The Yoga Sutras compiled by Indian philosopher Maharshi Patanjali give us Ashtanga yoga which has eight branches:
- Yama (moral guidelines)
- Niyama (virtuous habits)
- Asana (physical postures)
- Pranayama (control of breath)
- Pratyahara (withdrawal of senses)
- Dharana (concentration and inward focus)
- Dhyana (deep meditation)
- Samadhi (state of trance consciousness)
Anulom-vilom pranayama or alternate nostril breathing (ANB) includes various techniques to regulate breathing by altering rhythm, rate, phase duration, and depth and for each for different mental and physical purposes. Pranayama is one of the common yogic breathing techniques and involves breathing through one nostril at a time while closing the other nostril manually. Early studies found that pranayama has positive effects on the parasympathetic nervous system (Sinha, Deepak, & Gusain, 2013).
In the last decade or so the number of studies investigating the effects of conscious breathing increased significantly so much so that one study undertook a meta-analysis of the findings (Ghiya, 2017). Forty-four randomized controlled trials were examined. These studies evaluated the effects of pranayama on the autonomic nervous system, cardiopulmonary system, cognitive functioning, problem solving, and motor memory retention.
Yet, there were inherent limitations because of the variable quality of research in the mind-body field. Of the studies, 10 had a high level of bias; 29 had a low level of bias, and five had an unknown level. Part of the problem stems from the fact that the ANB procedure is not standardized and so many of the studies reviewed were based on variations in the protocol.
On a positive note, however, the majority of the studies used healthy people with an age range between eight to 70 years.
Overall, the findings point in a positive direction. ANB provides substantial evidence for positive effects on neural and cardiopulmonary functioning. There is also strong evidence for improvements in cognitive functioning with regular practice of ANB.
Closing Thoughts
This report typifies the current state of affairs in research into various forms of complimentary, alternative, integrative medicine (CAIM). Much of the research is hobbled for various reasons, but what little there yields positive findings and the urging for more work. Yet, if one reads the studies closely, the overall picture is quite encouraging.
Another article of special importance is by Campanelli, Tort,, & Lobão-Soares (2020). They also conducted a meta-analytic study of 1,588 research studies in the effects of pranayama. They note that pranayama has been found to affect thinking and emotional response, but most of the studies differ from one another by country, sample size, gender, age, objective, technique, and outcome and so remains a major problem in the field. They recommend that in the future researchers conduct more in‑depth studies focusing on specific aspects of the practices such as breath retention and expiration and physiological changes in fluid respiration, and abdominal/thoracic respiration.
There is much more to come in the study of pranayama and so I say, stay the course.
Paul Shane, Ph.D., LMT
Director, Academic Content
References
Campanelli, S., Tort, A., & Lobão-Soares, B. (2020). Pranayamas and their neurophysiological effects. International Journal of Yoga 13, p. 183-192.
Ghiya, S. (2017). Alternate nostril breathing: A systematic review of clinical trials. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences 5(8), p. 3273-3286.
Sinha, A., Deepak, D., & Gusain, V. (2013). Assessment of the effects of pranayama/alternate nostril breathing on the parasympathetic nervous system in young adults. Journal of Clinical Diagnostic Research 7(5), p. 821-823.