How To Do Pranayama – Anulom Vilom Steps
Before talking about how to do pranayama (anulom vilom steps), we ask you to check out our article on how to meditate: preparing for meditation (see the link towards the bottom of this post).
Table of Contents
Prana: The Force of Life
Prana is the force behind breathing. Pranayama is a scientific process that leads to calmness of the Chitta (mind material) so that meditation comes easy. Unfortunately, in the current day India, it is just reduced to holding the nose while breathing – as long as the brahmins ask them to hold their nose while they read mantras on behalf of people doing pranayama. It is just a show business, a token of what the real pranayama is.
Pranayama is making sure that the prana (life) reaches every part of the human body and soul. There are many types of Pranayama, all of them involving inhaling and exhaling air. I will discuss the best one only (Anulom-Vilom Pranayama: according to my experience).
Preparing for Pranayama
Choose a proper posture from the three postures described in the previous post, “Preparing for Meditation.” Since this is a breathing exercise, you can also use a chair provided the back of chair is good enough to keep your head, neck, and spine in a single straight line. Make sure your clothes are not tight because you need to allow the air inside everywhere.
Draw a deep breath. Release it immediately. After performing this a few times, try holding your breath inside. Draw in a deep breath. Hold on for a while. Hold it only as long as you feel comfortable. Do not choke on it. Release the breath as fast as possible. Again, this process should be smooth so that you don’t end up nauseating.
In the initial cycles, hold your breath for smaller durations. For example, half a second. Then, increase the holding time to one second. Then later for two to three seconds. That much should suffice. If this becomes easier, you are ready for Pranayama’s anulom vilom steps (odd-even).
Anulom Vilom Pranayama Steps
You should proceed to this only after you are comfortable holding back your breath after inhaling. The above section was an attempt to explain the process of holding your breath.
Coming to the anulom vilom method of pranayama, you inhale through one nostril and exhale through the other. Here are the steps you need to perform.
- Keep your thumb on the right nostril (don’t press it yet)
- Keep your ring finger on the left nostril (don’t press it yet)
- Press the right nostril using the thumb so that it is closed
- Inhale deeply through the left nostril
- Press the ring finger against the left nostril so that it is closed too
- Sit like that with both nostrils closed and air inside (hold air inside for a while)
- After a second or so, release the right nostril by lifting the thumb
- Exhale through the right nostril
When done, repeat the process using the other nostril. Basically, you are breathing in using one nostril, breathing out through the other, and then alternating between the nostrils. That’s why it is called the odd-even (anulom vilom pranayam) method.
Once the above steps come easily, try repeating the OM word with your mouth and nostrils closed while holding back your breath. That will help in purifying the nerves. With each breath, you can remember OM three times easily. But don’t try and hold back your breath for long if you are not comfortable.
How Often to Do Anulom-Vilom Pranayama?
You can practice Anulom Vilom pranayama for a few minutes every day. You can increase the time later when you are comfortable. You don’t need to do it always. Practice pranayama just before starting meditation. Even a five-minute practice of odd-even (anulom vilom) pranayama will calm down your mind and allow you to meditate longer.
Note: Do read Preparing for Meditation before performing these anulom vilom pranayama steps.
Download the Yoga Sutras in English PDF
You can also download the Muni Patanjali Yoga Sutras English PDF. It is a summary of the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali in PDF form that you can consult whenever you want. For ease of reading, it doesn’t contain Sanskrit verses.
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