Have a gentle. . . Focal point on your third eye. So between your eyebrows and a little bit on the inside of your head, Let's say. Just gently focus your attention there again without constricting so you're still aware of the space that you're in, Let's say. Feeling the space not contracting but just gentle mindfulness on the third eye. And then just keep practicing, Stay relaxed, Stay Gently present and aware while doing this. Yeah. It's all over the news! Now, Make this your last cycle. So wherever you are in your cycle, Make sure you end on the exhalation out of your left nostril and then let go of the exhale. Breathing practice and simply sit for a moment. If you want you can open your eyes, But you don't have to. Let go of any doing, Let go of any effort. And simply rest. Present. Relaxed. Maybe just very gently witnessing the breath wave going in and out of the body by itself. And just enjoy the piece that you've created here for a few moments. Thank you. She's a colleague. You just ran into the house. And how good is that? Yes. I don't feel like. So thank you very much. It was my offering. I hope you can learn something from what I've learned. And may it be to your benefit.