Nadi Shuddhi: Alternate Nostril Breathing

Alternate nostril breathing — also known as Nadi Shodhan pranayama or Nadi Shuddhi Pranayama — is an energy cleansing technique. But let me clear this up: the word ‘Nadi’ doesn’t translate to nostril literally. Nadi in Sanskrit essentially means energy channeland shuddhi/shodhan means cleansing and purification. Alternate Nostril Breathing is a breathing technique that helps to clear any blocks in the body’s energy channels. Another term you might have heard is ‘Anulom Vilom pranayama’, which essentially means the same.

Owing to a lifestyle of excess, stress, and years-long abuse through diet or erratic sleep patterns, our body’s energy channels can sometimes get blocked, leading to stagnation of blood. Stress, trauma, depression, anxiety, ingestion of toxins knowingly or unknowingly: all of these can have subtle but lasting impact on energy channels in the human body. Our bodies perceive these events as alien and unwelcome, thereby putting up ‘blockages’ in order to ward off the effects of such stimuli.

Yogic belief is that there are several energy channels in the body, but the three most important channels are as below.

1. Ida
2. Pingala
3. Sushumna

Blockages in the first channel, Ida, can lead to respiratory, emotional, and digestive issues; the Pingala nadi is said to cause the body to overheat and react aggressively. Those with so-called ‘short fuses’ are believed to have blockages in their pingala nadi. And blockages in sushumna nadi (also known as the brahma nadi) runs up the length of the spine, connecting all the seven chakras.

Whatever you want to call it — Nadi Shuddhi, Anulom Vilom, or Alternate Nostril Breathing — yoga endorses this breathing technique to help energy flow in the body without blockages of any kind. Some of the immediate benefits to alternate nostril breathing are a subtle cooling down of the body’s temperature, a clearing of the respiratory passages, and the welcome sense of calm that deep breathing always brings with it. When practiced regularly, over time, Nadi Shuddhi Pranayama can help not only clear blocked energy channels, but also prevent further blockages.

Alternate Nostril Breathing: The Technique

1. Sit in your preferred pranayama position: vajrasana, padmasana, or even sukhasana. Spine straight, shoulders relaxed, and eyes closed.
2. You can keep your palms in chin mudra for a couple of minutes while you pace your breathing to slow down naturally and sustain at a regular pace.
3. Now open your right palm into the position for this breathing technique: the thumb of the right hand for your right nostril, and the middle finger/ring finger, or ring finger/pinkie for the left nostril.
4. Closing the right nostril with the right thumb, breathe in through the left. Now using the other two fingers for the left nostril, close the left nostril (gentle touch) and breathe out through the right.
5. Repeat vice-versa.
6. This completes one round of alternate nostril breathing. Continue the process for a few more rounds. Pranayama prescribes nine rounds of this technique.
7. Remember to breathe in and out through the same nostril, completing the alternate breathing session with the nostril that you started out with.
8. You can also attach a count to the length of time for each round to equalise the two sides. The norm is to hold for 2-4 counts between inhalation and exhalation.
9. Breathe silently. No one else should hear you breathe, not even yourself. As you go through this technique, you will your body grow warm when inhaling through the right nostril, also known as ‘Surya Nadi’ or the sun channel. And you will also notice the body will cool down with inhalations through the left nostril, also known as the ‘Chandra Nadi’ or the moon channel. Your left nostril will begin to feel icy cold after a while, and your right nostril that is much warmer will balance it out.

Dos and Don’ts:

1. Remember, no forceful breathing – gentle breathing is key.
2. No need to apply pressure to your nostrils with your fingertips. Your fingers only serve as aids to concentrate on one nostril at a time.
3. Yoga recommends a short meditation prior to starting the alternate nostril breathing technique.
4. Practice regularly, preferably on an empty stomach for maximum benefits.