Nostril breathwork to achieve rapid calmness

Flow nostril breath, or Nadi Shodhana Pranayama in Sanskrit, is a simple technique

used to recenter the mind-body-spirit connection. I fell in love with this practice when

someone gave me a yoga deck almost twenty years ago to learn yoga. It had

references for different pranayama practices, in which alternative nostril breathing was

the one I loved most.

As a scientist today but a curious teenager in the early 2000s, I valued Nadi Shodhana

Pranayama’s ability to engage and disengage the left and right sides of the body.

Yoga is not just about the poses, or asanas, but about the holistic journey back to self.

Yoga pulls together the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual components of you.

The alternative nostril breathwork will enforce through the power of breath a sense of

balance.

You can learn this practice in my meditation workshop or sometimes at the beginning of

my yoga class, but I have included quick instructions below:

How to do Nadi Shodhana Pranayama:

1. Sit in a comfortable location that’s safe to perform for three to five minutes. You

can be on a yoga mat, meditation pillow, etc.

2. Lift your dominant hand as if to give someone a high five, and lower the index

and middle fingers.

3. Place the ring finger between your eyebrows, leaving the pinky and thumb

available for the practice.

4. Starting with the thumb, press the nostril closest and inhale from the open nostril

for four counts.

5. Press your thumb to block the closest nostril, then open the pinky to release the

other nostril.

6. Exhale fully. Inhale using the nostril that’s open, switch nostril openings, then

exhale.

7. This can be repeated at any combination/iterations that feels right to you. I like to

do a few breaths per side to energize one side of the body and then repeat on

the other side.

I hope you enjoyed this technique. I look forward to sharing more with you.

With love and light,

Mary Love