Read the direction carefully
Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2.48–50 describes entry through the right nostril and exit through the left, with retention between them. Sivananda’s Surya Bheda section has the same directional pattern. This differs from a complete alternate-nostril round, which includes a return half beginning on the other side.
A nearby name is not the same sequence
ICYER’s “Surya Pranayama” uses the right nostril for both inhalation and exhalation. Its own instructions establish that difference. Calling both simply “right-nostril breathing” would conceal it. When you meet the name in a class or a book, look for the actual exit route and any retention before assuming you know the method.
Solar language and its limits
The solar name belongs to the vocabulary of the tradition. It does not establish that a particular nostril treats depression or changes metabolism in a predictable way. This page compares sources without turning their timings or traditional claims into a home prescription. The gentle alternate-nostril page offers the separate, already published introductory practice, without retention.
Sources and scope
Main edition
Hatha Yoga Pradipika, chapter 2
Passage for this reading
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika, chapter 2
Sanskrit verses 2.48–50.
Svātmārāma; Sanskrit and Pancham Sinh’s 1914 translation. References on these pages use the Sanskrit numbering.
- The Science of Pranayama
Chapter Four, “Surya Bheda”.
Swami Sivananda; Divine Life Society, sixteenth edition 1997, authorized web edition 2000. Traditional teaching, not clinical evidence.
- Basic Practice of Some Pranayamas
“Activating pranayamas: Surya pranayama,” PDF pp. 3–4.
Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, International Centre for Yoga Education and Research. Source page numbering refers to the PDF; hand descriptions compared independently.
What this edition covers
An original reference essay comparing the traditional descriptions. It is not a translation of the entire source chapter.
Limits and differences
The prose above identifies material differences. Traditional explanations and promised attainments are attributed to their sources; they are not clinical evidence. Review date: September 11, 2026.