Kapalbhati pranayama

hello,
I started doing kapalbhati pranayama some time back and immediately found it immensely beneficial.After doing this i started clearing my stomach very easily,my system started improving and becoming stable and i liked it that way.I was so affected by its wonderful effects that,i got obsessed with it and started doing it all the time.When ever i was free i would start doing kapalbhati irrespective of the time of the day and some times after food. I also started exerting lot of force to exhale.And slowly i started having problems in clearing my stomach and my stomach started to be upset all the time unlike how it was at the beginning, when i had started doing kapalbhati. I looked up the net and i realized that i was doing it at the wrong time. And now i have lot of problems with my stomach. My breathing patterns have also changed. how can i fix this? Since i have discovered that i was doing it wrong all this while, i have stopped it. I want to do this pranayama consistently, but want to clear my stomach first. Can you suggest an ayurvedic laxative except isabgul? Please help.

I have another query about kapalbhati, should one make a conscious effort to contract his stomach or it happens automatically?
Thank you.

why has no one replied? Please i need help

Better go slow. There are several other breathing exercises like the full Yoga breathing, nadi shodana etc to do. But before pranayama you should not eat for at last two hours.
Also it might be needed to change your diet and may be also change your life in oder to be healthy again.
I would suggest stopping kappala bhati for a while until your belly feels better.
It would be wise to look for a qualified Yoga teacher in your region to instruct you properly before you start out with pranayama again if you want to avoid further uncomfortable feelings.

All the best
Lars

Thank you Lars Rimbock for your reply and also for your regards. Thank you very much

Dear xyz,

I don’t understand the problems you’re having with your stomach? What do you mean by “clearing your stomach?” I have never heard of this associated with kapalabhati.

Sustained kapalbhati practice should only be practiced in conjunction with a regular hatha (postures) practice, preferrably after you’ve reached some level of accomplishment, and then only after having practiced the intermediate steps (abdominal breath, anoloma viloma w/out retention, etc.) with a teacher. There are any number of surpises and ill effects that can result otherwise.

Now that you have some sense of the power of kapalabhati, stop! Back up. Work only on your postures, meditation and abdominal breath control for at least several weeks, before moving on again.

Good luck, and believe what you read about pranayama issues. They are real! YOU NEED A TEACHER!

Siva

The first thing we need to know is what is going on with your stomach. Pranayama when done correctly can hava theraputic results. As far as Asana work any Hatha yoga type work should be done with the breath in mind which is why a teacher or an advanced and experienced yogi should be sought. You absolutely do not want to create incorrect breathing habits.

There are a number of excellent websites with information, step by step guide lines and video instructions (which are all extremely helpful) nothing beats having a live person there to observe your practice and point out where you need improvement.

A good place to start your breathing practice is by being mindful of it throughout your day. Are you breathing from the abdominal cavity, are you forcing the abdominal cavity to rise or is it naturally rising? Are you breathing from the Thoracic cavity? Are you getting full breaths? Etc…

This is a good place to start because if you do it everyday you will become very aware of your breath if you go a step further and integrate this into your Yogic practice you will become even more aware of your breath and how it works with the body and the effect it has on your mind.

Other mindful questions you can ask yourself is When you are angry or happy is your breath shallow, fast and comming from the thoracic cavity or are you breathing from your abdominal cavity? Our emotion and behavior are influenced by our breath.

Another question depending how deep you want to focus is to see if you can notice on what breath you fall asleep and on what breath you awaken. Is it on the in breath or the out breath.

An easy exercise you can do is to lie down in Sivasana (corps pose) and do the following.
Fist lie there for a couple of minutes noticing your breath. Don’t try to control it, just observe it.

When your ready it will be time to start.

Start on an in-breath from the lower abdominals. Imagine you are filling the area starting from your bladder going up into your lower abdominals with air let your tummy rise gently. Focus on the movement and feeling of the breath in that area.

Do it slowly and comfortably then let the movement of the incomming breath fill the middle of your torso feel the diaphragm engage and begin to rise gently. Next feel the flow of air rise into your chest and let it expand from side to side and bottom to top right up to your throat.

Do all these steps in one slow smooth breath. Not forced or hurried. You should not feel discomfort while doing this.

Now on the out breath you are going to feel the breath slowly moving out of your body through the nose. First feel the exhalation releasing in your throat moving down into your thoracic cavity, observing your chest lowering down into your diaphragmatic area. From there feel the exhalation release from your abdomin pulling your navel area gently towards your spine and beyond that gently pull your bladder area in towards the center of your pelvic bowl.

All this should be done smoothly, comfortably with an even flow. Just observe the process. If any thoughts should interrupt your focus that’s ok, just bring it back to the breath.

As far as the rhythm of the breath it would be good if you can try to keep the exhalations a little longer than the inhalations, but more importantly is that you observe your body and breath during the process.

Try this for 3 minutes to start and work your way up to 7 or 11 or even more. When you get familiar with this exercise you can then try it while sitting in easy pose (legs crossed) on a pillow or cussion.

