a few minutes · daily

Nine breaths

A practice preserved in the Tibetan Bön tradition for clearing and purification: three breaths to clear the right channel, three to clear the left, and three to clear the center. Afterward, sit for a moment and notice the more open quality in your body.

1. 01

   Be still

   Sit upright, the spine easy and the chest open. A light sense of three channels is enough: a central channel rising through the middle of the body and opening at the crown; a right channel ending at the right nostril; a left channel ending at the left nostril. The three meet a little below the navel. A rough feeling for them is all you need. (Some teachers of this practice ask women to begin on the opposite side. If you have a teacher, follow their instruction.)

2. 02

   Right channel

   Three breaths. Close the right nostril with the right ring finger and breathe in gently through the left. Then close the left nostril with the left ring finger and breathe out through the right. As you exhale, feel tightness, irritation, and heaviness leave and dissolve.

3. 03

   Left channel

   Three breaths. Close the left nostril with the left ring finger and breathe in through the right. Then close the right nostril and breathe out through the left. As you exhale, feel grasping, wanting, and anything sticky leave.

4. 04

   Central channel

   Three breaths. Breathe in through both nostrils. Breathe out gently, sensing the breath rise through the central channel and leave through the crown of the head. As you exhale, feel dullness, self-doubt, and mental fog leave through the top of the head.

5. 05

   Rest

   Sit for a minute or two in the clearer, more open feeling of body and mind. Leave it as it is. What matters most is the sense of release on each exhalation.