'Vi' means against, Loma means hair, viloma means against the natural flow. In Viloma pranayama the inhalations and exhalations are interrupted with brief pauses.
Inhale
through both nostrils without restricting the intake in any way. On the
exhalation stop when the air when it is half way out. Hold the breath for about
4 seconds before continuing to exhale all of the air out of the lungs.
Finding the half way point can be challenging and takes some time and inner
analysis. Enjoy these early stages of pranayama and always practice fine tuning
the lower Stage instructions.
When exhaling control the air as it leaves the lungs through the nostrils. Make
the outflow of air even on both sides.
Begin to also control the intake of air through the nostrils so that it is even.
(This can be quite hard if one nostril is completely blocked. If this is the
case just allow the intake of air to flow in as well as possible without
obstruction.)
After this is mastered work up to 2 pauses during exhalation. Practice this for
a while before increasing the amount of pauses further.
There can be many pauses after exhalation. The exhalation can be done with
continuous short fast pauses. This causes a completely different type of energy
but does not provide the same insight to different parts of the breath.
Round of Anuloma Viloma:
1) Breathe in through the left nostril closing the right. 2) Hold breath, closing both nostrils. 3) Breathe out through the right nostril keeping the left nostril closed. 4) Breathe in through the right nostril keeping the left nostril closed. 5) Hold the breath, closing both nostrils. 6) Breathe out through the left nostril keeping the right closed.
Start with three rounds build up to twenty rounds.