Anulom-Vilom I Yoga For Anxiety & Stress | Breathing Basics

Anulom-Vilom | Yoga For Anxiety & Stress | Breathing Basics

Anulom - Vilom  Yoga For Anxiety & Stress  Breathing Basics

we are going to practice Anulom-Vilom Pranayam which in simple terms means alternate nostril breathing What is the benefits of Anulom Vilom? 

Anulom-Vilom | Yoga For Anxiety & Stress | Breathing Basics

so far all the breathing exercises 

we have done have been through both nostrils and

we are always going to practice breathing through the nostrils nor through 

the mouth unless directed otherwise but today 

we are going to alternate the breath How do you perform Anulom Vilom? 

we are going to see how the breath flows from the left to the right and then again in the right to the left why are How much time we should do Anulom Vilom?

we do that in simple yogic terms 

the left side of 

the body is considered to have female energy and 

the right side of the body to have male energy and whether you're a man or a woman 

we all have it

 so what is the female energy is soft it's emotional it thinks organically and 

On the other side the male side is very logical it's very practical  Does Anulom Vilom really work?

so if you had to think of it in simple terms perhaps it's like the tussle between 

the head and the heart but you need both voices of your head and your heart in order to make an informed decision Who should not do Anulom Vilom?

so we need both energies our emotional side as well as our logical side our practical side in order to live a complete life and Anulom-Vilom helps us to balance these energies Which organ of the body is exercised by Anulom Vilom?

so as I have mentioned before pranayama is a regulation of energy it's regulating energy, not just the brick 

Read More: Lion's Breath - Foundations of Yoga II What is Lion's Breath good for?

so let's get started with that find a nice comfortable seated posture you could be in Sukh Asan or verge wrasses you could also be sitting in a chair or with your back against a wall just make sure your back is nice and straight have your hands resting in chin mudra forefinger and thumb touching and 

we're just going to take three deep breaths and observe the in-breath and 

the out-breath at first through both nostrils 

so let's do that  all right let's take a moment to observe count how many counts it takes us to inhale and how many counts it takes us to exhale 

Anulom - Vilom  Yoga For Anxiety & Stress  Breathing Basics

Anulom-Vilom | Yoga For Anxiety & Stress | Breathing Basics

so mentally count you inhale and 

then mentally count your exhale let's do that for two more breaths  

the mudra on your left hand will be chin mudra forefinger and thumb touching and on your right hand and like you to fold 

Read More: How Meditation Changed My Life | Mamata Venkat

the first two fingers into the base of the thumb 

so that frees up your right thumb and your right ring finger and these are the fingers 

the thumb and the finger that you're going to use to close each nostril 

so that you can breathe through the other 

so let's try only breathing through

the left nostril at first take a deep breath in exhale through the nose close 

the right nostril with 

the right thumb inhale and exhale five times through the left nostril you once you're done with your fifth exhalation relax your hands as well 

so as you're doing this I'd like you to keep your back straight and because you'll be using your right arm quite a lot more than 

the lip pay special attention that you relax the right shoulder into its socket and try to keep 

the right arm the upper arm as vertical as possible resting the arm against the side of your body or your chest 

so that you can relax this shoulder otherwise it can become very cumbersome let's try it on 

the other nostril and as you're doing this try and observe is the breath flowing more freely more easily is there move the volume of air on 

the other side as you breathe or was it 

the other way around again holding the first two fingers into the thumb inhale exit to the nose close 

the left nostril with 

the ring finger and breath inhale and exhale only through the right five times after 

the fifth exhale relax your hands relax your body and you may have noticed that 

the breath was flowing a little more freely on any one side than 

the other and this is normal

 so inside the body one nostril is always a little more dominant than the other and this switches every few hours 

so sometimes it's left for a few hours more breath flowing there and 

sometimes it's the right and that's connected to how the brain functions 

so the left part of your brain is connected to

 the right side of

 the body it's like a cross-connection and 

the left brain is the logical part which

 we consider the male part it thinks in linear terms it likes to think sequential I'll do this first 

Anulom - Vilom  Yoga For Anxiety & Stress  Breathing Basics

then this and then that and it's very practically very grounded on the other hand 

the right brain is 

the one that creates dreams 

the ideas may not seem logical image seemed like an abstract painting 

• the right brain is very emotional it brings up 
• the feelings of what you've experienced not 
• the logic of what you experience 

and that's connected to the left side of your body the female side of you 

so we are going to regulate these energies 

we're going to balance these energies and 

we are going to alternate 

the breath now one very important thing to remember while you're practicing try to keep your head straight 

so try to practice this with your eyes open 

so that you know whether your head is tilting to the ref left or 

the right because 

the way you tilt your head influences 

the breath towards that side once again left hand in chin mudra right hand in Vishnu mudra or it's also called NASA gras mudra relax and straighten your back and shoulders take a deep breath in through 

the nose and exhale through 

the nose  closed right nostril with 

the right thumb in here left close left exhale right now Indian right again closed right exhale left relax 

so that was one round of Anulom-Vilom pranayama

 we are going to practice seven rounds without any pauses once again left hand in chin mudra right hand in NASA girls also called Vishnu mudra to take a deep breath in exit through

 the nose and dig it  you  after you finish 

the seventh exhale relax your hands down on your thighs again come back to chin mudra both hands and just observe your breath 

you may want to close your eyes or keep them open see how your breathing is feeling now subsequent to getting along that breathing exercise  and relax 

so we are going to try this pranayama one more time three more rounds and this time you are going to try and make your inhale and exhale equal to each other 

Anulom - Vilom  Yoga For Anxiety & Stress  Breathing Basics

Anulom - Vilom | Yoga For Anxiety & Stress | Breathing Basics
so I'm adding another element 

we are going to try and count 

the number of counts it takes you to inhale and equalize that with your exhale 

so let's try that three deep breaths  NASA grab mudra on your right hand take a nice hog inhalation exit to 

the nose and begin equal inhale equal exit  once you're done with 

the last exhale to 

the left nostril relaxed 

so if you found that was difficult to equalize 

the in-breath and 

the out-breath while alternating the breath between the left and the right nostril maybe you're not ready to 

go there yet don't worry about the length of the breath just focus on alternate nostril breathing for now 

so that was an unreal envelope with me AJ I hope to see you in my next video until 

then stay connected with yourself 

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