So welcome to your Nadi Sharana practice,
Alternate nostril breathing.
This will be eight minutes of steadying,
Balancing breath.
So to begin,
Find a comfortable cease.
Spine tall,
Shoulders soft.
Maybe tuck the chin slightly down so the back of the neck is long.
Rest your left hand on your thigh or in your lap.
If it's comfortable,
Close your eyes or let your gaze drop to the floor.
And just take a few moments to arrive.
Breathing in through the nose.
And letting it go through the nose.
You're now going to bring your right hand up toward your face.
Folding your index and middle fingers in toward your palms.
Or rest them gently on your brow between your eyebrows,
Whichever feels easier.
Your thumb will close the right nostril and your ring finger will close the left.
We're going to keep the touch light.
So just enough to close the nostril.
No pressing.
And if your arms get tired at any point,
You can support your right elbow with your left hand.
Or simply rest and keep following the pattern in your mind.
So here's the shape of it.
We'll be breathing in through the left and then switching out through the right.
In through the right and then switching and out through the left.
And that'll be one round.
And the breath will be slow and quiet,
Low into the belly.
No force and no strain.
And if the count feels too long,
Just make it shorter.
Go for comfort first.
So let's begin.
Close the right nostril with your thumb.
Exhale fully through the left.
Inhale through the left,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Close the left with your right finger,
Release the thumb.
Exhale through the right,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale through the right,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Close the right,
Open the left.
Exhale through the left,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale left,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Exhale right,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale right,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Lift.
2,
3,
4.
One more counted round.
2,
3,
4.
Exhale,
Right.
2,
3,
4.
Inhale,
Right.
2,
3,
4.
Exhale,
Left.
2,
3,
4.
Just keeping that same rhythm on your own.
Inhale,
Left.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Following the rhythm on your own.
You have it now,
Just keep going at your own pace.
If ever you lose track of which side you're on,
No problem.
Just begin again with an inhale on the left.
You you Can you let the breath get a little softer?
So quiet that you could barely hear it.
Noticing the cool air on the inhale.
The warmer air on the exhale.
One side and then the other.
And if you'd like to,
You can let the exhale become a little longer in the hands.
We'll be in for four.
Maybe out for six,
Only if that feels easy.
Staying with this for another couple of rounds.
When you do,
Finish your next exhale on the left.
Let the right hand come down to rest.
Breathing now naturally through both nostrils.
Notice how the breath feels now.
Is one side more open than it was.
Is the mind a little quieter?
And nothing needs to change or be different.
Simply notice where you are compared to where you started.
Gonna take one fuller breath in and a long easy breath out.
When you're ready,
Gently open your eyes.
That's your Nadi Sharana practice,
Alternate nostril breathing.
Come back to it anytime you need to find your balance.
