Posted on March 1, 2010 in Yoga Techniques
Kapalabhati pranayama is a very good breathing exercise which clears your lungs and stretches your abdominal muscles. Meaning of Kapal in Sanskrit (ancient Indian language) is Forehead and Bhati means Shining, which means kapalabhati procedure gives you a shining face and inner radiance. It is recommended by many yoga masters that, this pranayama should be practised by students, as it improves the sharpness and alertness of mind.
Kapalbhati Pranayama Procedure
- Sit in a comfortable crossed leg posture, sukasana (using padmasana or vajrasana is the best) and keep your back straight. Rest your hands on the knees using gyana mudra or chin mudra.
- Inhale deeply trough your nose, this will expand you abdomen.
- Exhale using a great force so that your abdominal muscles contract to the maximum
- These exhalations are similar to your breath outs, but they should be forceful
- Make sure while exhaling, the air should be pushed out of your lungs by contracting the diaphragm
- After exhalation again do inhalation, but this time with out any effort. To do this just relax your lungs, they will automatically expand and fill with air
- One cycle of Kapalabhati pranayama include one deep inhalation, then forceful exhalation and an effortless inhalation.
- A learner can practise up to three rounds, each with 15 exhalations. Small breaks between each round are allowed
Benefits of Kapalbhati Pranayama
- It helps in detoxifying your lungs and the respiratory tracks
- Purifies blood by boosting the oxygen supply
- Helps in reducing belly fat, as it tones your abdominal muscles
- Usually it is practised before practising yoga poses and before meditation, this will improve your concentration, alertness and calms mind from unwanted thoughts
- Students practising this pranayama will have great results in thier studies, because it increases the concentration and sharpness of their mind
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