Alternate nostril breathing timer: breathe along online

Breathe in for 4, hold for 4, breathe out for 6, one nostril at a time. The orb breathes, you follow. Free, no sign-up, no cookies.

Ready?

Thumb right, ring finger left

in 4 · hold 4 · out 6

If anything feels uncomfortable, just stop and breathe normally.

How it works

Sit up straight: your right thumb closes your right nostril and your ring finger (little finger too, if you like) closes your left, with only gentle pressure.
Close your right nostril with your thumb and breathe in through the left while the orb grows: 4 seconds.
Close your left nostril with your ring finger too, and hold your breath gently while the orb stays big: 4 seconds.
Release your thumb and breathe out through the right while the orb shrinks: 6 seconds.
Then do it the other way around, in through the right and out through the left, with the same pause in between; the orb above tells you which side you’re on.

That’s one round with both sides, and it takes 28 seconds. Three minutes is plenty to start. Then just breathe normally.

If your nose is blocked, skip the exercise or breathe gently through both nostrils. Never force air through a narrow nostril. If one side stays blocked for a long time, see an ear, nose and throat doctor.

Only hold your breath as long as it feels easy, never until you’re gasping for air. Never practice breath holds in or near water (including the bathtub), while driving, or anywhere a brief blackout could be dangerous. If you feel dizzy or notice tingling in your hands or lips, stop and breathe normally. If you’re pregnant or have a heart or circulation condition, high blood pressure, epilepsy, glaucoma, or panic disorder, skip breath holds or check with your doctor first.

If the hold feels uncomfortable

After each inhale, the orb stays big for 4 seconds, with both nostrils gently closed. The pause is optional: many studies practice with no hold at all.¹ If it feels too long, Find your breathing pace helps: you tap four times as you breathe in, and the orb starts at your own pace. All three phases then get shorter in the same proportion. Never hold until you gasp for air.

If one side feels narrower

It’s normal for one side to feel narrower. That’s the nasal cycle: the tissue inside your nose swells on one side and then the other, and while you’re awake, the more open side switches about every two hours on average.² Just keep breathing gently, without forcing it.

What studies show

Most studies on alternate nostril breathing are small, test a single session, and often look at young men who already practice yoga. In a study of 32 adults, people breathed about five breaths per minute more slowly during alternate nostril breathing, and their heart rate variability rose; after two weeks of practice, though, their resting values hadn’t changed.³ Breathing just as slowly without switching nostrils raised heart rate variability the same way.⁴ In 50 men with yoga experience, sitting quietly actually calmed them more than alternate nostril breathing did.⁵ More recent EEG studies haven’t confirmed that it balances the two sides of your brain.^{6, 7}

These studies tested the technique, not the nowa app. My take: alternate nostril breathing is a nice way to breathe slowly, and switching sides gives your mind a small job to do. If you like the exercise, that’s reason enough. More on this, including where it comes from: Alternate nostril breathing: how to do it and what studies show.

This page shares general information about breathing exercises for relaxation and well-being. It is not medical advice and does not replace diagnosis or treatment by a licensed professional. nowa is a wellness app. It is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Only practice while it feels comfortable. If you feel dizzy or short of breath, or notice a racing heart, chest pain, or strong anxiety, stop and breathe normally. If you have a medical condition (for example a heart or lung condition, or epilepsy) or are pregnant, talk to your doctor or midwife before trying new breathing exercises. Never change prescribed treatment on your own.

Embed on your site

Do you teach yoga, coach people, or write about breathing? Embed the breathing orb on your website for free. It only loads files from nowabreathing.com, sets no cookies, stores nothing in the browser and shows no ads.

Code for your site

<iframe src="https://nowabreathing.com/en/embed/alternate-nostril-breathing" title="Alternate Nostril Breathing: breathe along" width="100%" height="620" style="border:0;max-width:440px" loading="lazy" allow="screen-wake-lock"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:13px"><a href="https://nowabreathing.com/en/breathe/alternate-nostril-breathing">Breathing orb by nowa</a></p>

See how it looks embedded: preview. For your privacy policy: when it loads, the browser sends the visitor’s IP address to nowabreathing.com (hosted by Cloudflare), as with any embedded content.

Sources

Telles S, Sharma SK, Balkrishna A (2014). Blood pressure and heart rate variability during yoga-based alternate nostril breathing practice and breath awareness. Medical Science Monitor Basic Research 20:184–193. doi.org/10.12659/MSMBR.892063
Study, 26 men with yoga experience
Kahana-Zweig R, Geva-Sagiv M, Weissbrod A, Secundo L, Soroker N, Sobel N (2016). Measuring and Characterizing the Human Nasal Cycle. PLoS One 11(10):e0162918. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0162918
Measurement study, 33 healthy adults, 24 hours
Epe J, Stark R, Walter B, Ott U (2026). Comparison of Four Yogic Breathing Techniques Regarding Their Impact on Heart-Rate Variability and Breathing Frequency. Medical Sciences 14(6):604. doi.org/10.3390/medsci14060604
Training study, 32 adults, four techniques for two weeks each
Ghiya S, Lee CM (2012). Influence of alternate nostril breathing on heart rate variability in non-practitioners of yogic breathing. International Journal of Yoga 5(1):66–69. doi.org/10.4103/0973-6131.91717
Lab study, 20 healthy adults new to the technique
Telles S, Vishwakarma B, Gupta RK, Balkrishna A (2019). Changes in Shape and Size Discrimination and State Anxiety After Alternate-Nostril Yoga Breathing and Breath Awareness in One Session Each. Medical Science Monitor Basic Research 25:121–127. doi.org/10.12659/MSMBR.914956
Crossover study, 50 men with yoga experience
Telles S, Gupta RK, Yadav A, Pathak S, Balkrishna A (2017). Hemisphere specific EEG related to alternate nostril yoga breathing. BMC Research Notes 10(1):306. doi.org/10.1186/s13104-017-2625-6
EEG study, 13 men with yoga experience
Frohlich AB, Frohlich F, Sklerov M (2025). Neuronal oscillations and functional connectivity of paced nostril breathing: A high-density EEG study. PLoS One 20(2):e0316125. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316125
EEG study, 19 healthy adults new to breathing exercises

All sources last checked on November 3, 2026.

nowa is coming soon

In nowa, this exercise is called Alternate Nostril Breathing and is part of nowa COMPLETE. You’ll find it in the Calm category, at the same pace as here. nowa is coming soon to the App Store and Google Play. Sign up and I’ll send you four short exercises by email and let you know at launch.

By signing up you agree that we may send you email. We send a confirmation message first; only after that are you subscribed. Four short exercises over the first five weeks, then at most six letters a year. An unsubscribe link in every one, never shared with third parties. More in the privacy policy.