Once you get familiar with both styles you can work on hold your breath for 5 seconds between inhalation - exhalation - inhalation - etc… You could try a 5 second inhale, hold breath for 5 seconds, and an 8 to 10 second exhale. When you become proficient in this way you can increase the times for as long as is comfortable for you.

I can inhale for about 15 to 20 seconds, hold breath for about 10 seconds and exhale for about 30 to 40 seconds comfortably and feel wonderful thereafter. I can push my limits on this, but that would change the intent of the exercise. Here my intention is simply to focus on the mechanism of the breath to increase breath awareness and performance within a relaxation theme. Often this is one of my first breath exercises before going onto more strenous breath exercises.

Try to encorporate this breath exercise into your practice. It will help you become aware of your breath and to relax. When you do Asana pay attention to your breath. Pay close attention to where the resistance is. Breath through it. The thing is that different asanas require different breath patterns which is why it’s a good idea to find someone who can guide you.

Good luck.

The help that is warranted in this case is to discontinue an inappropriate pranayama. Since the original question was formed in such a way as to rule out such a reply I felt it would be unwelcome.

Hello Siva,

Firstly let me thank you for replying and.By clearing my stomach i meant, i was having problems metaboic or digestion problems, problems in getting rid of the waste. No, there was another similar instance that i came across on the net.This person was talking about the same thing.I don’t know why that happens. But, anyways here is the link.
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090220081158AAQtanS

Here is another link which you might want to look at. May be the reason could be this one.
blogs.ibibo.com/RahulBose/Ramdev-Pranayam-with-Caution

Hello A_Humble_Yogi

You got it bang on, i did create incorrect breathing habits. I’ll definitely try and put what you’ve said to practice. You were talking about the breath on which one falls asleep and wakes up to, the in breath or the out breath. What should be the breath the one should wake up to?
Here is a link that you must look at.
blogs.ibibo.com/RahulBose/Ramdev-Pranayam-with-Caution.
Thank you for your suggestions, they were very good.

Pranayama is a much powerfull part of the YOGA, Kapalbhati is one of them. So actually it cannot be done alone…
I think am explaining in the right way that you can understand, what I wanna tell you is Pranayama should be done by sequence, one supports other and specially kapalbhati is much important which needs BHAYI PRANAYAMA after it,

dont worry abt anything that ur thinking that something gone wrong, just fallow BABA RAM DEV steps, methods and princeples… also some excersices important before any pranayama started.

with my experiance , you can cure this by BHASTRIKA pranayama. its should not be done more 2 mints at first(here princeples r important)

May god bless u.

Baba Ram Dev is an Excellent reference

I’m glad you could use the info. As far as Mindful breathing go it doesn’t matter what breath you wake up on. What matters is whether or not you are aware of what breath you came into conciousness on.

So far I have been able to tell what breath I fall asleep on. Usually I fall asleep on an out-breath, but I have yet to be able to notice on which breath I wake up on. Usually by the time I’m aware of my breathing when I come to conciousness I’ve already taken a couple breaths and so I’ve missed the moment.

What is important though is that you are uniquely focussed on your breathing throughout the day.

Breathing is the one tool that is portable. You can take it wherever you go. Practicing even length breaths or longer exahalations than inhalation amongst some of the easier mindful breathing techniques helps you to become acutely aware of your breathing patters.

For example… do you find yourself holding your breath when you speak or when you get excited or exert yourself? Do you breath from the thoracic cavity as opposed to the abdominal cavity? Does you navel naturally pull in toward your spine when you exhale? Does your tummy naturally expand when inhaling?

These are things you can take note of throughout the day that would help you gain awareness and eventual control of your breath.

Here is another example of breath awareness. I usually walk around the lake at my work complex. It’s a very serene and wonderful space. I like to chant mantras quitely while observing my breath as I walk around the lake during my lunch time. Today a couple of my co-workers wanted to walk with me. Instead of chanting mantras quitely I engaged in conversation and their company, however, the entire time I was fully aware of my breath. I quitely observed my breath pattern letting it flow evenly utilizing my full capacity in a relaxed easy going fashion all the while conversing and walking and enjoying their company.

Last night I ate late and woke up in the deep of morning around 3am. My heart was racing and my body was agitated. My breathing was shallow and fast. I observed this pattern and surrendered to it quietly laying there in bed. My mind was racing and filled with thoughts. I kept bringing my focus back to the breath. Gently coaxing my breath into my abdominal cavity insuring that my exhalations were longer than my inhalations. I also turned onto my right side as breathing from this side stimulates the Ida nadi which helps to sooth and calm your nervous system. After a long while I fell asleep and awoke feeling mostly rested after having been awake for a long while during the night.

One of the keys to tranquility, peace and good health lies in the awareness and control of the breath. Asanas and Pranayama aid the breathing process, but it’s best to educate yourself and to have a person who can guide you to achieve the best results.

