Nadi Shodhana
नाडी शोधन
Alternate Nostril Breathing
Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2.7-2.8, Yoga Sutras 2.49
Two versions, 2 minutes and 10 minutes
What it does
Slows the breath and gives it a simple physical task to follow, alternating sides. The pattern occupies enough attention to interrupt a loop without requiring you to think clearly first, which is why it works when other practices do not.
How to do it, the shorter version
Sit comfortably.
- Close your right nostril gently with your right thumb. Inhale slowly through the left.
- Close the left nostril with your ring finger, release the right, and exhale slowly through the right.
- Inhale through the right.
- Close the right nostril with your thumb, release the left, and exhale through the left. That is one full round.
Continue for one to two minutes, keeping the breath slow and even. This version leaves out the hold.
How to do it, the fuller version
The same alternating pattern, sustained over more rounds, with the breath allowed to lengthen on its own.
Before you practice
The hold is optional. The classical instruction adds a hold after each inhale, and the practice is complete without it. If you include it, hold only as long as feels natural, never to a count, and release at the first sign of strain.
Skip the hold if:
- You have a cardiovascular condition, uncontrolled high blood pressure, glaucoma or a retinal condition, epilepsy, or a history of panic attacks.
- You are pregnant or unwell.
Stop at any point if you feel dizzy or lightheaded, or if anxiety rises.
Check with a doctor if you are unsure.
When to use it, in the moment
- Before a task that requires sustained focus.
- As a longer reset when you have a few quiet minutes between meetings.
- In the minutes right after something has knocked you off balance and thinking clearly feels out of reach.
The technique is silent but the hand position is visible, so it needs a moment where you are not being watched.
When to use it, over time
This is the practice that asks least of your mind. It gives your hands a procedure to follow, and following a procedure is possible when thinking clearly is not. Practiced regularly, it builds the settling that subtler practices assume you can already reach.
Where it comes from
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (2.7 and 2.8) gives this technique directly: drawing the breath in through the left nostril, holding it, releasing through the right, then reversing. The verses assume a lotus seat; any comfortable seat works here. Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 2.49 defines pranayama, the fourth limb of yoga, as the interruption or regulation of the breath's flow. The classical instruction includes the hold; the fuller version keeps it, as an option, and both versions are complete without it.
Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2.7
बद्धपद्मासनो योगी प्राणं चन्द्रेण पूरयेत् । धारयित्वा यथाशक्ति भूयः सूर्येण रेचयेत् ॥ २.७ ॥
baddha-padma-āsano yogī prāṇaṃ candreṇa pūrayet | dhārayitvā yathā-śakti bhūyaḥ sūryeṇa recayet
Seated in the bound lotus pose, the yogi breathes in through the moon, the left nostril, holds the breath as far as able, then breathes out through the sun, the right.
- baddha-padma-āsana
- the bound lotus seat. From baddha, bound, padma, lotus, and āsana, seat: legs crossed, each foot resting on the opposite thigh
- prāṇa
- breath, life force
- candreṇa, sūryeṇa
- by the moon, by the sun. The moon is the left nostril, called iḍā, and the sun is the right, called piṅgalā
- pūrayet, recayet
- should fill, should empty: breathe in, breathe out. From pūr, to fill, and ric, to empty
- dhārayitvā
- having held, after holding the breath. From dhṛ, to hold
- yathā-śakti
- as far as one is able. From yathā, as, and śakti, strength. The verse sets no count or time for the hold
Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2.8
प्राणं सूर्येण चाकृष्य पूरयेदुदरं शनैः । विधिवत्कुम्भकं कृत्वा पुनश्चन्द्रेण रेचयेत् ॥ २.८ ॥
prāṇaṃ sūryeṇa cākṛṣya pūrayed udaraṃ śanaiḥ | vidhivat kumbhakaṃ kṛtvā punaś candreṇa recayet
Drawing the breath in through the sun, the right nostril, fill the belly slowly. Having held it as taught, breathe out again through the moon, the left.
Sutra 2.49
तस्मिन् सति श्वासप्रश्वासयोर्गतिविच्छेदः प्राणायामः ॥ २.४९ ॥
tasmin sati śvāsa-praśvāsayor gati-vicchedaḥ prāṇāyāmaḥ
Once that is established, pranayama is the interruption of the flow of inhalation and exhalation.
On the evidence
Slow alternate nostril breathing has been repeatedly associated with a shift toward the nervous system's calming, parasympathetic side: reduced heart rate, reduced blood pressure, and improved heart rate variability. Studies have also reported improvements on attention tasks following practice. One limitation: much of this research is in clinical populations rather than healthy adults under work stress, and sample sizes are typically modest.
Balance isn't something you arrive at once. It's something you keep returning both sides toward.