Invest 5 minutes daily to Improve your digestion with Kapalabhati Pranayama

Pranayamas are breathing techniques that come from Yoga that bring several benefits to the health of the body, mind and spirit. Invest 5 minutes daily to Improve your digestion with Kapalabhati Pranayama

Kapalabhati comes from Sanskrit, where ‘Kapala’ means skull facing forward and ‘Bhati’ means fire, light. So, Kaphalabhati means that we have light on our faces. To learn this powerful breathing technique, watch the video below from our Ayurveda expert.

Who should not do Kapalabhati Pranayama

People who have recently had stomach surgeries or procedures cannot do Kapalabhati. Wait at least 6 months or consult your doctor. Pregnant women shouldn’t do it either. Women who are in the menstrual phase of the cycle should also avoid it; Diabetics and people with high blood pressure can do this, but calmly and slowly

When to do Kapalabhati Pranayama?

The best time to do Kapalabhati Pranayama is in the morning, fasting. If you can’t do it in the morning, do it in the afternoon or evening, at least 4 hours after your last meal.

Benefits

The main benefits of this Pranayama technique are related to the stomach:

• Improves digestion;
• Gases;
• Inflammation in the belly after eating;

For Ayurveda, digestion is one of the main factors for good health. With good digestion, the body has more nutrients and this improves the entire body as a system. It increases your concentration, your focus, you are more energetic and less tired. Invest 5 minutes daily to Improve your digestion with Kapalabhati Pranayama!

See also our other yoga content to improve digestion:
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Improve Digestion with Mandukasana

Furthermore, as it is a Pranayama technique, Kapalabhati activates the circulation of Prana, increasing the amount of Prana in the body, which brings several benefits, such as:

• Improvement in the nervous system;
• Improvement in the immune system.

Kapalabhati Pranayama step by step

Sit in a place where you are comfortable and with your back straight. We will work this Pranayama technique in two stages. In the first we will focus on the nose and in the second we will focus on the belly. For the nose part, the movement will be the same as when we try to blow our nose. You expel the air forcefully through your nose. The movement of the belly is similar to what happens naturally when we vomit, where the belly contracts inwards.

The movement we will do is a combination of the two, at the same time as you forcefully expel the air through your nose, you contract your belly inwards. At first, do one repetition per second, slowly at first.

For beginners, it’s important to do it slowly and with your eyes closed, focusing on the movement of your belly.

Do Kaphalabhati Pranayama it for at least 2 minutes and a maximum of 15 minutes. Increase the time little by little, as your body gets used to it.

Yoga and Ayurveda can help you in different areas of your life. For more Yoga, meditation and breathing exercises check out this page here