Anuloma Viloma Timer
Pranayama is traditionally practised on an empty stomach, so a fast day is no reason to skip anulom vilom.
That is the short answer, and it surprises people. The instinct on a fast day is to do less of everything, and breathing practice gets lumped in with exercise. But the classical advice runs the other way. Yoga teachers have long told students to wait two to three hours after a meal before pranayama, because a full stomach presses up against the diaphragm and makes slow, deep breathing harder. An empty stomach is the default condition for the practice, not an exception to it.
With Karwa Chauth falling this week, and many people fasting for other reasons through the season, it is worth being precise about what stays the same and what should change.
What stays the same
Anulom vilom itself is simple. You breathe in through one nostril, out through the other, then in through that same side and out through the first. The rhythm is slow and even. Nothing about it needs food in the body, and nothing about it burns much energy. It is closer to sitting quietly than to a workout.
There is also a reasonable case that the slow breathing is the part doing the work. A small 2023 crossover study with 22 people compared slow breathing at about six breaths a minute with and without electrical stimulation of the ear’s vagus nerve branch. Adding the stimulation did not raise heart-rate variability any further than slow breathing alone (PMC10412484). It was a small study and it measured one thing, so it proves nothing about fasting. But it supports a modest point: the breath on its own is the tool. You do not need gear, supplements or a special state of the body to use it.
What changes on a fast day
Four adjustments keep the practice gentle.
1. Slow the count, and keep it even. Use a comfortable ratio such as four seconds in and four or six seconds out. There is no reason to lengthen the breath on a fast day. If anything, choose the shorter count you know you can sustain easily.
2. Leave out the breath holds. The holds (kumbhaka) are the most demanding part of traditional pranayama. On a day without food or water, skip them entirely and keep the breath flowing. The classic 1:4:2 count can wait for another day.
3. No fast breathing. Bellows-style practices such as bhastrika and kapalbhati are vigorous by design. They can leave anyone lightheaded, and an empty stomach makes that more likely. Save them for a normal day, or leave them out altogether.
4. Always sit down. Practise seated on a cushion or a chair, with your back supported if you like. Never practise standing, walking or driving, and never in or near water.
And one rule that holds on every day: if you feel lightheaded, dizzy or short of breath, stop and breathe normally. Pranayama is not something to push through.
Who should check first
Fasting itself changes how the body behaves, and some people need medical guidance before they combine it with anything. If you are fasting with diabetes, a heart or blood pressure condition, or during pregnancy, follow your doctor’s advice first, both on the fast and on breathing practice. The same goes for anyone taking medication that affects blood sugar or blood pressure. These are cautions, not medical advice, and they are the same ones in our earlier piece on who should skip anulom vilom.
A simple fast-day session
If you want a shape to follow, try this:
- Sit upright somewhere quiet. A balcony at dusk works well.
- Rest your hands in your lap, or use the right hand for the nostrils if that is your habit.
- Breathe in through the left for four, out through the right for four.
- In through the right for four, out through the left for four.
- Repeat for five minutes. No holds. No speeding up.
- Finish with a few normal breaths before you stand, and stand up slowly.
Five minutes is enough. The goal on a fast day is steadiness, not a longer session.
Why it can be a good day for it
People who fast often describe the day as quieter and more inward than usual. A short, slow breathing practice fits that. It gives the long hours some structure and a point of attention that does not involve food or a screen, and it asks very little of the body in return.
The tradition treated the empty stomach as the right condition for pranayama. The care needed on a fast day is simply to keep the practice soft: a slow count, an even breath, no holds, and a seat underneath you.
Anuloma Viloma Timer is free on the App Store. No subscription necessary.