Anulom Vilom Pranayama steps and benefits

Anulom Vilom ‘kriya’ (act) has the most astounding benefits for your brain and mental health.

It helps in calming your mind and relieving you of the stress of everyday life. The act of regulating and extending breath helps in attaining mental peace and improves patience. The specific actions it performs on your brain can be summarised as a creation of balance between creative and logical thinking. This it does by maintaining the optimal functioning of both the sides of the brain, among which the right side is responsible for creativity and the left ensures logic. A balance between the two will help in achieving the maximal potential of the brain and will ensure the best performance in everyday activities.

Read more: How to increase brain power

Anulom vilom has been found to be particularly beneficial for the older age groups. Several studies have demonstrated improved cognitive (logical, analytical skills, and memory) functioning with the practice of alternate nostril breathing or pranayama. It is thus recommended more for individuals belonging to the older age group to avoid age-related memory loss.

Read more: Treatment of dementia

With its positive effects on brain health and function, anulom vilom is also known to improve behaviour and alleviate anxiety, depression. The calming effects of this pranayama on the brain have been shown by a study conducted on students to determine its effects on the levels of test anxiety and stress. It was observed that stress and anxiety were much lower in the participants practising pranayama as compared to the other group. A lower mean test anxiety score was noted in these participants.

Read more: Treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Anulom vilom may enhance your skin health as well. It is a potent stress buster and significantly helps in reducing stress and anxiety, as stated above. As we all know, stress has severe damaging effects on your skin. Studies have revealed that a higher degree of stress induces acne flares in individuals. A vicious relationship (one leading to another over and over) between stress and atopic dermatitis has also been observed. Additionally, stress has been known to delay wound healing and accentuate the effects of skin ageing. Since anulom vilom is beneficial in managing individual levels of stress, it may have a positive effect on the health of your skin.

Read more: Vitamin E for skin

Anulom vilom, when performed daily, has the potential to improve your vision. When practised on an empty stomach in the mornings or evenings, it is likely to improve perfusion (blood flow) to the eyes. Adequate retinal perfusion (retina is the layer in the eye responsible for eyesight) is essential for your eyesight. If the pressure within the eye is so high that perfusion cuts off, vision loss is known to occur within 4 to 9 seconds. This explains the importance of proper perfusion of pure oxygen to your eyes, which is enhanced by the practice of anulom vilom.

Read more: How to improve eyesight

The practice of anulom vilom has profound benefits for the heart. The most significant of these is its role in aiding reduction of blood pressure. Several studies have demonstrated that slow breathing as practiced in anulom vilom is helpful in reducing blood pressure in hypertensive patients. So, it has been described as an alternate therapy for hypertension.

Anulom vilom has several other effects on your cardiovascular health and in the regulation of heart function. It helps in alleviating anxiety, which is a major risk factor for a number of cardiovascular disorders, including heart attack and stroke.

Studies have found that anulom vilom helps in reducing the pulse rate, and have suggested it to be used as a daily practice to combat stress, particularly in individuals with a risk of cardiac disorders. The most beneficial form of anulom vilom for hypertensives is known as Chandra Anulom Vilom, which has a heat dissipating or cooling effect. This has been suggested as a non-pharmacological measure for the management of hypertension.

Read more: Good foods for high blood pressure and what to avoid

Stress has been recognized as a major trigger for respiratory problems. It potentiates an asthmatic attack or episode. In stressful situations, our bodies release stress hormones, which function to change our breathing pattern, making it shallower and faster. This triggers symptoms of cough and tightening of the chest, two symptoms associated with an attack of asthma. Anulom vilom has been found to be helpful in the management of asthma episodes, since it helps in managing stress and enhances an individual’s control over-breathing.

Read more: Management of chest pain

Studies have demonstrated that anulom vilom pranayama enhances ventilation (the process by which oxygen reaches the lungs) and oxygenation of the sinuses (hollow cavities within the skull). This provides a better surface availability of oxygen, which can be absorbed by the nasal epithelium, enhancing oxygen supply of the body.

Read more: Treatment of sinusitis

Another study was conducted to compare the effects of breathing exercises with meditation on the respiratory health of individuals. To determine this, two groups were formed, wherein one was actively practising anulom vilom along with several other breathing exercises, and the other group performed deep meditation. It was revealed that cough, wheezing (whistling sounds while breathing) and dyspnea (difficulty in breathing) were significantly less in the group performing breathing exercise. So, anulom vilom is often prescribed to asthmatics.

Due to hormonal changes, mood disorders and stress are quite common during pregnancy. This also increases the risk of maternal depression, which may continue postpartum.

Read more: Postpartum depression symptoms

To avoid depression during such a crucial stage, it is recommended to practice simple breathing techniques like anulom vilom for five minutes daily. This will help in reducing everyday anxiety, and eventually maternal depression. Anulom vilom is usually considered to be safe during pregnancy but it is advisable to practice it under the guidance of a trained instructor.

Not just pregnancy, anulom vilom is known to have other benefits for the reproductive health of women as well. In a study involving female subjects in the reproductive age, it was observed that the practice of anulom vilom reduced the effects of premenstrual syndrome (irritability, fatigue and bloating experienced before menstruation) and has an overall relaxing effect on the body. The practise of anulom vilom is thus beneficial for the health of women.

Stress is a significant risk factor for obesity and weight gain. During stressful conditions, the levels of the hormone cortisol increase in our body, which is likely to increase the craving for high fat ‘comfort foods’ like sweets and chocolates. It is more common to eat more calories when under stress. Anulom vilom helps to calm and relax the mind reducing the need for these comfort foods.

A study conducted on a group of young women to determine the effects of anulom vilom also found that it enhances health-related fitness including better flexibility and weight loss. However, while not very significant, the effects were noticeable. You can still opt for this technique to calm your mind and reduce stressful eating which may enhance your weight loss goals.

Read more: Diet chart for weight loss

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