चन्द्र भेदन
Chandra Bhedana — the Moon-Piercing Breath
candra = moon, bhedana = piercing — awakening the lunar channel
In through the left nostril, out through the right — the breath of coolness, softness and sleep.
In the simplest words
Close your RIGHT nostril and sip air in through the left side only; then breathe out through the right. The left side is the 'moon side' — this breath is like a cool glass of water for your mind.
What it is
The left nostril belongs, in the yogic map, to the ida nadi — the moon channel, cooling and quieting — and chandra bhedana enters only by that gate: in through the left, out through the right, round after round. Modern teachers pair it with its solar twin as the two deliberate extremes of nostril breathing; the classical texts describe only the solar one. Where surya bhedana stokes, chandra bhedana settles — evening's breath, the antidote to an overheated day, the one many practitioners reach for when anger has already arrived or sleep will not.
Where it comes from: Modern hatha teaching — taught as surya bhedana's cooling counterpart by the Bihar School (Satyananda) and by B.K.S. Iyengar; the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (II.44) and the Gheranda Samhita (ch. V) list surya bhedana among their kumbhakas but name no chandra bhedana.
Before you practise — health first
A cooling breath: skip it with asthma flare, heavy cold or mucus, chronically low blood pressure, or in cold weather; depression-heavy days usually prefer the balancing nadi shodhana instead. Never force a blocked nostril.
How to practise
Sit tall, right hand in Vishnu mudra.
Close the right nostril with the thumb; breathe in slowly through the left.
Close the left with the ring finger, open the right, breathe out slowly.
In left, out right — the pattern never changes.
5–9 rounds, exhale longer than inhale; then sit and feel the cooling settle.
Practise now
Breathe with the circle
The circle will grow as you breathe in and soften as you breathe out. Follow it.
Round 1 of 8
Sessions of a minute or more are added to your sadhana log — stored only on this device. Stop whenever your body asks.
When & how long
Evenings, hot afternoons, after anger or overstimulation, and as a pillow-side practice for stubborn sleepless nights.
What it is kept for
Cooling body and temper, easing into sleep, softening the system after an over-caffeinated, over-screened day.