breathing technique

Thriving During the Holidays with the Sun & Moon!

Pausing to do breathing exercises has truly changed my life for the better. I am excited to share two different techniques that will help you thrive during the holiday season and beyond. Your breath is amazing!


Are you feeling anxious, angry, frustrated, or something similar?

Try Left Nostril Breathing.

  • Sit tall
  • Close your right nostril with the first two fingers of your right hand
  • Inhale slowly and deeply through the left nostril
  • Exhale slowly through your left nostril
  • This is one cycle.
  • Repeat 8 to 10 times or for 1 to 3 minutes.
  • Allow your eyes to close.
  • Pause after and take some deep breaths through both nostrils.
  • Notice how you feel.

The left nostril is connected to the Moon and your Ida Nadi. Your lunar (ida) nadi (channel) is in your subtle energy body. It controls all mental processes and the more feminine aspects of your personality. It is cooling and cleansing.

Benefits include:

  • reduces stress
  • cools the body
  • helps lower blood pressure
  • calms the mind and nervous system

Tips: Not recommended for people with low blood pressure. If you have any medical conditions, please consult with your doctor first.


Feeling tired, unmotivated, depressed, sluggish, or something similar?

Try Right Nostril Breathing.

  • Sit tall
  • Close your left nostril with the first two fingers of your left hand
  • Inhale slowly and deeply through the right nostril
  • Exhale slowly through your right nostril
  • This is one cycle.
  • Repeat 8 to 10 times or for 1 to 3 minutes.
  • Allow your eyes to close.
  • Pause after and take some deep breaths through both nostrils.
  • Notice how you feel.

The right nostril is connected to the Sun and your Pingala Nadi. Your solar (pingala) nadi (channel) is in your subtle energy body. It increases vitality and controls the more masculine aspects of your personality. It is warming and nurturing.

Benefits include:

  • helps alleviate sluggishness and depression
  • increases physical energy
  • warms the body
  • increased digestive fire
  • effective for stress management

Tips: Best done on an empty stomach. Not recommended for people with high blood pressure. If you have any medical conditions, please consult with your doctor first.


Feel free to let me know how these breaths work for you. If you want to learn more breathing techniques, check out my Free Spirit Guidebook!

Happy Holidays!

Breathe In, Breathe Out – Breathing Tips for Holiday Stress

A couple of weeks ago I was flying from Chicago to Phoenix with my 18-month-old to find a house for our upcoming move. The whole morning was going great and we even ended up with an empty seat beside us on the plane. A dream come true for a mama flying with a toddler on her lap. About 10 minutes after boarding we found out that the flight was delayed. It continued to get delayed for a total of three hours. We were not allowed off the plane. The woman in front of me was freaking out and got off the plane with her two children. I realized that this was a perfect opportunity to take some of my own advice that I offer in my yoga classes. Breathe in positivity, breathe out negativity. Breathe in things I can control, breathe out things I cannot control.

I went into the bathroom to change my son’s diaper, looked in the mirror and said the above mantra out loud. Then I made it fit my current situation. I said, “Breathe in what I can control, like my attitude about being delayed, breathe out what I cannot control like when this plane takes off.” I will admit that I smiled and laughed at my reflection but that moment made the rest of the delay, flight, and day so much better and even enjoyable.

It occurred to me later that my situation was similar to what people start to experience during the holiday season. I wanted to share my experience and create a reminder that even though you cannot control your situation you can control your reaction to it. (just click on the above images to print out the cards!)

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and learn to inhale the positive and exhale the negative. For help on some deep breathing be sure to check out these two short videos I made: Deep BreathsUjjayi Breath.

Ujjayi Breath: Learn + Benefit

I am sharing one of my favorite breathing techniques with you today! It is commonly used during yoga practice and meditation. It can also be a great way to start your day, recharge midday, and to unwind at the end of the day. It is the Ujjayi Breath or Victorious Breath. Make sure you scroll down to catch a peek of my 4 year old Simon sharing his own little video too!

I created two printables that include how to do the breath and list the benefits. I put two on each page so you could have one by your bed and the other at your work space or purse or anywhere! I also created to colorways in case you are not a huge fan of pink. Just click on the image and print! Please let me know if it is easy to read. Also, if you want to do this from your computer without the video just zoom in on the image below or after you open the printable so you can read it on your screen.

After I finished filming this video my son, Simon, came downstairs and asked if he could make a video too. Please check it out, he will be so thrilled!

Benefits of Deep Breathing

Hello! I am excited to be sharing my first video on my new website! I started sharing videos that were related to the chakras and I have a really cool one in mind for the 3rd chakra. First I wanted to focus on some breathing techniques that will be the foundation for a lot of future videos.

Most of you probably do not spend your whole day sitting or standing up tall.

You might be hunched over a computer or a sewing machine, picking up little kids or slouching in line at the grocery store. Because of this, you are not taking deep breaths which lessens the amount of oxygen going to your brain. By taking short breaks to take deep breaths you can increase your alertness and feel a whole heck of a lot better!

Sit up tall, you can do this lying down at the beginning or end of your day also. Relax your shoulders. Inhale deeply through your nose and exhale out of your mouth. Relax. Let go of tension. Let go of your morning. Let go of your day. Let go of anything that is not serving you.

Begin to breathe only through your nose. Allow your inhales to go all the way into your belly. This may be challenging at first. We are used to taking shallow breaths that do not go much deeper than the chest. Begin to notice your ribcage expand with each deep breath. Place one hand on your belly. Feel your belly expand with each inhale. Gently draw your belly back towards your spine as you exhale. Focus on allowing each inhale to become deeper than the one before and each exhale longer than the one before.

Continue for 5 breaths, 10 breaths, 1 minute, the length of a song, the length of an article you are reading, a commercial break, the drive to pick your kids up from school.

Notice how good you feel! Notice how deep your breaths are compared to the earlier ones. Enjoy this good feeling.

Pause and take deep breaths any time you need a little pick me up!

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