Alternate Nostril Breathing

The Pradipika opens its instruction on pranayama with alternate nostril breathing, describing it as purifying the nadis over months of steady practice. The left and right channels are associated with cooling and heating currents; balancing them is said to prepare the central channel. Retention is added only after the flow is even and effortless.

Alternate nostril breathing has been studied more than most yogic techniques. Slow-paced practice at around six breaths per minute reliably increases heart-rate variability, lowers blood pressure modestly, and improves attention scores on short cognitive tests. The nostril-specific effects are less firmly established than the general effect of slow, nasal breathing.

1. Sit with the spine upright and the breath already easy.
2. Rest the right thumb beside the right nostril, the ring finger beside the left.
3. Close the right nostril and inhale through the left for four counts.
4. Close both, pause briefly if comfortable, then open the right and exhale for six to eight counts.
5. Inhale through the right, then exhale through the left. That is one round.
6. Build from five to fifteen minutes. The breath should stay silent and smooth throughout.

Skip if the nose is fully blocked. Do not hold the breath if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure, epilepsy, heart disease, glaucoma or are pregnant — practise without retention instead. Stop if you feel dizzy or air-hungry.