Alternate Nostril Breathing: 3 Complete Rounds With So Ham

Alternate nostril breath is also known as joyful breath. A regular practice helps to stabilize, balance and calm our nervous system and settle our mind. In this guided practice, we allow the mantra so-ham (pronounced so-hum) to flow with our smooth continuous breath from the eyebrow center to the base of the nostrils. We then follow the sound into stillness and meditation.

Transcript

Alternate Nostril Breathing or Nadi Shodhanam. No matter what's going on in your nervous system, Alternate Nostril Breathing is a master practice to bring us back. We're going to do it with the Mantram Sohum. Breathing in, We could listen to the sound So as you're breathing out, Listen to the sound Hum. And traditionally this practice is done sitting up. We use the ring finger and the thumb. Then you can have your other two fingers either on your forehead or just tucked into your palm. It's important to sit up straight so that you have room to breathe and not to dip your head down when you're using your hands for this. And then on the energetic level, We're working with following the flow of awareness and prana, The energy, From our eyebrow center in behind the forehead to the base of the nostrils where the nostrils meet the upper lip. That's the Sushumna channel. Notice which of your nostrils has more airflow. So you could block one off and then the other one. Sometimes the nostrils are pretty evenly balanced. Other times there's one that's dramatically more open. And our nostril dominance changes every 90 minutes or so through the day. It's one of those practices that will help to balance that energy. Bring your awareness into your whole body from head to toes and sit with enough room to breathe. So sit upright and then bring your hand up into position. We're going to do three different patterns. The first one is a single breath. As you exhale, Exhale through your active nostril and inhale through your passive nostril. Take your time with your breath. Exhale through your active nostril, Inhale through your passive nostril. Next exhalation, Change and exhale through your passive nostril, Inhale through your active nostril. Breath is moving in a circle. Next exhale, Change back to exhaling through the active nostril, Inhaling through the passive. And allow your awareness to flow with your breath from the eyebrow center through the nostrils to the base of the nostrils where they meet the upper lip. Next exhale, Change to the passive nostril on the exhale, Active nostril on the inhale. And then back again, Exhale through the active nostril, Inhale through the passive nostril. Allow the mantra so hum to arise in your mind. Listen to the sound as well. Changing again, Exhale through the passive nostril, Inhale through the active, Inhaling so exhaling hum. And then bring your hand down and now follow the flow just with your mind. Exhale from the eyebrow center and behind the forehead through to the base of the nose. Exhale and inhale through both nostrils. Your whole body relax. Face, Forehead, Eyes, Mouth and jaw, Neck and shoulders. Focus in on this smooth flow of breath and awareness from the eyebrow center to the base of the nostrils and back. Inhaling so exhaling hum. And then for the next round, We're going to do a complete breath. We start with exhaling and inhaling through the passive nostril and then exhaling and inhaling through the active nostril. Each time you breathe out, Switch to the other nostril. Let your mind flow smoothly with the breath. Exhale and inhale through one nostril and then on the next exhale, Switch to the other side. And listening to the sound in your mind, Inhaling so exhale hum. Take your time when you come to the end of the inhalation through your active nostril. Bring your hand down and follow the flow in both nostrils again. Let your awareness flow smoothly with the breath. Listening to the sound, Inhaling so exhale hum. Let your awareness flow in this. Assume the channel, Eyebrow center to the base of the nose and back. The third pattern we're using in this today is several breaths on one side and then the other. Your next exhale, Block off the passive nostril and exhale and inhale with awareness in your active nostril. In the next exhale, Change to your passive nostril. Let your mind be very steady. Let it flow with the awareness of the breath. Next exhale and inhale through the active nostril again. Let your mind be completely absorbed in this flow of awareness, Breath, Mantra. And then again, Changing over to the passive nostril. Take your time. Next exhale, Switching to your active nostril again. Listening to the sound, So hum. Switch over to the passive nostril, Exhale and inhale. And then bring your hand down when you finish that inhale. Follow that flow of awareness coordinated with the breath. The sound, So hum, Flowing in your mind. Let your awareness flow and that's assuming a channel from the eyebrow center and behind the forehead to the base of the nose where the nostrils meet the upper lip. Notice the airflow on both nostrils and then begin to move your attention away from the physicalness of the breath into the energy channel coordinating with the breath. Bring your awareness more into the central channel from the eyebrow center to the middle of the nostrils at the base. You might think of it as a thin stream of light, Letting your awareness flow along that stream. Inhaling, So exhaling, Hum. Your mind is distracted. Check your posture, Relax your body and come back into the awareness of the breath. Let your awareness flow in this asumna energy channel, Eyebrow center to the base of the nose and back. And then at some point it might feel natural to let go of the breath. You could allow the mantra to repeat in your mind and let your breath awareness move to the background. And as the mantra repeats, So hum, So hum, So hum, So hum, Allow it to come at whatever rhythm and pace that it does. Let your breath awareness move into the background. Keep your focus. Listen to the sound in your mind and follow that sound into the stillness. So hum, So hum, So hum, So hum, So hum. It's natural for the mind to wander a bit. Just bring it back if that's happening. You could focus again on that flow in this asumna channel, Eyebrow center to the base of the nose and back. And then bring your attention into this stillness, The silence. Listen to the mantra, So hum, So hum, So hum. Listen as the mantra repeats in your mind. Continue to bring yourself into the stillness to focus on that. Sometimes if we're distracted, It's just a couple of breaths in this asumna channel and then we can come back inside to a deeper layer. So hum, So hum, So hum, So hum. And if you're moved to do so and you have time, You could stay in the stillness and meditation for a while longer. Otherwise, Start to bring your awareness back into that sushumna channel and the flow of awareness. Breath, The sound of the mantra in the eyebrow center to the base of the nostrils and back. Let your awareness flow in that channel again. Listening to the sound, So hum. Bring your awareness back to the sensations of air in your nose, Into your whole body, Head to toes. And then when you're ready, Open your eyes and come out of the practice.

Reviews

Fabulous cyclic breathing meditation! Best of all I have tried. Wow! Amazingly calm, well paced instruction by a teacher with a beautiful, resonant, empowered, peaceful voice. Thank you for this gift! ❤️❤️❤️🌈🌈🌈❤️❤️❤️

That was wonderful. Thank you so much! I’ve been doing alternate nostril breathing for years, since it’s sooo powerful, but not with a mantra, so I really liked this! I tried my mantra with it too!

This pranayama has helped me so many times—not to just feel calm but to think much more clearly too and to remember things—I even do it while watching movies so I don’t forget them!

My nostrils are blocked so often though —one or the other—that I finally found an Immune aromatherapy by Saje that helped open them finally and I could do this pranayama more :)

Also, my yoga teacher taught us that if one of our nostrils is severely blocked, we can just inhale through our mouth and do the exhales though whatever space we have in the blocked nostril (easier to exhale than struggle inhaling!), as we’re still activating both sides of the brain and so when nothing will unplug me, I do that! ( I’m going to teach that to others too if their plugged nostrils stop them from trying it!!).

I look forward to doing this one with your mantra everyday—so glad I found this track :) xo Lisa

I followed this while feeling completely overwhelmed and it brought calm and stability. Thank you.