Kapal Bhati: The Ultimate Detox

In my fourth post of the breathing exercises series, I will be covering kapal bhati and how it provides relief during respiratory illnesses and benefits our mental health.

Kapal bhati is a unique and fun breathing exercise that is easy and quick to learn, and has both physical and neural benefits! Specifically, one of kapal bhati’s benefits is that it provides physical relief by clearing the windpipe when it is accumulated with excess mucus; it also provides relief during sinusitis by reducing the pressure in our sinuses. The neural benefits of kapal bhati, however, are aplenty: it increases lung capacity, strengthens the nervous system, and improves cerebral blood flow. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that this beneficial exercise can’t be performed by pregnant women and people afflicted with hypertension and cardiac issues.

Now, to perform kapal bhati, the first step is to be seated in the dhyana position - that is, be seated in the cross-legged position. After you are comfortably seated and ready to perform the exercise, the next step is to take a deep breath for as long as you can. Then, hold your breath, and start to exhale continuously for the next 5 to 10 seconds. And this process, despite sounding counterintuitive, has a simple guiding principle: as we continuously exhale while performing this exercise, we also passively inhale to exhale the next breath. So, simply put: you're breathing while performing this exercise, but the focus is on exhalation rather than inhalation.

Please note that if you aren’t comfortable with exhaling 10 times in one breath, I would recommend starting by exhaling 5 times for the first week, and then increasing it to 10 the following week. This increase (and the duration between them), however, is entirely dependent on your comfort levels and capacity. There is no ideal number of breaths you should be exhaling in one slot during this exercise. The only requirement is that you feel comfortable while performing this exercise and focus on the process of exhalation.

So, here’s how to perform one of the fun breathing exercises in yoga! I hope you enjoyed learning about one of the cleansing kriyas in yoga and the benefits it has on our physical and mental health. Thanks for reading, and see you in the next post!