Alternate-nostril breathing
Twelve minutes of breathing through one nostril at a time. It is the most structured practice on this site, and the structure is the point: the hands have a job, so the mind has less room to wander off script.
- Length
- 12 minutes
- Suited to
- Some practice behind you
- Published
- 1 Oct 2026
The script
Pauses are marked inline. Read at the pace that suits you; the timer below can keep time for you.
Sit upright. Rest the left hand on the knee. Bring the right hand to the nose: thumb near the right nostril, ring finger near the left, index and middle fingers folded out of the way.
Find the notch just above the upper lip with the thumb, so you can close a nostril without pressing on the septum. Use the side of the thumb, not the tip. 30 s
Close the right nostril and breathe in through the left, slowly. 20 s
Close both nostrils briefly, then release the right and breathe out through the right. 20 s
Breathe in through the right. 20 s
Close both, release the left, breathe out through the left. That is one round. 30 s
Continue for the next eight minutes, letting the breath be quiet enough that you cannot hear it. 120 s
If the arm tires, rest it on the chest and hold the nose from there. Comfortable beats correct. 90 s
Let the count stay even: same length in as out, on both sides. 120 s
For the last minute, lower the hand and breathe through both nostrils, noticing whether one side feels more open than it did. 60 s
Anchor
which nostril the air is moving through right now
If attention goes
Three things to do when the mind leaves — because it will.
- If you lose the sequence, stop and start again on the left inhale. The restart costs two seconds and saves the round.
- If the nose is blocked on one side, breathe through the open one and skip the blocked half of the round rather than sniffing.
- If you notice you are pressing the septum, move the thumb higher on the side of the nose. Pressure there is uncomfortable and unnecessary.
01Hand position, step by step
Fold the index and middle fingers into the palm, or extend them and rest them on the bridge of the nose — whichever keeps them out of the way. The working fingers are the thumb (right nostril) and the ring finger (left nostril).
Close a nostril against the side of the nose, not across the tip. Pressing across the tip pushes on the septum and closes both nostrils halfway.
If your arm cannot reach comfortably, rest the elbow on a cushion or the arm of a chair. Nobody is watching, and an aching shoulder will end the practice before the breath does.
02Counting options
The simplest version has no counts at all: inhale left, exhale right, inhale right, exhale left. Add a count only if you want a pace to hold — four in, four out works for most people.
A common refinement is one count longer on the exhale, giving four in and five out. Do not go further than that. The purpose of alternate-nostril breathing is evenness, and a large imbalance undoes it.
03What one side being blocked means
The nasal cycle is real: congestion normally alternates sides over a few hours, and most people have one dominant side at any moment. Practising on the open side is perfectly valid.
If one side has been blocked for weeks, that is a medical question, not a practice question. See a doctor rather than working around it.
Timer
Loading the timer…
Questions that come up
Which hand should I use?
The right hand, in the traditional form. There is no physiological reason for this; if your left hand is more dexterous, use it and reverse the finger assignments.
How fast should the breath be?
Quiet enough that someone sitting a metre away cannot hear it. If you can hear your own breath, it is too fast or too forceful.
Is this better than simply breathing slowly?
For settling attention while giving the hands a task, it is easier to stay with. For simply slowing the breath, it offers nothing extra. Choose according to which one you will actually do.
Terms used here
- Anchor — The one thing attention is asked to return to when it wanders.
- Breath count — Using numbers to give a restless mind something small to hold.
- Dullness — The foggy, sinking state that is not sleep but is not attention either.
Before you begin — Everything here is general information about attention and breathing, offered for educational use only. It is not medical or psychological treatment, and it is not a substitute for care from a qualified professional. If you have a heart or lung condition, a history of panic attacks or trauma, are pregnant, or are being treated for a mental health condition, talk to your clinician before starting breath-holding or long body-scan practice. Stop if a practice makes you dizzy, breathless or distressed.