How to practice Kapalabhati Pranayama and what are its benefits?

It should not be practiced by those suffering from heart disease, high blood pressure epilepsy, hernia or peptic ulcer, during menstruation and pregnancy. Process of practice

1. Sit in any comfortable meditation asana with the head and spine straight and the hands resting on the knees in either chin or gyana mudra. Close the eyes and relax the whole body.

2. Inhale deeply through both nostrils, expanding the abdomen, and exhale with a forceful contraction of the abdominal muscles without overstrain.

3. The next inhalation takes place is passively allowing the abdominal muscles to expand. Inhalation should be spontaneous or passive, involving no effort.

4. Perform 10 respirations to begin with. Count each respiration mentally. This is one round.

5. Take a deep breath in and out before start the next round. No of rounds: 3 rounds.

Awareness:

On forceful exhalation and using the abdominal muscles to expel the breath. Make sure there is minimum moment in chest and keep it relaxes throughout the practice.

Precautions:

If pain or dizziness is experienced, stop the practice and sit quietly for some time.

Benefits

1. It removes sensory distractions from the mind. It is used to energize the mind for mental work, to remove sleepiness and to prepare the mind for meditation.

2. It has a similar cleansing effect on the lungs to bhastrika and is, therefore, a good practice for asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory disorders.

3. It balances and strengthens the nervous system and tones the digestive organs.