anunasika

I have been keeping my pranayama practice for a month now. I started a month ago with a 15-minute practice, and now I am up to 30 minutes. The main effect I have noticed is that my sinuses are much clearer now than they were a month ago. Just two weeks ago I probably used eight or 10 tissues during a half-hour practice. This morning I used two. The Anunasika or Nasal Cleansing Breath is the pranayama that is most responsible for clearing my sinues.

This is very helpful for me, as I tend to have worse allergies during the winter when the furnace is running. I keep the air circulating all the time, and change the filters often, but even so I am prone to sinus infections.  

I am starting to feel some of the emotional and mental effects of pranayama as well.  I feel calmer, my mind clearer. It is easier to concentrate. I especially enjoy when I have time in the morning to practice before work.  It’s a great way to clear my mind for the start of the day.

My Pranayama practice continues apace. I have fallen into a nice little 30-minute routine. I’m working from an old DVD called Pranayama For Health and Wellbeing, which sadly seems to be out of print. I have been focusing primarily on the cleansing Pranayamas included on the video. My routine varies somewhat, but generally runs as follows:

I start with about a 30-50 rounds (each breath is one round) of Kapalabhati, or Skull Shining Breath.

Then I do Breath of Fire through the right nostril, while keeping the left nostril closed, for three minutes. I follow this with Breath of Fire through the left nostril, keeping the right nostril closed, also for three minutes.

Finally I do about five minutes of Breath of Fire through both nostrils.

Note: Kapalabhati and Breath of Fire are similar, but not the same. In Kapalabhati the emphasis is on a strong exhale, and there is a passive inhale. The inhale and exhale do not need to be of the same length. In Breath of Fire the emphasis is on keeping the inhale and exhale of the same length.

Then I often do something the DVD calls Anunasika Pranayama. This consists of taking a deep breath, then blowing it out through the nostrils in a series of exhales until the lungs are empty. I do this six times through both nostrils, then six times through the right nostril only, then six times through the left nostril only, and finally six times through both nostrils. This one is very cleansing: I usually go through several tissues during it!

I follow this with Kukkura Pranayama, or the Dog Pant Breath. I do four sets of 20 rounds (breaths) each. Kneeling in Vajrasana, you put your hands on the floor in front of your knees, stick out your tongue, and pant from the abdomen.

Finally, I finish my practice with Nadi Shodhana, or Alternate Nostril Breathing.

I did this practice 4 days last week, and 5 the week before. I really feel drawn to the cleansing pranayamas right now. Firstly because I’m just getting back into a consistent pranayama practice, and I figure I need cleansing. But also because I tend to have more allergy problems in the winter, so anything that cleans out my sinuses is probably beneficial.

My back has been doing better. The pain is either non-existent or very manageble. However, I still have to take it very easy. I went shopping last Saturday afternoon and was pretty sore the next day. So as long as I take it easy I’m fine. While I miss my physical yoga practice, it is actually nice to have the time now to focus on a pranayama practice, which I had been wanting to do more of, anyway.