Due to the hectic work schedules and boring lifestyle, it becomes difficult for the youth to handle any pressure and stress. That is why they try to perform some exercise or yoga and meditation. Yoga and meditation are the best ways to reduce stress and tension and help you address many lifestyle disorders and issues. The best yoga for de-stressing is breathing exercises, including anulom vilom, as it helps a lot to boost your immune system.
No doubt, when the pandemic hit, people were so shattered. Doctors recommended boosting immunity worldwide. That is the only way in the pandemic to battle it because breathing exercise not only help you in control and focus but improves your immunity and strengthens you from the inside. Even practitioners say that consciously breathing during the day reprograms your whole body, reduces stress and anxiety, improves overall health, and is a powerful intervention for certain illnesses.
Importance of boosting immunity
Immunity is your body’s natural defense system that helps fight invading diseases. It helps to keep away all invaders, such as viruses, parasites, and fungi. But, when it is affected by lifestyle and eating habits, you may fall sick. A strong immune system helps you in many ways. These are:
- Feeling healthy: When you have strong immunity, you can fight any disease powerfully. Resultingly, you will not get sick and will always feel healthy. All you need to do is to adopt a healthy lifestyle. This way, your immune system will create a barrier for stopping the infectious disease from entering your body.
- Wounds heal faster: The immune system also helps you heal your wound faster because immunity enables healing. People with strong immune systems tend to recover faster from any injury than those with poor immunity.
- Less fatigue: Immunity also helps you to stay physically and mentally active all the time. Poor immunity can make you feel weaker and tired whenever you work out, whereas strong immunity helps you maintain weight.
- Few infections: When you have a low risk of getting ill and sick, you will have fewer infections naturally. Strong immunity will not let the invaders enter your body. Moreover, a healthy immune system will produce white blood cells, proteins, and other chemicals in your body that help you attack and destroy disease-causing substances.
Anulom Vilom: The Basics
Anulom Vilom pranayama is one of the famous breathing exercises in yoga used to calm the body and mind. The name comes from Sanskrit, where anu means ‘with,’ vi means ‘against’ or ‘contrary to,’ and loma means
‘hair.’ So anuloma means ‘with the hair,’ and viloma means ‘against the natural course.’ That is why anulom vilom uses alternative nostrils to inhale and exhale breath. It is also known as “Nadi Shodhana.”
Anulomvilom is known for bringing your mind to peace and calming it down. It relieves your body from anxiety and unwanted stress. It is not a medicine you must consume for some particular time daily. It is a practice that results when you do it daily.
Advantages of practicing anulom vilom
As soon as you start practicing anulom vilom regularly, you will see its many advantages, including its calming effect. You start to gain more awareness and control over your breathing. There are many potential benefits of anulom vilom. Some have been scientifically proven, while others are not fully studied.
Practicing anulom vilom at first helps you start your day in a better mood. It also promotes better sleep. Anulom vilom also helps you to improve your respiratory and cardiovascular systems. These small changes affect your health and well-being a lot.
How to perform Anuloma Viloma?
Anulom vilom should be done empty stomach, or it is also recommended to try anulom vilom approximately 4 hours after meals. Follow the below-mentioned instructions to practice anulom vilom:
- Sit in padmasan or any other meditation pose where your spine and neck stay straight. Close your eyes.
- Forget everything in your mind for the moment.
- Place your one wrist at rest on the knee. Use the right hand and fold the middle and index finger toward the palm.
- Put your thumb on the right nostril and ring finger on the left nostril.
- Inhale from the left nostril by closing the right nostril with the thumb and focusing on breathing.
- Now, exhale from the right nostril by closing the left one with the ring finger.
- Now practice it in reverse. Inhaling through the left nostril and exhaling through the right one.
Try the process for at least 1 to 2 minutes. Initially, it will not seem easy, so do it until you feel comfortable. It would be best if you did not go out of your comfort zone. Try it again after some time and increase your time at your own pace.
How Anulom Vilom boosts immunity?
Anulom vilom helps boost the immune system by reducing stress and anxiety and providing more oxygen to the blood. When you regularly practice this, you can see more profound impacts on your health and well-being. When you perform anulom vilom, you allow yourself to be in a calming and peaceful environment. This results in taking all your problems and worries away from you. Resultingly, you find yourself stress-free and light. There are many ways through which anulom vilom boosts your immune system. These are:
- Improved respiratory system: Anulom vilom is a breathing exercise. That is why it affects your respiratory system a lot. It improves your lung capacity and oxygen circulation in the blood. Thus, your immunity strengthens, and you avoid sinus infection.
