Daily Breathwork Reset: Guided Nadi Shodhana Practice for Balance & Clarity

A study in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine found this one breathing technique can synchronize the two hemispheres of your brain. In our last session, we focused on finding a general sense of balance and clarity. Today, we use a practice that creates that balance… physically.

It’s called Nadi Shodhana, or alternate nostril breathing. Let’s begin. Find a comfortable, tall seat. Allowing the spine to be long. The crown of the head reaching upward. Close your eyes if that feels right for you. Simply begin by noticing your breath as it is.

No need to change it. Just feeling the air move in… and out. Feeling the body settle. Now, bring your right hand up in front of your face. We'll prepare the hand position. Fold your first two fingers—your index and your middle finger—down into your palm. Let them rest gently.

Your thumb and your ring finger will remain extended. You will use your thumb to gently close your right nostril… and your ring finger to gently close your left. This is the Vishnu Mudra. Let your left hand rest in your lap. Before we begin the pattern, take a full breath in through both nostrils.

And a complete breath out. Now… gently press your right thumb against your right nostril to close it. Inhale through your left nostril for a count of four. Inhale… two… three… four. Now close the left nostril with your ring finger. Both are closed. Hold the breath at the top.

Release the thumb from your right nostril. Exhale through the right for a count of six. Exhale… two… three… four… five… six. Stay here. Inhale through the RIGHT nostril now. Four counts. Inhale… two… three… four. Close the right nostril with your thumb. Both are closed.

A moment of stillness. Release the ring finger from your left nostril. Exhale through the left. Six counts. Exhale… two… three… four… five… six. That is ONE full round. We will continue. Close the right. Inhale left… two… three… four. Close both. Hold. Open right.

Exhale right… two… three… four… five… six. Inhale right… two… three… four. Close both. Pause. Open left. Exhale left… two… three… four… five… six. Continue on your own now. Inhaling for four. Exhaling for six. Allowing the breath to be smooth… and quiet. I will leave you in silence for a few rounds.

Following that simple rhythm. Left… to right. Right… to left. Complete the round you are on. Let your final exhale be through the left nostril. When you are finished… release your right hand down to your lap. Keep the eyes closed. And just… be still. Breathing now through BOTH nostrils.

Notice the quality of the air. The stillness in the mind. The feeling of quiet equilibrium inside you. This is the balance point. This balance is always here for you to return to.