Alternate-nostril breathing

Breathe through one side of the nose, then the other, slowly.

A yoga breathing practice (nadi shodhana): you close one nostril at a time with your thumb and ring finger, breathing in through one side and out through the other. The careful, slow pattern keeps your attention on the breath.

Skip it if your nose is blocked; belly breathing works just as well.

The steps

• Set up (Easy seated pose): Sit tall. Rest your left hand in your lap. Bring your right thumb near your right nostril and your ring finger near your left.
• One round (Easy seated pose): Close the right nostril with your thumb and breathe in through the left. Close the left, open the right, and breathe out through the right. Breathe in through the right, close it, and out through the left.
• Keep going (Easy seated pose): In through one side, out through the other, slowly and quietly.
• Both sides (Easy seated pose): Lower your hand and breathe through both sides of the nose.

Tips

• Never force the breath: soft and quiet is the aim.

Related

• Belly breathing
• The double sigh
• All the calm lessons

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