Pranayama: Viloma and Nadi Shodana
by Zeb Homison
Allow Zeb to lead you through this pranayama practice. Viloma Pranayama means "interupted" or "halted" breath... Nadi Shodana is often called "alternate nostril breathing", but it translates to "purifying the channels" of the body. These two breathing exercises will help calm, and balance the energies of the body and bring clarity to the mind.
Transcript
Hey everyone,
Today we're going to work on Sampranayama,
Pulling energy into the body,
Increasing oxygen levels,
And helping to calm down the mind and the body.
We'll do three different exercises.
The first one is called Bhastrika,
Or bellows breath.
Start with your hands on your belly.
They shouldn't overlap,
Just sort of fingertips touching right around the belly button.
And you should be able to feel when you inhale,
Your belly expands,
And when you exhale,
It pulls in.
We'll use that same idea,
But with the bellows breath,
We'll exaggerate it.
So when you inhale,
You really start to puff out your belly,
And you exhale and pull the belly in.
The first round,
Each inhale and exhale should take about a second,
And we'll do about 11 repetitions.
Hands on the belly,
Swallow a few times,
Mouth closed,
Breathing in and out through the nose.
Begin.
Good.
And if you start already to feel a little bit interesting,
Little light-headed or energized,
Good.
That's the idea,
Pulling energy,
Oxygen into the body,
Supercharging yourself for your day.
So if that felt good,
Keep going.
If you ever need to back off or take a break for a second,
That's okay too.
For the second set,
We'll do the same rhythm,
But we'll double it.
We'll go up to 22 breaths.
Hands on the belly,
Fingertips touch right around the belly button,
So you can feel the belly expand.
Swallow a few times.
Begin.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
One more.
Everything out.
Good.
Relax your arms.
You can roll the head a few times.
Just notice how you feel after the second round.
Third set.
If that felt good,
This time we're going to speed it up.
Still 22 breaths,
But this time it should be about one second through the inhale and the exhale,
So it's a little faster.
Hands on the belly.
Swallow a few times.
Begin.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In,
Ex.
In The second breathing exercise we're going to practice today is called veloma.
It means sort of working against the grain or an interrupted breath.
So normally when you inhale,
You just inhale full lungs and then you exhale everything out.
With the veloma breath,
We're going to inhale,
Hold.
Inhale,
Hold.
Inhale,
Hold.
And then exhale everything out.
So there's a little interruption on the way up.
To practice this,
It might help to think of your body in three sections.
So the first inhale,
It's like you're pulling the breath up from the tailbone to the base of the rib cage,
Filling up the lower section of the body.
The second part,
Going from the base of the rib cage up to about the collarbone.
So we're inhaling and filling up the second part of the torso.
The third part,
You have to use your imagination a little bit,
But it's almost like you're inhaling into your head.
And I know there's no like lungs up in your head,
But there are air cavities.
There is space up there that we use to talk with and to communicate with.
So when you inhale for the third part,
It's from the collarbone and trying to send the energy up into those empty spaces in your skull.
And then we'll hold it full lungs at the top.
Okay.
Hands,
Wherever you like them,
Can be on the knees or whatever is good for you today.
Swallow a few times,
Taking a breath.
Exhale everything out.
Then inhale slowly,
Fill up the belly.
It's like you're inhaling up to the base of the rib cage and then hold it.
Inhale from the base of the rib cage,
Fill up to the collarbones,
Hold it.
Now,
Inhale from the collarbones,
Taking more air.
Inhale from the collarbones,
Taking more air.
Send the breath and send that energy up into the skull,
All the way up to the top of the skull.
Fill up all the empty spaces.
Hold at the top,
Shoulders relaxed,
Jaw relaxed,
Tip of the tongue to the roof of the mouth,
Eyes closed.
Then exhale everything out from the top of the skull to the collarbones,
To the base of the rib cage and empty out all the way down through the tailbone.
Second set.
Taking a deep breath,
Exhale everything out.
Empty out your lungs.
Inhale,
Fill up.
Feel the belly expand.
Come all the way up to the base of the rib cage.
Hold.
Inhale from the rib cage.
Feel the chest open and expand.
Fill up your lungs.
Send the breath all the way up.
Fill up to the collarbones and then hold.
Inhale from the collarbones up into the skull,
Taking more air.
Send the energy all the way up and feel it roll around in the inside of the skull,
Eyes closed,
Jaw relaxed.
Exhale from the head to the collarbones,
Down to the base of the rib cage.
Exhale through the belly and all the way down to the tailbone.
Everything out.
Good.
Third set.
Taking a breath and exhale everything out.
Inhale from tailbone.
Fill up the belly all the way up to the base of the rib cage.
Hold.
Inhale from the base of the rib cage.
Fill up the chest all the way up to the collarbone.
Hold.
Inhale.
Fill up all the way up.
Send the energy of the breath up into the skull.
Maximum full lung capacity.
Hold.
Then slowly exhale from the head to the chest to the belly.
Everything out.
Eyes closed.
Turn your attention inward.
Notice how you feel after practicing.
Now we're going to reverse the Valoma breath.
So inhale.
Fill up the lungs to the top.
And then exhale.
Hold.
Exhale.
Hold.
Exhale.
Hold.
Taking a breath.
Exhale everything out.
Now inhale.
Fill up the lungs.
