Alternate Nostril Breathing

The benefit of proper breathing are well known through the adequate use of breathing exercises a meditator can achieve great things, I never pushed the envelop of my breathing routine very far, the problem is that advanced breathing exercises in Yogic Pranayama are dangerous if done without care and caution. If you want to go full Pranayama; you will need a master in Yoga to monitor your progress, I heard the story of some guy who developed his energy body by quickly building Chi with advanced Pranayama exerices, bad luck for him, his energy system broke down, took him three years to recover.
My energy building practise isn’t based much on Pranayama or breathing exercises however I do use them, they bring some health benefits such as clarity of mind, reduction of mind chatter and relaxation.

Alternate nostril breathing is an exercise I enjoy and that bring some benefit, try it to feel it.

1. Sit in a comfortably cross-legged position, back straight or on a chair with the back erect.
2. Raise your right hand and place your ring finger against your left nostril, closing it off.
3. Inhale deeply and slowly through the right nostril to the count of 4.
4. Close off the right nostril with your thumb and retain the breath for a count of 1-4 seconds.
5. Open the left nostril and exhale to the count of 4-8 seconds. Concentrate on completely emptying the lungs.
6. Breathe in through that same left nostril to the count of 4.
7. Repeat on either side. This completes one round.
8. Repeat the round of breathing five more times.

In the DVD from Yoga Zone they show this exercise without any count; the instructor just follows is natural rhythm, however, I personally prefer using a count of 4 and sometimes 5, it suits me well. Doing the exercise during 5 or 10 minutes is good.

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