Breathing Meditation: Alternate and Rhythmic Breathing

Sit with your back upright,
head upright,
but relaxed.
You have to be lifted up in the back,
not slumped over.
Be like the mountain:
straight, upright, erect –
magnanimous and majestic.

We begin with deep and long breathing
to settle yourself in yourself.
Observe the breath,
keep your observation with the breath.
You are the observer.

Allow the breathing to relax you.
The observation leads you to a self-awareness,
the self-observer,
reaches you deeper in yourself,
settling you,
centering you.

Long, deep breaths.

Then you begin breathing from one side, through one nostril only.
You place your right hand, preferably,
whether you are right-handed or left-handed,
in a way, that you have two fingers, middle- and index finger,
between the eyebrows,
the thumb on one side of the nose,
and the two other fingers on the other side.
And then we can begin with breathing through the left nostril.
Close the right nostril with the thumb,
draw in the breath,
deep breath, a full breath.
Draw it in,
hold it for a few counts,
3 counts, 4 counts, 5 counts,
as to your capacity.
This is a state of kumbakha.
Then after the counts release the breath,
allow all the breath to be released,
empty out – state of emptiness.
Then keep the breath out for a number of counts,
the same number that you had the breath in.
That is a complete round.

You begin the in-breath again.
So in-breath – state of fullness,
hold the breath in – kumbakha,
then breathe out – state of emptiness,
hold the breath out.
5 rounds alltogether.

After you finished breathing through the left nostril,
then close the left nostril with the two fingers,
ringfinger and little finger,
and begin with breathing through the right nostril.
Again 5 rounds.

Then do alternate breathing:
breathe in from the right nostril,
then close the right nostril, keep the breath in for a number of counts
and release from the left.
Then keep the breath out again for the same number of counts.
After keeping it out for the number of counts,
inhale from the left,
close the left,
keep it in for some time,
open the right,
breathe out from the right.
That is one round.
Two rounds like that.
This is alternate breathing.

So breathe in from one side,
hold it in,
close that side
and after holding it in for a number of counts
breathe out from the other side.
Keep the breath out,
then breathe in from the side you expelled the breath, you exhaled.
Closing that side,
closing the side you inhaled from,
keep the breath in
and breathe out from the other side.
This is one complete round.
Two rounds like this.

Then after two rounds
you can continue with the rhythmic breathing,
deep, strong and long breaths
for a few rounds.

Rhythmic breathing –
harmonizing you in yourself.
Taking a full breath – state of fullness,
followed by emptying out – state of emptiness.
Emptying out,
then filling in again.

There will be an inner urge to slow down the breath,
to let go of the breath.
Continue for a while until the urge is strong enough,
then let go of the breath
and come to a stop in yourself.

It can be vigorous to begin with,
this rhythmic breathing.
Then following the inner urge to slow down
and coming to a stop in yourself
and reaching to meditation.

Arya Vihar Ashram, 13 December 1996