Alternate Nostril Breathing
In left, out right, in right, out left. The technique in the app that demands the most coordination, and how the finger position settles.
5 min read
You close the nostrils in turn with your right hand: in through the left, out through the right, in through the right, out through the left. Each step is four seconds. Four steps make one cycle.
Its Sanskrit name is Nadi Shodhana. It is the technique in the app that asks for the most attention.
What it is good for
Breathing through one nostril slows the airflow — you get a long breath without forcing it.
Second, and more noticeable in practice: following the finger, the nostril and the rhythm at the same time leaves the mind no room for anything else. That is why it is one of the best techniques to do with a scattered mind.
Studies have reported that it increases heart rate variability and lowers blood pressure slightly. These findings are consistent with the general effects of slow breathing.
The finger position
Use your right hand. Your thumb closes the right nostril and your ring finger the left. The index and middle fingers curl towards the palm or rest on your forehead.
The order goes like this:
1. Close the right with the thumb, breathe in through the left for four seconds.
2. Close the left with the ring finger, lift the thumb, breathe out through the right for four seconds.
3. With the same hand, breathe in through the right for four seconds.
4. Close the right with the thumb, breathe out through the left for four seconds. Cycle complete.
In the app the label under the circle tells you which nostril to use at every step — you don't have to memorise it.
Common mistakes
Not closing the nostril fully. The finger should press lightly but completely. Air seeps through a half-closed nostril and the technique loses its point.
Rushing. Keep each step going until the circle finishes. Don't cut the breath to move your finger.
Forcing the breath. Air enters more slowly through one nostril. What you take in over four seconds will be less than through two nostrils, and that is normal.
Why it is one of the last to unlock
In the app this technique is at an advanced level. You are asked to do Left or Right Nostril Breathing first.
The reason: getting used to breathing through a single nostril is far easier than learning the finger position and the four-step order at the same time. Once single-nostril settles, the alternating form comes by itself.
How the app measures it
Breathing through one nostril is very quiet. The app uses one of its most sensitive thresholds for this technique and can still find it hard to hear.
The first step of the tutorial says so directly: move somewhere quiet, because background sound spoils the measurement in this technique.
Hold the device near your nose. The microphone hearing little is normal here.
Who should take care
If your nose is blocked, don't force it. No other known risk — there is no hold and no fast breathing.