How To Alternate Nostril Breathing Video

Nostril breathing is an important part of yoga exercises. Learn how to alternate nostril breathing in this yoga exercise video lesson.

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Seat yourself comfortably
Place thumb on left nostril
Inhale through right nostril
Close right nostril
Exhale through left nostril
Alternate

About this Author

Cindy Mastry has practiced yoga since the age of eight, and also has a background in Jazz and Ballet. Active in the fitness industry for nearly twenty years, she teaches aerobics, kickboxing, and yoga at many fitness centers in the Tampa Bay area. Cindy trained with 84 year-old Master Yogi Monk, Baba Hari Dass at the Mt. Madonna Center in California and owns/operates "Yoga Etc Studio" in St. Petersburg, Florida. Cindy teaches yoga to people of all ages and experience levels and at very competitive rates.

CINDY MASTRY: Namaste, my name is Cindy Mastry and this is Faith, and we're going to show you how to do alternate nostril breathing. First, you need to find a nice, comfortable seated position where you could sit for a couple of minutes without having to move. You're going to root your seat's bones right down unto the earth and lengthen up to the crown of your head, dropping your shoulders back and lifting your heart. We're going to come into Vishnu mudra, sometimes called Deer Seal. So you're going to bring your forefinger and your middle finger and place it down on the path of your thumb, extending your pinky and your ring finger, yeah, and thumb out to the side. Faith is going to place her thumb on her right nostril. She is going to inhale through her left nostril. She then closes off the left nostril and exhales to the right nostril. Inhale and closing off the nostril with the thumb or--she inhales first then closes off the right nostril with the thumb, releases the left nostril and exhales to the left nostril. She continues doing that. That would be considered one round. She continues doing that, and alternate nostril breathing is a way to calm your body, purify the breath. So you use Vishnu mudra to close off the nostrils. One round consists of inhaling left, exhaling right, inhaling right, exhaling left, and it's a practice that will calm your mind and balance the body and breath.

How to Alternate Nostril Breathing Video

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