Pranayama Kapalabhati: Technique Step by Step for Beginners

Kapalabhati is a technique of pranayama, although some yogic scriptures regard it as one of the shatkarmas. It is an excellent practice that purifies the frontal portion of the brain, massages the abdominal organs and improves respiration. It is also a powerful method of waking up the mind. It can be used for energize the mind for mental work when you feel tired, and to remove sleepiness early in the morning. It is an ideal practice to do immediately before commencing meditation techniques.

The word kapala means ‘forehead’ or ‘frontal lobe of the brain’, bhati is ‘bellows’, the instrument used by a village blacksmith to create air drafts for his forge. Kapalabhati can therefore be translated as ‘frontal brain bellowing’. In this practice, the lungs are the bellows which such air in and out of the body. Associated with this flow of air are subtle pranic currents. Some of these currents can be clearly felt inside the forehead. They pulsate in rhytm with the bellowing of the lungs, that is, pranic bellowing occurs in the front of the brain. Hence the name of the practice. This process brings purification of this region.

Scriptural references

According to the Hatha Yoga Pradipika: “Inhalation and exhalation should be done quickly like a blacksmith’s bellows. This is the very renowned practice of kapalabhati which removes those diseases caused by excessive mucus in the body.” (2:35) This is not very detailed and one would have great difficulty learning merely fro this quotation.

Technique for beginners

1. Sit in comfortable asana.
2. Hold the back upright.
3. Close the eyes.
4. Relax the whole body.
5. Start the first round.
6. Breathe rapidly from the abdomen. Exhale with forceful contraction of the abdominal muscles.
7. Inhale passively allowing the abdominal muscles to expand, there should be no effort.
8. Repeat only a comfortable number of rapid respirations – no more.
9. Then take one deep and slow inhalation.
10. Next breathe out and empty the lungs as much as possible.
11. Do maha bandha. Hold your breath for as long as is comfortable.
12. Then release maha bandha, raise your head and slowly breathe in. This is the end of the first round.

If you feel out of breath, or a little tired, breathe naturally a few times. Then start the second round.

Beginners should do no ore than about 20 rapid respirations in each round. This number can be increased by 5 or 10 respirations per week according to capacity. With practice it is possible to do a few hundred rapid respirations per round, but we suggest that most people eventually aim to do between 60 and 100. There should be no strain throughout the entire process.

Stop the practice if you feel any discomfort in the form of pain, dizziness, fainting and so on.

Limitations

Kapalabhati should not be done by those people who suffer from ailments such as high blood pressure, vertigo, hernia and so forth. Be discreet.

Benefits

Digestion: massages and improves the functioning of the digestive organs.

Brain: clears the frontal lobe of the brain by speeding up toe blood flow. At a more subtle level it also stimulates pranic flow in the same region.

Respiration: kapalabhati cleans out the lungs. It improves their elasticity and makes oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange more efficient.

Alertness: Kapalabhati wakes up the mind.

Kapalabhati is one of the best preparatory techniques for meditative practice. It empties the mind of thoughts, emotional feelings and excessive visions. It induces a tranquil, receptive state of mind.

Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Picture: OUM.RU