Alternate Nostril Breathing: Nadi Shodana

This is a short breathwork practice exploring alternate nostril breathing, a traditional yogic technique used to balance the nervous system and create a sense of inner harmony.

A gentle reset for moments when you need to find harmony from the inside out and meet yourself where you are.

Transcript

Hello, Welcome back. I'm Sarah, A somatic facilitator and coach, Here to help you build nervous system resilience so you can live up to your fullest potential with ease and confidence. I'll be guiding you through meditation, Breath work, Visualization, And deep rest so that you can explore the pause between where you've been and where you're going. Welcome to Liminal Space. In our lives it's easy to find ourselves leaning too far in one direction. Too much doing and not enough rest. Too much thinking and not enough feeling. Too much reacting and not enough pausing. Balance isn't something we achieve once and hold on to forever. It's something we return to again and again. And one of the simplest ways to come back into balance is through the breath. So today we'll explore a gentle breathing practice called alternate nostril breathing, Known in yoga as Nadi Shodhana, One of my favorites. It's best practiced seated and is a beautifully simple technique that helps bring harmony to the nervous system and settle the mind. It works by guiding the breath through each nostril in turn, Encouraging a sense of equilibrium between different systems in the body and brain. Not only does it invite this resonance within but it brings an opportunity to pause, To step out of autopilot and to call your energy back in, Return to you and feel more whole. So give yourself permission to land here and settle. Let your shoulders melt away from your ears, Relax your jaw, Maybe your gaze softens or your eyes close. Allow your breath to move naturally. Take a slow breath in through your nose and a gentle breath out. There's nowhere else you need to be, There's nothing else you need to be doing. One of the fascinating things about breathing is that it already contains a natural rhythm of balance. Each inhale invites energy, Alertness, Expansion. Each exhale invites release, Grounding and rest. We are constantly moving between these two states. They are both important, Activating and settling, Doing and letting go. Throughout the day the body naturally alternates which nostril is more dominant in breathing. This pattern known as the nasal cycle shifts every couple of hours and reflects changing activity in the nervous system and the brain. With alternate nostril breathing we're bringing ourselves back to that natural rhythm, Gently guiding the system into equilibrium again. It's a practice that has been used in yoga for centuries to calm the mind, Balance energy and create a sense of an internal rhythm. So finding that comfortable seated position, Your bones softly stacked and your muscles melting around them. Let your left hand rest somewhere comfortable, Perhaps on your thigh. Rest your right index and middle finger lightly on your third eye, The space between the eyebrows or simply fold them into your palm. Your right thumb will pause the right nostril and your right ring finger will pause the left. Before we begin take one slow breath in through both nostrils. And a gentle exhale through both. Now softly close the right nostril with your thumb and we'll inhale through the left, Two, Three, Four. Close the left nostril, Exhale through the right, Two, Three, Four. Inhale right, Two, Three, Four. Close the right, Exhale left, Two, Three, Four. This completes one round. Inhale left, Close left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Close right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Inhale left, Exhale right. Inhale right, Exhale left. Take a few breaths at your own pace. Allow the breath to remain soft and unforced. Notice the rhythm of the practice. The steady back and forth of the breath. Balancing, Equalising, Returning you to centre. Your next exhale through the left nostril will complete your final breath here. You'll gently release your hand to your thigh and allow the breath to return back to its natural rhythm. Take a moment to notice how you feel. Perhaps the breath is a little slower, The mind feels a little quieter, There's a sense of spaciousness. Just a few minutes of conscious breathing can shift the nervous system and change the way we move throughout the rest of our day. Balance isn't about perfection, It's about noticing when we've drifted and giving ourselves a way back. And we can always use our breath to meet us exactly where we are. Start to feel the contact points of your body on the ground and allow your senses to awaken. Noises, Smells, Textures, Movements. Allow your eyes to flutter open and take in your surroundings. Harmony is something we intentionally choose. The more we choose it, The more it chooses us. So keep using these tools to support the harmony within. Rest well and I'll see you next time.