Breathwork For Balance: The Ninefold Purification

If you are neither sleepy nor anxious, this is your go-to-breathwork for balance. Also known as "alternate nostril breathing" or nadi shodhana.

This technique entails a total of nine deliberate breaths with some short breaks in between and is practiced sitting up.

Transcript

Please take an upright,

Dignified meditation posture.

Seated on a cushion or in a chair,

And take a breath and come into being here with yourself in this moment,

Whatever it's like right now.

We'll open our practice today with the nine-fold purification.

So please bring your left index finger up to the outside of the left nostril.

Do not close it off just yet.

And take a medium to full breath in through both nostrils.

And then close off the left side and exhale through the right side only.

You can add a little push from the belly if that feels good to you,

A little.

And then breathing it through both.

Exhaling out of the right side only,

This is breath number two,

We want a total of three.

And one more just like that,

Please.

Let your hand relax on your lap.

Just feel a couple of natural breath cycles now.

And then the right hand comes to the outside of the right nostril,

Do not close off.

But rather take a medium to full breath in through both.

Then close off and exhale out of the left side now.

And then,

Two more exactly like that,

Please.

And then just relax for a couple of breath cycles.

Breathing in the exact same way now with both nostrils unobstructed.

So please breathe in.

And out.

With a little push.

Three times total.

Two more.

Just let go.

Let the effects of the breath work,

However subtle,

Be felt in the body.