Many yoga breathing instructions begin with "breathe in through the nose". When one or both nostrils are blocked by a cold or allergies, those instructions can turn a calm exercise into a struggle for air.
You do not have to skip practice entirely, and you do not have to force the original instruction either. The useful question is how much a given exercise relies on clear nasal airflow, and what is left of it if you change or remove that part.
Sort exercises by how much they need the nose
Breathing practices fall roughly into three groups. Knowing which group an exercise is in tells you whether to adapt it or set it aside for now.
- Built around the nostrils: alternate nostril breathing, or any practice where you close one side with a finger. With one side blocked, the core instruction no longer works. Set these aside until both sides are clear.
- Nose preferred but not essential: slow, even breathing; lengthened exhales; humming on the exhale; the soft throat sound of ujjayi. These can usually be done with the mouth slightly open, or with a nose inhale and a mouth exhale, without losing the main idea.
- Independent of the nose: noticing the breath without changing it, body scans, counting ordinary breaths, mantra or sound-based attention. These work however you happen to be breathing.
Adapting the middle group
Most of what makes a slow-breathing practice what it is lies in the pace and the attention, not in the nostrils. If a recording says to inhale through the nose for four counts and exhale for six, the four-and-six part can survive a change of route.
Two adjustments help. First, shorten the counts so you are never short of air; a congested nose adds resistance, and a count that was easy last week may now be a stretch. Second, choose one route and stay with it for the session, rather than switching back and forth whenever a nostril clears or blocks.
- Before starting, notice whether you can breathe comfortably through the nose with the mouth closed for several breaths.
- If not, let the lips part slightly and breathe in through the mouth or through both.
- Reduce any counts so the breath stays smooth rather than gasping.
- Drop any instruction to hold the breath; with a blocked nose, a hold followed by a restricted inhale is harder to recover from.
- If you feel short of air at any point, stop the pattern and breathe however is easiest.
Position and setup
Many people find a blocked nose feels worse when lying flat. An upright seat, or a reclined position with the head and chest raised on cushions, may be more comfortable for a breathing practice when you are congested. Keep tissues within reach so you do not have to get up in the middle.
If you are combining breathing with poses, it is reasonable to leave out positions where the head is lower than the heart, since these often make congestion feel heavier. This is a comfort choice, not a medical rule.
When congestion is not a practice problem
MedlinePlus explains that a stuffy nose happens when the tissues lining it become swollen. Usually this passes with a cold. It lists situations where you should contact a health care provider, including swelling of the forehead, eyes, side of the nose or cheek, blurred vision, discharge from one side only or with a bad smell, discharge after a head injury, discharge with fever, and symptoms lasting more than three weeks.
Breathing exercises are not a way to clear a blocked nose, and this guide does not recommend any technique for that purpose. If nasal blockage is constant rather than occasional, it is worth asking a clinician about it rather than working around it indefinitely.
A worked example
Suppose your usual morning session is five minutes of alternate nostril breathing, followed by five minutes of slow breathing with a longer exhale. With a cold, the first part relies on both nostrils, so you replace it with a few minutes of simply noticing the breath. The second part stays, with the mouth slightly open and the counts shortened from six to four on the exhale.
You have kept the length and the purpose of the session — a quiet, unhurried start — while leaving out the one instruction that no longer fits. When your nose clears, you return to the original.
Sources & Classical References
- MedlinePlus: Stuffy or runny nose - adult — What causes a stuffy nose and when to contact a health care provider.
- NCCIH: Relaxation Techniques: What You Need To Know — Describes breathing exercises as slow, deep breathing and summarises their general safety.
- MedlinePlus: Hyperventilation — Symptoms of over-breathing, useful for recognising when to stop an exercise.
