Alternate Nostril Breathing

Here is a favorite meditation of mine to practice and teach. I have been sharing this regularly with clients who are struggling with anxiety and worry.

This meditation is called: Perspective and Emotional Balance, Alternate Nostril Breathing

Sit with straight spine on the floor with legs crossed or in a chair.

Eyes: Eyes are closed, pressed gently up, focusing at the Brow Point, also called 3rd eye (roll your eyes gently up and then in toward the bridge of your nose) .

Mudra (hand position): Left hand is in gian mudra resting on your knee. To do this, press the pad of your index finger into the bad of your thumb. Use the right thumb and right index finger to close off alternate nostrils.

Breath: Close off the right nostril with the right thumb. Inhale deeply through the left nostril. When the breath is full, close off the left nostril with the index finger, and exhale smoothly through the right nostril. The breath is complete, continuous, and smooth. Feel the expansion of your belly as you inhale and feel your chest drop down, then draw the navel back toward your spine on the exhale (exhaling completely).

Time: Continue with long, deep regular breaths for 3-11 minutes. I recommend starting with 3 minutes and slowly building up if you wish.

To End: Inhale, exhale completely, hold the breath out for a moment. Relax completely. Taking a few more breaths here before you move on with your day. I like to recommend practicing meditation at the same time every day, but there is always the ideal and the real. So do what works best for you, but finding a way to practice daily will give best results. You may find you like to start your day with this meditation or end you day with it, or even both. It is excellent to do before bed to let go of the worries of the day.

Inhaling through the left nostril is calming and cooling and stimulates the brain's capacity to reset your framework of thinking and feeling, allowing new perspectives. Exhaling through the right nostril relaxes the constant computations and cautions of the brain (worry and anxiety), which helps to break automatic patterns. Regulating your breath pattern in this way sets a new level of brain functioning which establishes emotional balance and calmness after periods of intense stress or shock.