Maximum full lung capacity.
Then from the top of the head,
Exhale down to the collarbone.
Hold.
Exhale.
Let the ribs start to close down to the base of the rib cage.
Hold.
Exhale.
Empty the belly.
Everything out.
Taking a breath.
Exhale everything out.
Second set.
Inhale.
Fill up your lungs.
Maximum stretch through the rib cage.
Send the energy all the way up into the head like we did in the first round of the Valoma.
All the way up to the top.
Then exhale.
Let the energy,
The attention,
Drop down to the collarbones.
Hold.
Exhale down to the base of the rib cage.
Hold.
Exhale.
Empty everything out.
And then if you can,
Hold at the bottom.
Hold when you're completely empty.
When your body feels like it needs to take another inhale.
Don't resist that.
Just go ahead and do it.
Back to your normal breathing.
Just taking a breath.
Exhale everything out.
We'll do one more.
Inhale all the way to the top.
Fill up your lungs.
Fill up the chest.
Send the air up into the spaces in the head.
Then exhale down to the collarbones,
The shoulders.
Exhale.
Empty out the rib cage.
Empty out the rib cage.
Hold.
Exhale everything out.
Empty out your lungs.
And then hold everything out.
Relax into that feeling as long as you can.
When you're ready,
Just go back to normal breathing.
Hopefully you already feel a little more grounded,
A little more centered in your practice.
Pranayama can be so powerful.
There are some teachers that they've gotten rid of their asana practice completely and they solely practice pranayama because it is such a powerful practice.
There are stories of yogis in the Himalayas living in caves or in isolation that live simply on air.
They don't need to eat food anymore.
Kind of crazy.
Kind of interesting.
The third pranayama we'll practice today is Nadi Shodhana,
Alternate nostril breathing.
This is sometimes called a purification of the energy lines in the body.
It's also a balancing breath.
Helps to balance out the right hemisphere and left hemisphere of the brain,
The male and female energy,
Just the right and left sides of the body.
To practice this one,
The left hand is in jnana mudra with the index and middle finger touching.
The right hand is in Vishnu mudra with the index and middle finger curled in,
Touching the palm.
The thumb and the ring finger we'll use to cover each nostril.
Swallow a few times,
Take in a deep breath,
And then just exhale everything out.
Use your thumb,
Cover the right nostril,
Inhale through the left nostril,
Fill up your lungs,
And then hold.
Pinch both nostrils and tuck your chin to your chest.
Release the chin,
Chin up,
Release the thumb,
And exhale through the right nostril,
Everything out.
Feels a little weird sometimes.
Inhale through the right nostril and then hold.
Pinch both nostrils,
Tuck the chin to the chest.
Right here you can start to utilize the bandhas,
The energy locks in the body.
So lift the pelvic floor,
Mula bandha,
Pull the belly in,
Uddiyana bandha,
And the chin to the chest is called jnana bandha.
Chin up,
Release the ring finger,
Exhale through the left nostril,
Everything out.
Inhale through the left nostril.
One nostril might feel a little bit more open than the other.
That's normal.
Close.
Pinch both nostrils,
Tuck the chin.
And if you really pay attention,
That actually shifts throughout the day,
Moving from one nostril to the other.
Chin to chest,
Belly in,
Keep the spine as straight as possible.
Chin up,
Exhale through the right nostril,
Everything out.
Inhale through the right,
Fill up your lungs,
And then hold.
Use the bandhas,
Lift pelvic floor,
Pull belly in,
Tuck chin to chest.
So you're closing off and letting the energy circulate in the body.
Chin up,
Release the ring finger,
Exhale through the left nostril,
Everything out.
Inhale through the left nostril,
Hold,
Tuck the chin to the chest,
Pull your lower belly in and up.
Chin up,
Release the thumb,
Exhale through the right.
Inhale through the right,
Hold,
Chin to chest,
Starting to balance out the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
Chin up,
Exhale through the left,
De-stressing the body,
Calming the mind as you do.
I'm going to add a count now.
Eyes closed,
Inhale through the left,
2,
3,
4,
Hold,
Chin to chest,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
Chin up,
Exhale right,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
Inhale right,
2,
3,
4,
Hold it,
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
Chin up,
Exhale left,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
Fill up,
4,
Hold it,
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
8,
Chin up,
Exhale right,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4,
Hold it,
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
Exhale left,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
Inhale,
Hold,
Exhale right,
Inhale,
Hold,
Exhale left.
Do one more round in silence.
Begin.
When you're done,
Hold the exhale as long as you can.
Hands can go back to your knees.
Eyes closed,
Jaw relaxed,
Tip of the tongue brushing the roof of your mouth.
Bring your attention to the center of your forehead,
Right between the two eyebrows,
And notice yourself.
Slowly let your eyes drift open.
Notice your surroundings.
Notice the room around you.
Come back into your space,
But know that you have more energy,
More calm,
More of yourself that you can share.
As you move through your day,
Bring your hands to prayer right over your breastbone.
You can do a little bow to yourself if you like.
Thank yourself for stepping onto your mat and practicing today.
We'll see you again soon.
Namaste.
4.9 (18)
Recent Reviews
Alli
April 6, 2024
Solid 👍🏼
Rev
March 29, 2024
The best experience. Thank you for such a beautiful meditation, im so grateful to have experienced this journey. Namsate