The pattern of your breathing shows the pattern of your thoughts;
The quality of your air reflects the quality of your health.
Travelling on the roads in India, dusty air is probably unavoidable. Black gas oozing from the back of vehicles, sands flying everywhere, the smokes from the burning of rubbish and even the particles from road-side constructions; and most of the time I would try to hold my breath till the “sand storm” is over, however still, I do breathe in a good amount of street air unconsciously.
And most people who are not aware of this, probably has been overloading their lungs with bad air daily. A friend told me, “Our life span probably will cut by half, with this quality of air we’re taking in…” I do agree. I’ve heard some started having breathing difficulties and suffer from bronchitis.
I had mentioned about this cleaning technique in my previous post, and I’m going to highlight it once more here:
Kapalabati (skull cleansing), is not a pranayama (vital energy expansion). This is a cleansing technique for the lungs, through the pressure of the air in the lungs.
How it is practice:
Technique
1) Sit upright in crossed legs. Option: sit against the wall to keep the spine erect.
2) Be aware of the movement of the tummy. Take in 3 deep breaths slowly--- tummy expands with inhales; contracts with exhales.
Get use to the movement. Option: place your hand on the tummy lightly.
3) To start: quickly exhale forcefully (1 pump), and the inhale will come naturally to the original position--- do not bloat the tummy intentionally. Option: Look into the mirror to check that only the tummy is moving, keeping the chest down.
4) The inhale and exhale requires different amount of effort--- Active exhale; passive inhale
Guide
Once you are good with the fundamental technique--- direction of the breaths, movement of the tummy, relaxing the chest and shoulders; you are ready for the practice.
Speed: Take the second hand of the clock as a guide.
1 pumping breath = 1 second
½ second for the exhale, ½ second for the inhale
Effort: The purpose of forceful exhale is to increase the pressure of the lungs; expelling the stale gas from the bottom of the lungs; in exchange for the oxygenated air into the lungs.
The greater the effort on the exhalation = higher pressure = more air circulation.
Common Effects: When this is done correctly, you may feel,
Abs--- rectus, transversal, oblique abdominis
Mid to lower back--- Latissimus dorsi
Blood pressure: Light headedness, numbness at some parts of the body
Practice routine
Taking 1 pump=1 breath= 1 second
Week | No. of pumps | No. of rounds | Options |
1 | 10 | 5 | Increases to 10 rounds |
2 | 20 | 5 | Increases to 10 rounds |
3 | 30 | 5 | Increases to 10 rounds |
4 | 40 | 5 | Increases to 10 rounds |
* Take 3-5 breaths to in each round of interval to recover, and move on to the next round.
* You can either increase the number of pumps; or the rounds of practice
When you should not practice?
- Pregnancy
- Menstruating
- After food
- Before going to bed
Who should not practice?
This is a general guide for self-practice. If you have any health condition (high blood under medication, lungs related diseases, heart problem…) it is important to practice under the guidance of an experience teacher.
When is the best time to practice?
Morning (before breakfast) --- for its good quality of air with high level of oxygenated in the air.
Evening (before dinner) --- for releasing the bad air accumulated throughout the day.
Alternative: Afternoon (before lunch) ---- for cleansing purposes, except if the weather is very hot.
Note: Practices are to be done indoors.
No comments:
Post a Comment