Hello friends.
Welcome.
My name is Jen.
Today we're going to do a breath practice called alternate nostril breathing and we're going to approach it a few different ways.
So to begin,
Find a nice cozy seat.
Make sure you're nice and comfortable.
Ensure that you have a nice tall spine so we can optimize the breath.
And if you feel even the slightest bit of congestion today,
You might want to ensure that you have some tissues nearby.
So the indications of this breath practice is to really bring the bodily system to harmony.
And the right and left nostril have different associations in the yogic practice.
The left nostril bringing the body more of a sense of calm,
Rest,
And digest.
And the right nostril bringing the body a little bit more positive energy,
A little bit more of a boost.
So keeping that in mind,
We're going to experiment today a little bit by balancing both sides.
So when you're ready,
Finding that tall position,
You can gently close your eyes and you want to bring your thumb up to the right nostril.
And very gently you're going to block the right nostril with your thumb.
Inhale nice and deep through the left nostril.
And then block the left nostril either with your pinky or your index finger,
Whatever feels more comfortable for you.
And exhale through the right nostril.
Then inhale through the right nostril.
Block the right nostril.
And exhale through the left nostril.
Inhale,
Left nostril.
Block the left nostril.
Exhale through the right nostril.
Inhale through the right nostril.
Block the right nostril.
Exhale through the left nostril.
Inhale through the left nostril.
Block the left nostril.
And exhale through the right nostril.
So we'll do two more rounds of this,
Completing with a nice deep exhale through the right nostril.
And when you're done,
Inhale through both nostrils.
Hold at the top just a moment.
Feel the body full of breath.
And then gently exhale through the nose.
And just notice how you feel.
And the next technique we're going to do is just inhaling through the left nostril and out the right nostril again and again.
So rather than balancing,
We're focusing a little bit more on cultivating this sense of calm and rest and relaxation.
And we'll balance it later on the other side.
But I just invite you to notice how your body reacts when you're inhaling through the left and exhaling through the right.
So begin by blocking the right nostril.
Inhale through the left nostril.
Hold at the top.
Block the left nostril.
And exhale through the right nostril.
Then block the right nostril.
Inhale through the left nostril.
Block both nostrils.
Release through the right nostril.
And then block the right nostril.
Three more times.
Inhale through the left.
Hold.
Out the right.
Block both nostrils.
Then inhale through the left.
Out the right.
Last time.
Inhale through the left.
And out the right.
Now release your hands down.
Inhale through both nostrils.
Exhale nice and slow through the nose.
And just take a moment to notice how you feel.
Feel that calm sensation through the body.
So we're going to balance that out by doing the same thing by inhaling through the right and then exhaling through the left.
So bring your hand up again.
And this time either index finger or pinky to the left nostril.
Inhale through the right.
Hold.
And exhale through the left.
Block both nostrils.
And then release the right.
Inhale through the right.
Exhale through the left.
Inhale through the right.
Hold.
Exhale through the left.
Inhale through the right.
Hold.
Exhale through the left.
Last time.
Inhale through the right nostril.
Hold.
Exhale through the left nostril.
And then inhale through both nostrils.
Nice and deep.
Really deep.
Fill the belly.
Fill the whole body.
And gently,
Slowly exhale.
Take another few deep breaths here.
In through the nose.
Exhale through the nose.
Inhale through the nose.
Deep as you can.
And when you need to,
Exhale.
One more time.
Inhale deep,
Deep,
Deep.
Fill the body.
And exhale.
Soften everything down.
Release.
Relax.
And once again,
Just take a little inventory.
Notice how your body feels.
Allow a gentle smile to cross your face.
This is a very clarifying meditation.
And you can just do the first part that we did.
Or if you're feeling like you really need to calm down,
You can focus more on just the left nostril breathing.
So just pulling in that more relaxing breath through the left nostril.
Or if you feel like you need a little bit of a charge,
You can breathe through the right nostril only.
I find the balancing practice is a beautiful thing to do every day.
And it can really help you to find a little bit more focus when you feel foggy,
Or just a little confused,
Or a little stalled.
So I hope that this practice serves you well.
Thank you so much for breathing with me today.
I wish you well.
I wish you all good things.
