Let's do alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana)
Channel: Happy Holistics
Date: 2017-10-12

www.happyholistics.ca

Transcription:

Hey everyone!  My name is Judy and I’m a yoga instructor in Toronto, please feel free to check out my teaching schedule by following the link to my website in the description box below.  

Here is one way to do alternate nostril breathing.  If you’d like to know the benefits of Nadi Shodhana, go towards the end of this video, at around the 4-minute mark.  If you have a blocked nose - either on one side or both, you may want to choose another form of breath work.
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Place your middle and index fingers on the space between your eyebrows.

When we close alternate nostrils, avoid clamping down aggressively.  Instead, think about resting your thumb and ring & pinky fingers on the bridge of your nose and using a sliding down motion each time you need to close a side.

This is traditionally done with the right hand, but my left hand seems to work better - so feel free to try both sides and use whichever one you’re more comfortable with. 

Close your eyes.
Exhale to empty and gently close the left nostril.  
Inhale to the top, then softly close the right nostril, open the left and slowly breathe it all out.  
Inhale fully, then close the left nostril, open the right and exhale through the right nostril.  
Breathe in and at the top, switch sides by closing the right and opening the left, breathe out.
Fill your belly with air, then switch sides and let it out to empty.
Inhale to capacity, switch nostrils and exhale.
Deep breath in.  Change sides and breathe out, trying to match the length of your in-breaths to your out-breaths.
Take a long inhale here.  Gently switch sides then expel the air out.

Do this following the pace of your own breath and following the same pattern.

If you get lost, just join back at any time - exhale all your breath out.  Then take a deep breath in.  Switch at the top and exhale.  
Inhale and switch sides when you’re full of breath.  Take an exhale then an inhale.
Close the opposite nostril, breathe out.

Breathe in.  Switch sides.  Breathe out.  
Take a full breath in, switch and let out all the air.
Inhale, change sides.

Finish on an exhale, release the hand and allow your breath to return back to normal.

Alternate nostril breathing is said to balance the energy channels in your body.  If you don’t subscribe to the idea of energy balancing, at the very least, I find that it can help clear partially blocked nasal passages and the slow breathing helps to calm the mind.  

If you enjoyed watching this video or found it helpful, please subscribe to my channel for more also remember to like up this video and I’ll see you next week. 

Music: Namaste by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Artist: http://audionautix.com/