- Lowers the risk of stress and anxiety: Anulom vilom helps you be calm and at peace. This results in lowering the chances of stress and anxiety. You will see that regular practice of anulom vilom slows down the heart rate, lower blood pressure, and reduce cortisol, known as the stress hormone.
- Better cognitive abilities: You might have felt that when you do anulom vilom, you inhale oxygen at a higher rate. The heart gets more chances to produce and provide blood with oxygen flow. Thus, the brain also gets enough blood to stay focused, concentrated, and mentally stabled. Resultingly, you will have strong immunity.
- Enhanced cardiovascular health: When you get enough oxygen for blood circulation, your heart will be at the highest security. It will reduce blood pressure and lower heart disease risk due to a better immune system.
- Increased production of immune cells: Anulom vilom helps your body lower inflammation and produce more immunity cells to strengthen the natural defense system. Resultingly, you can save yourself from infectious diseases and illnesses.
There are indeed many famous immune-boosting practices in the world. However, anulom vilom is one of them at the top due to its simple and effective techniques. Moreover, it helps regulate everything in your body, so you do not have to worry about trying other techniques to avoid infectious diseases. Also, anulom vilom can be done anytime by maintaining the gap between meal and it.
Other benefits of anulom vilom
No doubt, anulom vilom has many benefits for your immune system. But, there are some unseen benefits of anulom vilom on your physical, mental, and spiritual life. Some of them are mentioned below:
Physical benefits: Anulom vilom is a breathing exercise that uses all the muscles involved in breathing. Thus, these muscles become strong for the future. Also, it improves lung functionality and blood circulation in the whole body. When you inhale oxygen in a higher amount, you will exhale carbon dioxide in the same amount. It enhances the functions of internal organs and boosts the immune system.
Mental benefits: You will gain great focus and concentration when you practice this breathing exercise regularly because your brain will get enough oxygen. Moreover, it enhances mental clarity and attention. Resultingly, you enhance organization, decision-making, and planning skills. You will feel light and enjoy stress-free life after practicing it.
Emotional benefits: Anulom vilom also helps you let go of negative thoughts and emotions because you stay calm and learn to be at ease in every situation. It further supports your emotional intelligence and helps you to determine what you feel and want.
Spiritual benefits: Focusing on the breath helps you get attention on your present and increase feelings of inner peace and stillness. Anulom vilom is the best way to create a stage for concentration that you require for meditation, reflection, and prayer.
Precautions and Contraindications
Although anulom vilom is not a tough breathing exercise, it would be better if you took some precautions and contraindications. In this way, you will stay safe from any kind of serious injury and wounds. Following are some tips you can follow to save yourself:
- As a beginner, you should try these exercises under the supervision of an experienced yoga teacher. Breathing too deep or too shallow can cause an imbalance in your body. So, best practice is done under guidance.
- People with asthma or taking medication for blood pressure should not practice anulom vilom.
- As a beginner, you should take frequent breaks and avoid holding your breath for a long time. It would be best if you always clearly understood their body and listened to it.
- It is recommended that pregnant ladies should lessen the length of inhalation and exhalation so that they can easily manage their breath.
- While doing this practice, your breath should be steady and slow. It would be best to have some rest after doing it.
- For arthritis patients, it is recommended to use a chair and continue anulom vilom.
- Do not try anulom vilom right after a meal because it can greatly impact your digestive system.
Wrapping up
Anulom vilom is one of those exercises that people of any age can do with proper guidance and routine. Regular practice leads to many benefits and great functionalities of your body systems. Undoubtedly, by having a great immune system, you can save yourself from any kind of serious infection and disease. All you need to do is set a proper routine and strictly follow it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Is anulom vilom good for immune system?
Ans: Anulom vilom helps you regulate blood circulation all over the body. This regulated circulation helps you strengthen your immunity and fight off diseases.
Q2: What will happen if you do anulom vilom daily?
Ans: Regularly doing anulom vilom will make you feel more relaxed and calm. This results in managed anger and improved focus, and you will be happier.
Q3: Can anulom vilom cure any disease?
Ans: Anulom vilom helps purify the blood with better oxygen and removes blockages. Resultingly, blood pressure gets regulated, lowering the risk of heart disease.
Q4. What is the ideal duration for anulom vilom?
Ans: A person should do anulom vilom for atleast 5 to 10 minutes daily. However, being a beginner, you can start it for a short duration and increase it according to your pace.
Q5: Which organ is exercised by anulom vilom?
Ans: Anulom vilom is a breathing exercise. That is why the lungs, heart, and brain get many benefits while doing it.