Courses & Books Course
Swar Yoga, properly
Four weeks on the Śiva Svarodaya, the old text on which nostril the breath is flowing through. You will learn to read your own swara, change it on purpose, and sort the text's claims into what physiology supports, what it doesn't, and what is still worth doing every day.
- 4 weeks
- Beginner, no Sanskrit needed
- Taught from The Respiratory Codex
What you'll be able to do
Read your swara in seconds
Tell which nostril is dominant with the back of your hand or a cold mirror, and recognise the short changeover when both run evenly.
Change it on purpose
Use the techniques that actually shift the cycle — lying on one side, pressure under the arm — and know how reliable each one is.
Calm yourself on demand
Slow breathing with a longer out-breath, and alternate-nostril breathing without breath-holding: the best-supported practices in the text.
Keep a record that tells you something
A one-minute morning observation (verse 149), logged before you interpret it, so after a month you can see your own pattern.
Plan your day by state
Put precise, careful work where you are settled and effortful work where you are mobilised — the sound idea underneath the text's rules.
Judge a claim, any claim
Grade what you are told as established, suggestive or speculative, and spot the kinds of claim — the moon, the weekday, the omen — that never hold up.
The four weeks
Each week pairs a part of the text with a practice you do every day. The verse numbers are there so you can follow along in the book.
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Week 1
The instrument: reading your swara
What the nasal cycle is and how it was documented in 1895; the three principal channels and the left–right polarity the whole text rests on (verses 38–41, 50); the mirror test (verse 153).
Daily practice: the one-minute morning check — which side, how fast and deep, one word for your state. Written down, not interpreted.
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Week 2
The clock, and where the evidence stops
How long each side lasts and why the text is inconsistent about it (verses 71–72); the changeover state, suṣumnā (verses 124–130); the five phases and which of their signs you can check (verses 141–158). Then the claims that fail: the moon's phase and the day of the week (verses 65, 68–70).
Daily practice: keep the morning log and add a few checks through the day, to find your own rhythm rather than the text's.
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Week 3
Steering the breath
Deliberate reversal of dominance (verses 66–67) and how well it works; left-side sleeping and reflux, the text's best clinical observation (verses 122–123); the reduction ladder that becomes slow breathing (verses 224–225); the breathing practice of verses 375–387.
Daily practice: five to ten minutes of alternate-nostril breathing — in for about four seconds, out for about six — with no breath-holding.
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Week 4
What survives, and using it
The ledger of actions — which tasks the text assigns to which state and the real distinction underneath (verses 96–123); a short routine before demanding tasks; attention to the breath without suppressing thought (verses 267–269 and 384). Finally the book's verdict: what the text got right, what it got wrong, what is harmful, and how to test any inherited claim.
Daily practice: ten to fifteen minutes of attention to the breath, noticing each lapse and coming back — and your own plan for keeping what worked.
Who it's for
- Beginners curious about swar yoga who want to know what is real before building a habit on it
- Yoga teachers who teach breathwork and want to explain it accurately
- Anyone who has met contradictory "which nostril when" rules and wants to know where they come from
Who it isn't for
- If you want auspicious timings or predictions — the course explains why those don't work
- If you are looking for treatment. This is education, not medical care
- If you want breath-retention (kumbhaka) training. Retention is left out on purpose; it is unsafe with high blood pressure, heart rhythm problems, glaucoma or pregnancy
Aditi
Doctoral fellow in neuroscience and meditation, Delhi Technological University
Aditi teaches the Śiva Svarodaya the way this course is built: every claim read closely, graded against the research, and kept only if it holds up in practice.
- Neuromatch Impact Scholar
- 8 years working in yoga science and meditation
Before you enrol
When does it start, and how are sessions run?
Use the enrol form and you will get a reply with the next start date, how the sessions run and how to pay.
Do I need any experience or equipment?
No experience. A small mirror for the mirror test, and something to keep a log in — a notebook, or the free log on the Swar Yoga page, which stays on your phone.
How much time does it take each day?
The morning check takes about a minute. The breathing practices run from three to fifteen minutes; the longest is the week-four attention practice.
Do I need the book?
No, but it helps. The course follows The Respiratory Codex, and each week lists the verses it covers if you want to read the full commentary.
Is it safe?
Everything taught is gentle, and breath-holding is left out. If you feel dizzy or breathless, stop and breathe normally. If one side of your nose is blocked most of the time, see an ENT doctor — it is not something to read.
Can I get a refund?
No. All sales are final, so you get the start date, format and price before you pay, and you can ask us anything first. See how ordering works.
Can I try something first?
Yes. The Swar Yoga page has the morning check, the log and guided practices for free, and Ask the text answers questions from the book's commentary.
Swar Yoga, properly
4 weeks · Beginner · ₹1,800