Hope this helps.

xyz,
No Doubt, you started practicing kapalbhati without learning it properly first.
There is no such ‘magical’ pranayama in comparison to ‘Kapalbhati’. Swami Ramdev ji has made it simplify for mass usages. Millions of users got benefited with this miraculous pranayama in whole world. Also, many of them have returned from the door of death.

So, please go through proper training of practicing pranayama ‘VIDEO’ of ‘Ramdev ji’ or under any experienced yoga teacher.

Your timing was wrong, my dear friend. Kapalbhati should always be practiced, early in the morning and that is too in an empty stomach. However, you can also practice it after 5 hours of food intake. What is more, you should not eat anything at least for 20 minutes to half an hour, after Kapalbhati or any other pranayam. You did not follow any of the rules, I suppose. Otherwise, you may not have such difficulties.

You?ve asked about an ayurvedic laxative, other than Isabgul. And, I can suggest you to take TRIPHALA (see Wiki), early in the morning. It works, miracle. It is available in capsules, tablets and powder. For best result, consume triphala with lukewarm water.

Regards,

SharonHill,

[QUOTE=xyz;16846]hello,
I started doing kapalbhati pranayama some time back and immediately found it immensely beneficial.After doing this i started clearing my stomach very easily,my system started improving and becoming stable and i liked it that way.I was so affected by its wonderful effects that,i got obsessed with it and started doing it all the time.When ever i was free i would start doing kapalbhati irrespective of the time of the day and some times after food. I also started exerting lot of force to exhale.And slowly i started having problems in clearing my stomach and my stomach started to be upset all the time unlike how it was at the beginning, when i had started doing kapalbhati. I looked up the net and i realized that i was doing it at the wrong time. And now i have lot of problems with my stomach. My breathing patterns have also changed. how can i fix this? Since i have discovered that i was doing it wrong all this while, i have stopped it. I want to do this pranayama consistently, but want to clear my stomach first. Can you suggest an ayurvedic laxative except isabgul? Please help.

I have another query about kapalbhati, should one make a conscious effort to contract his stomach or it happens automatically?
Thank you.[/QUOTE]

Well, I posted many times this video of Baba Ramdev practising pranayama.
He demonstrates several pranayamas, including kapalhabati.

He indicates how many minutes a day you are allowed to practice kapalhabati. Definitely you exxagerated the time of practise.

Re how long after meals you can practice it, I remember another,older, video of Baba Ramdev saying that , as in any yoga practice, you should allow 5
(FIVE) hours after meals. I know that some people have other time intervals, but Baba Ramdev is really qualified. He started yoga at the age of 8 (eight).

Another of his indications (previous video) is that you do not have to practice it if you suffer of diverticulitis.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-386913693756370208

I have literally respected his indications and I am quite OK.

"The bad does not come from bad things, but from the abuse of good
things."
Arthur Schopenhauer


Re cleaning your stomach, you can use: 1) kefir 2) papaya 3) if things are
really difficult, buy the intestinal cleansing COLONIX from

http://www.drnatura.com

Note: I speak from my own experience.

Can someone please tell me how does Kapalbhati make the skull shine? Is it because of clearing the toxins and effecting the digestive system or probably exercising the forehead muscles on the quick inhalation in between after the slightly forced exhalation. Just curious to know.

Hiren,

Kapalbhati is technically a kriya, so yes, it cleanses and detoxifies the body, giving the skin a healthy glow, or “shining skull.” Also, the face is kept completely relaxed during kapalabhti, so there is no exercise of the forehead at all.

peace,
siva

Thanks a lot, Siva.I recently saw videos on how pushing the eyes up and on the right helps in getting rid of the frown on the face. Other exercises are of similar type so I thought that maybe it is through the forehead. If you know anything else in yoga or otherwise that helps the skull shine, do let me know.

One thing I want to ask you in your quote earlier in this post:-

Sustained kapalbhati practice should only be practiced in conjunction with a regular hatha (postures) practice, preferrably after you’ve reached some level of accomplishment, and then only after having practiced the intermediate steps (abdominal breath, anoloma viloma w/out retention, etc.) with a teacher.

By conjunction, do you imply that one can do Kapalbhati while doing Asanas? Just want to confirm this. It would be great is that is possible.

[QUOTE=Hiren;28414] If you know anything else in yoga or otherwise that helps the skull shine, do let me know.

[/QUOTE]

Sitkari

http://yoga.omgyan.com/pranayama/Sitkari.html

Hiren,

I am not completely sure of what you are asking here, but will try to answer it.

“In conjunction with…” means pranayama should [B]NOT[/B] be practiced independent of a regular asana practice. This does not however, mean you can’t practice it on any one day in particular without having done asana. [B]YES[/B], it is practiced separately of asana, either before or after (I prefer before), and not in combination with asana. For example, you would [B]NOT[/B] practice kapalabhati in shoulderstand, headstand, plow, etc.

I hope that explains it. Your teacher would also be able to clarify this for you, and you should [B]NOT[/B] learn kapalabhati without a teacher. You can practice on your own, but you can’t learn it on your own. Teacher must be present.

siva