
Want more energy?
Want to relax after a long day?
This is a simple daily breathwork practice that can be done in 3 minutes.
A practice that can be used in the morning & evening as part of your daily ritual.
Use this daily breathwork practice in the morning to energise you and get you active for your day or use it anytime you feel low on energy and need a boost.
Use this daily breathwork practice in the evening to relax and destress or use anytime you feel stressed, irritated or frustrated.
If you’re running low on time and don’t want to miss out on your daily practice, this 3 minute breathwork practice is perfect.
Instructions on both the morning and evening breathwork practice are below but first a little on why we’re doing what we’re doing in this breathwork practice.
The Nadis
We have three main nadis in our system, the ida, pingala and the sushumna. We have 72,000 nadis in our body and they all originate from these three primary nadis.
Nadis are subtle energy channels that run throughout our physical body and allow prana (life force energy) to move throughout our system. Having prana circulating in our system is a good thing as it leads to a balance in our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
This simple breathwork practice is working directly with two of our main nadis, the ida and the pingala.
The Ida
The ida is our left subtle channel and when we breathe through the ida, our left nostril, we are activating our parasympathetic nervous system. This is known as our ‘rest and digest’ part of our autonomic nervous system that promotes relaxation, digestion, restful sleep, regulates body temperature. When this branch of our nervous system is activated after a stressful or physical situation it brings us back to a state of regulation.
When we breathe through our left nostril, the ida subtle channel, we are bringing our body back into a state of regulation where our body can relax and repair itself. So if you’re feeling like you’ve had a long day or you want to unwind after a lot of activity or stress, try this breathing practice to relax and regulate you.
The Pingala
The pingala is our right subtle channel and when we breathe through the Pingala, our right nostril, we are activating our sympathetic nervous system. This is known as our ‘fight or flight’ response part of our autonomic nervous system. It gets activated when we are stressed or physically active. While we don’t want to flood our body with too much cortisol or get stuck in this state for long periods of time, we do need some sympathetic activation to generate the energy we need to accomplish goals, to take aligned action, to do the things in life that we want to do.
When we breathe through our right nostril, the pingala subtle channel, we are energising our system and promoting motivation and productivity. So if you’re feeling low on energy try this breathing practice to re-energise you.

The Breathwork Practice
This breathwork practice is called One Nostril Breathing.
Both practices can be done at anytime throughout the day depending on what you need in the moment.
Below I have suggested the right nostril/pingala practice for the morning to energise you for your day and the left nostril/ida practice for the evening to relax and regulate you after your day.
Energising Morning Practice - Right Nostril Breathing
Sit in a comfortable position with a straight spine
With your left hand, use your thumb to close the left nostril
Breathe long and deep through the right nostril
On the Inhale breathe into your belly and then chest
On the Exhale breathe from your chest and then belly (diaphragmatic/belly breathing)
Choose to Close your eyes or Leave them open
Continue the breath for 3 minutes
To End: Release the left nostril and take a deep breath in through both nostrils and exhale
Relaxing Evening Practice - Left Nostril Breathing
- Sit in a comfortable position with a straight spine
- With your right hand, use your thumb to close the right nostril
- Breathe long and deep through the left nostril
- On the Inhale breathe into your belly and then chest
- On the Exhale breathe from your chest and then belly (diaphragmatic/belly breathing)
- Choose to close your eyes or leave them open
- Continue the breath for 3 minutes
- To End: Release the left nostril and take a deep breath in through both nostrils and exhale
Conclusion
Even if you are short on time you can still have a daily practice that will benefit you. This breathwork practice is easy to do and can be done almost anywhere and anytime throughout your day depending on what you need in the moment.
Try it out and see how it works for you.
Sat Nam
Heather xox
If you’re new to kundalini yoga and wondering what it is, I have a FREE Beginners Guide just for you. Grab your free copy here: The Beginners Guide to Kundalini Yoga.