Anulom Vilom Pranayama instructions, benefits, steps and caution

Apr 11, 2022

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Excellent benefits of Anulom Vilom with instructions and precautions

The benefits of yoga and asana are no more a myth and need no introduction! If you dream of living a healthy and beautiful life, the secret lies in yoga and in doing ANULOM VILOM.

The basic benefit of doing this will help reduce your stress, but it is also beneficial for the heart. It has been in practice for generations, mainly for wellness and various health benefits.

Sometimes what medicine is unable to do, is easily solved by regular yoga practice. People have recognized the anulom vilom pranayama benefits in recent times, and that's how it has turned into a health trend and has become the go-to solution for every problem related to your body.

How do you practice Anulom vilom pranayama?

The anulom vilom pranayama is nothing but an easy process where you do alternate nostril breathing, first from one side, and then you breathe out from the other side. It is a controlled breathing exercise in yoga. 

For doing it, you need to hold one nostril closed while you inhale and then hold the other nostril closed while exhaling. The process is supposed to be reversed and repeated.

This kind of breathing exercise will help in the physical improvement and focus on the psychological benefits that work wonder on stress reduction and improved breathing activities and blood circulation.

The exercise can be practiced at home or anywhere, as there are no side effects to it.

 Surprising Anulom Vilom Benefits: Can make your life better

Let’s read the potential benefits of anulom vilom and how to get started with it!

  1. 1. Initial changes

Once you understand the positive side of yoga for your body, there’s no turning back from it.  Maybe on the first day itself, you won't feel like doing it for even half an hour. It will slowly start increasing, and your body will start adjusting to the movements and schedules. As we control our breathing mechanism, it is found that this mechanism brings about a calming effect.

When we practice anulom vilom first thing in the morning, it will bring a fresh start to your morning and make your every single day a bright one. It also improves the quality of sleep and provides a lot of relaxation. 

  1. 2. Respiratory system

A study in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine has shown that this breathing exercise has improved the lungs' performance. It is also responsible for the strengthening of the lungs and works and improves any kind of respiratory problems.

If someone suffers from breathing issues like asthma or chest infection, yoga would be a perfect remedy in such cases. Breathing is the basic activity that one requires to sustain in life. It also increases the endurance of your respiratory system in areas of low oxygen.

Yogic breathing exercises are an effective way to enhance lung capacity and nasal breathing. Research has shown that anulom vilom benefits breathing, and doing this exercise for at least 30 minutes a day can improve sinus inflammation (rhinosinusitis). This condition interferes with your ability to drain mucus from your nose and sinuses.

  1. 3. Brain

People experience anulom vilom pranayama benefits only when they regularly practice such exercise, and hence improvement can be seen in terms of cognition and anxiety. Various kinds of yogic breathing increase neurocognitive, psycho-physiological, biochemical, and metabolic functions, which are responsible for making people healthy.

  1. 4. Cardiovascular system

Alternative nostril breathing exercises help in improving the cardiovascular function of a person. The benefits of anulom vilom are not just limited to the improvement of the lungs and brain; but also work in transporting oxygen properly, nutrients, and byproducts of metabolism. Proper breathing exercises will ensure proper blood to all parts of the body and allow it to survive, preventing the body from infections.

  1. 5. Skin

Yoga, as a whole, is beneficial to the whole human body. It is not just for improving your lung capacity, but each physiological aspect benefits from yoga. There are many claims of anulom vilom benefits, and of it, the many benefits are that it improves the quality of the skin.

 Skin is the largest organ of the body as it covers the human body like a protective layer. It is a living component; cells in our skin keep growing and are replaced simultaneously. Therefore to keep the skin from looking stressed, one needs to keep the benefits of anulom vilom in their mind.

You will surely see a difference in your skin after entering into the yoga zone. Other issues like skin infections, skin glow, etc., are resolved by practicing yoga and anulom vilom.

  1. 6. Eyes

You might have heard that yoga, in general, makes your body, mind and soul into a single entity. Not only it is beneficial for your body, but it’s good for your breathing functions and also can improve eyesight.

A little bit of research will tell you that for having good eyesight, there should be a good amount of supply of oxygen, and that is what exactly breathing exercise does. When we do anulom vilom, there is a lot of pumping of blood, which sends oxygen to the eyes through the bloodstream. In this way, breathing exercise determines good eyesight in a person.

Steps of Anulom Vilom pranayama:

  • Before even starting with the exercise, one needs to follow some predetermined conditions like; it should be done on an empty stomach, i.e. before consuming any kind of food. And if you have eaten something, then you need to wait for at least 4 hours before doing the breathing exercise.
  • Find a cool, comfortable and quiet place where you can concentrate solely on refreshing your mind with anulom vilom.
  • Select a meditating posture and keep your back straight and neck straight, too and close your eyes and bring your mind towards clarity.
  • Then start breathing slowly. First, press and hold one of your nostrils and inhale through the other one.
  • After inhaling a good amount of oxygen, leave the previous nostril, and exhale and then hold the other side of the nostril and inhale from the other nostril.
  • Repeat by reversing the steps and keep switching the sides and do the same for around a minute. And slowly increase the time limit according to your comfort.  

 Anulom Vilom Precautions and Risk Involved

It is quite safe to do alternate nostril breathing for almost everyone. But if you suffer from any kind of breathing problems or conditions like asthma, COPD, or any other lung or heart concern, then consider taking the prescription from your doctor before getting started with it.

 If you feel any other major issue while doing the anulom vilom, such as shortness of breath, you should not waste any time but stop with the exercise right away. The basic adverse effects are feeling lightheaded, dizzy or nauseous.

Each individual is different from the other. Sometimes it may be possible that you won't feel the benefits of anulom vilom at the very first instant. It might bring up feelings of agitation or may also prompt some kind of mental symptoms. In such cases, you should immediately stop the practice.

To achieve the utmost results you need to be quite sincere with it as the benefits of yoga asana are very promising. In order to see effective results, you need to practice it regularly and accurately.

Final Words: Anulom vilom is the very first step when you think of experiencing a healthy lifestyle. The benefits of anulom vilom can be doubled, when performed with Surya Namaskar. You should practice anulom vilom atleast 30 minutes daily followed by the steps of surya namaskar.

If you are a beginner in yoga and want to practice yoga on regular basis but don’t know how to start properly and the correct way to perform yoga asana, the yoga for beginner’s course is the perfect option for you. You can join the 100 hour yoga teacher training course from one of the best yoga teacher training in rishikesh.  If you are interested in healing and meditation you can check out the amazing sound healing course in Rishikesh.  

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