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Classical pranayama

Chandra Bhedana

In left, out right. Also called Chandra Bheda, Moon-piercing breath.

Say it CHUN-druh BAY-duh-nuh चन्द्र भेदन

  • Classical pranayama
  • Seated
  • No breath holds
  • 5 min to start
Rhythm in seconds

In 4 left · Out 6 right

5 min · 30 rounds · 5:00 · about 6 breaths a minute

Take care: Skip it with a blocked nose. Stop if you feel dizzy.

Breathe in through the left nostril and out through the right, every breath, switching with your right hand. Slow, silent, and without holds.

Written by Viram from the sources below. Updated . How we write our guides.

How to practise Chandra Bhedana

  1. Sit tall and rest your left hand on your knee.
  2. Fold the index and middle fingers of your right hand into your palm, or rest them lightly between your eyebrows.
  3. Close the right nostril with your thumb and breathe in through the left for 4.
  4. Close the left with your ring finger, lift your thumb, and breathe out through the right for 6.
  5. Close the right again, open the left, and repeat. Every inhale is on the left, every exhale on the right.
  6. Keep the breath slow and silent. When you finish, lower your hand and breathe through both nostrils.

Each round, step by step

StepSecondsWhat to do
Inhale left4Thumb closes the right nostril. The left is open.
Exhale right6Ring finger closes the left. Thumb lifts.

Take care

Skip it with a blocked nose. Stop if you feel dizzy.

  • Breathe softly; never force air through a nostril.
  • Skip it with a blocked nose, a cold, or sinus pain.
  • If the exhale feels long, make it equal to the inhale in Adjust rhythm.
  • Stop and breathe normally if you feel dizzy, anxious, or short of breath.
  • Breathe gently. If you feel dizzy or uncomfortable, stop and return to your normal breath.

Traditionally

Chandra bhedana means “piercing the moon.” In hatha yoga the left nostril is linked with the moon and the right with the sun. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Gheranda Samhita teach only the sun version, breathing in on the right, with long holds. The moon version, its mirror image, comes from later teaching, including B.K.S. Iyengar’s. Viram’s version has no holds.

What the research says

Studies are few, small, and mostly single sessions from India. In one, 20 yoga practitioners had slightly lower heart rate and blood pressure after nine rounds of Chandra Bhedana, compared with normal breathing rather than slow breathing. Other studies tested breathing in and out through the left nostril only, a different pattern; their results are inconsistent, and one small study found the right side more relaxing. It is not a treatment.

Sources

  1. Svatmarama (c. 15th century). Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Translated by Pancham Sinh, 1914.
  2. Gheranda (attributed) (c. 17th century). Gheranda Samhita. Translated by Srisa Chandra Vasu, 1914.
  3. B.K.S. Iyengar (1981). Light on Pranayama. George Allen & Unwin.
  4. Bhavanani AB, Ramanathan M, Balaji R, Pushpa D (2014). Differential effects of uninostril and alternate nostril pranayamas on cardiovascular parameters and reaction time. International Journal of Yoga 7(1):60–65.
  5. Raghuraj P, Telles S (2008). Immediate effect of specific nostril manipulating yoga breathing practices on autonomic and respiratory variables. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback 33(2):65–75.
  6. Nivethitha L, Mooventhan A, Manjunath NK (2016). Effects of various pranayama on cardiovascular and autonomic variables. Ancient Science of Life 36(2):72–77.
  7. Vanutelli ME, Grigis C, Lucchiari C (2024). Breathing right… or left! The effects of unilateral nostril breathing on psychological and cognitive wellbeing: a pilot study. Brain Sciences 14(4):302.

A wellness practice, not medical advice. Read practising safely before you begin.

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