Samaveta Pranayama (Double Nostril Breathing)

Apr 23, 2021
5 min read

Learn how to breathe through both nostrils with balance and ease.

By PRANA EDITORS | Updated: April 24, 2025

Welcome to the third article of our Pranayama Learning Series. After exploring the foundational rhythms of Belly Breathing and the expansive awareness of Three-Part Breath (Dirgha Pranayama), we now move to Samaveta Pranayama—a gentle yet important transition into seated breathwork.

Quick Overview: Samaveta Pranayama is breathing deeply and evenly through both nostrils, first with an even inhale-exhale ratio (1:1), and later adding internal breath retention to increase the complexity of the practice. It's one of the safest and most beginner-friendly pranayamas. In this Article: Meaning | Purpose | Steps | Benefits | Precautions

If you’re just beginning your pranayama journey, this is your invitation to sit, settle, and tune into your breath. Because this practice is both restorative and foundational—equally soothing for the nervous system and essential for more advanced pranayamas that (hopefully) you’ll learn in the future.

What is Samaveta Pranayama?

Samaveta Pranayama is a basic yogic breathing exercise, often practiced in the early days of breathwork training. Its main goal is to teach you how to breathe efficiently through both nostrils, establish a rhythmic pattern, and get accustomed to sitting in meditation asanas.

Samaveta literally means “united,” though it carries a deeper sense of being “deeply connected” or “coming together.” In this context, it signifies balancing the two nostrils—the cooling, feminine energy of Ida (left nostril) and the warming, masculine energy of Pingala (right nostril).

It’s also worth noting that Samaveta is not one of the classical Hatha Yoga pranayamas (eight kumbhakas), but it is still taught in some yogic lineages as a preparatory step before learning more advanced pranayamas. Because it's not a mainstream practice, there’s limited traditional literature on its long-term benefits—but that doesn't make it any less valuable for beginners.

Why and When to Practice It?

As you may have noticed, this is the third exercise in our Pranayama Learning Series. The first two–Belly Breathing and Three-Part Breathing–are typically done while lying down, and their goal is to help you develop breath-awareness and correct poor or inefficient breathing habits.

Samaveta, on the other hand, serves as your introduction to seated yogic breathwork. Most beginners aren’t used to sitting in cross-legged asanas for 5 to 10 minutes. This technique helps you get familiar with breathing while also loosening the legs and hips in preparation for more traditional pranayama postures like Siddhasana (Adept Pose) and Padmasana (Lotus Pose).

That said, you only need to practice Samaveta Pranayama for a few weeks. Once you’re able to do it efficiently, there’s no need to continue practicing it daily.

How to Practice Samaveta Pranayama

Here are the steps to practice Samaveta Pranayama:

Posture: Sit in a classical meditation posture, such as Sukhasana (Easy Pose).
Inhale: Inhale through both nostrils, breathing deeply but not forcefully.
Hold: Pause for a second or two after the inhale.
Exhale: Exhale fully through both nostrils. Again, do this calmly and without strain.
Repeat: Continue this cycle of breathing for as long as it feels comfortable.
Conclude: After your final round, rest in Savasana (Corpse Pose) for a few minutes.

The goal here is to create a rhythmic, wave-like breathing pattern. As you inhale, feel the expansion begin in the abdomen and rise through the chest. As you exhale, feel the breath descend smoothly from the chest back to the belly—like the tide flowing in and out.

Once you establish the breath firmly in this wave-like rhythm, you can increase the difficultly level by pausing after the inhale for one or two counts, gradually increasing the duration to ten counts. However, this is shold not be done intentionally–let it happen automatically with consistent practice.

Once you’ve gained control, you can move on to more advanced techniques like Viloma (Interrupted Breathing) or Ujjayi Pranayama (Ocean Breathing). There’s no need to practice Samaveta Pranayama daily once the foundational skill of rhythmic breathing is well-established.

Bonus Tip: If you want to tap into Samaveta’s rejuvenating effects, you can practice it in Viparita Karni Mudra (Legs-up-the-wall Pose), forming the Prana Mudra hand gesture.

Tips for a Safe and Spiritually Grounded Practice

Here are a few essential aspects to practice Samaveta Pranayama effectively:

Posture: A classical meditation posture is ideal, but you can also sit in a chair or on the floor, with your back against the wall and feet outstretched (Staff Pose in Yoga).
Location: Choose a quiet, well-ventilated place with excellent air quality.
Time: Practice any time of the day on an empty stomach.
Duration: Start with 5 minutes of daily practice and work up to 10 minutes.
Gaze: Soften and lower your gaze. Observe the movement of your abdomen and chest.
Mudras (Optional): You can rest both hands on your thighs or use them to form hand gestures like Brahma Mudra, Chin Mudra, Adi Mudra, or Prana Mudra.
Awareness: Observe your breath flow and/or the physical sensations caused by it.

What Mastery Looks Like

You’ve mastered Samaveta Pranayama when your breath flows effortlessly through both nostrils in a smooth, wave-like rhythm—without mental distraction or physical strain. Your inhalation naturally expands from the belly to the chest, and your exhalation releases gently from the chest back to the belly. The breath feels steady, soothing, and fully integrated with your awareness.

We also recommend alternating between Sukhasana (Easy Pose) and Virasana (Hero Pose) on different days. This helps train the body to adapt to both major categories of seated postures—cross-legged poses like Siddhasana and Padmasana (Lotus Pose), and kneeling poses like Vajrasana (Thunderbolt Pose).

Benefits of Samaveta Pranayama

Though simple, Samaveta Pranayama offers subtle and valuable benefits:

Enhances breath awareness and rhythm
Gently strengthens the lungs and diaphragm.
Calms the nervous system and reduces anxiety
Balances left and right nostril dominance
Supports spinal alignment through better posture
Prepares body and breath for deeper pranayama
Builds consistency in daily breathwork

As always, these effects and benefits vary based on the intensity, consistency, and duration of practice.

Contraindications

Samaveta Pranayama is safe for most people. It doesn’t have many contraindications, especially when done gently and without breath retention. However, here are a few exceptions:

Chronic respiratory and lung conditions: People with asthma, bronchitis, COPD, or other respiratory conditions should approach yoga pranayama with caution.
Severe congestion or sinusitis: Breathing through both nostrils may feel blocked or strained. In such cases, it’s better to avoid practice until the nasal passages are clear.
Blood pressure and heart disease: You can still practice Samaveta, but do it gently and completely skip the breath retention steps.
Recovery phase: Avoid it while recovering from illness, injury, or recent surgery.
Pregnancy: Gentle practice is usually safe, but check with a prenatal yoga teacher.

If you feel any strain or discomfort during Samaveta practice, stop immediately. Lie down in Savasana and return to natural breathing. Signs like dizziness, anxiety, or labored breathing suggest that you should tone down the intensity or duration of your practice.

Final Thoughts + What to Read Next

You can practice 5 to 10 minutes of belly breathing followed by 5 to 10 minutes of Samaveta pranayama. Once you are comfortable with Samaveta, you can start learning Viloma Pranayama —a yoga breathing technique that builds lung strength by interrupting the breath in two to three stages.

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