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Kapalbhati – Polish Your Skull
A great boon to the practice of yoga is the positive effect that is has on the mind-body, allowing us to better overcome extreme emotion and stress. The breathing techniques used in yogic practice are naturally soothing and calming; the cleansing breath, or kapalbhati in Sanskrit, is used exclusively for this purpose.
Kapalbhati means literally to “polish the skull” in its original Sanskrit, giving a pointed suggestion as to its purpose. Using this breathing technique to cleanse and detox your busy mind, you will find almost instantly that its effects are great and wondrous.
Performing kapalbhati is technically quite easy, though it is important that it is performed correctly in order to obtain the best results. Follow these basic instructions as you prepare to practice:
Take a seat in any position that keeps your spine erect and your body relaxed; I personally find the cross-legged and vajrasana positions have the most beneficial effect. Relax yourself and breathe deeply, closing your eyes and feeling the movement of the breath as you clear your mind. Once you feel fully composed, begin to exercise the diaphragm by exhaling your breath quickly through the nostrils, allowing the in and out of your breathing to remain natural and easy. A general rule of thumb for the beginner is to practice each type of breathing for about seven cycles, allowing the body to gradually warm up to the process. Be aware of the breath deep in your belly and use the upper chest as little as possible.
If you find your breath becoming ragged or broken at any time during the practice, take a break and compose yourself again; the benefits of kapalbhati will not be felt if the body is not relaxed.
What are some of the obvious benefits of kapalbhati?
The powerful breath created in this practice leads to great energy, cleaning and purifying the nasal passage, throat and lungs. The effects on the mind are immediate; relaxation replaces worry, clearness replaces clutter, calmness replaces stress.
Regular and increased practice will help you to maintain these benefits even outside of your practice, allowing you to go through your daily life with the same serenity and clearness of mind that you feel while in seated meditation.
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Child’s Pose
If you know someone who practices yoga regularly and ask them what their favorite pose or posture is, there is a good chance that they will cite the child’s pose. Seen in the picture below, this position is simple and relaxing, stretching your physical body while clearing and relieving the mind body. Here are a few facts about the benefits of this particular pose:
Physical Benefits
The child’s pose stretches the back, sides, legs and arms very gently, allowing your body to feel fully relaxed while it is working. Take care to place something beneath your knees if you are on a hard surface, and it sometimes helps to manually pull the flesh away from the sitting bones so that your bottom rests more comfortably on your legs.
Mental Benefits
You would be hard-pressed to find a yoga posture as mentally relaxing as the child’s pose. Even while your body is gently stretching, your head is down and your eyes are closed. This allows for light meditation or simple relaxation of the mind, bringing with it increased clarity and potential for insight.
Spiritual Benefits
Whether you subscribe to a monotheistic religion, a doctrinal guide such as Buddhism or simply acknowledge your spirituality on a more personal level, the intense relaxation and quiet time can do wonders for the mind body, and thus the spirit. Use the time spent in child’s pose to reflect on your true nature and to nourish the spirit, waking it up and enlivening it with your attentions.
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6 Reasons to Practice Yoga
I personally find the practice of yoga to be the most rewarding mind and body exercise that I have ever undertaken. Unlike many types of physical exercise, yoga is subtle and comparatively easy, allowing a simple five or ten minutes per day to translate into real, visible results. If you’re considering starting a yoga regiment or simply need a reminder as to why you do it every day, check out my top six reasons for maintaining the practice!
1. Breathing
One of the absolute keys to yoga is the control of the breath. The timed breathing that flows so smoothly with each pose and posture helps one to be more aware of the most fundamental action that your body undertakes each and every moment of your life. Steady, monitored breathing leads directly to increased physical stamina and intense relaxation, two of the biggest boons to yoga. As you continue to practice you will find that you become more and more mindful of your breathing every minute of the day, leading to extended stress relief and overall calmness of mind, body and spirit.
2. The Physical Benefits
Whether you choose to undertake a slow and steady practice or more physically demanding postures, yoga is directly akin to all other beneficial exercises. The stretching and straining involved in all forms of yoga will lead almost immediately to increased flexibility, more and better muscle tone and the loss of fat. See for yourself; 30 minutes of even moderately difficult poses will have you sweating like you went for a run!
3. Increased Mindfulness
As mentioned in point number one, controlled breathing helps lead directly to everyday mindfulness of your body’s most fundamental functioning. Yoga practice also gives you the opportunity to stay in touch with the rest of your body by combining physical relaxation with deep mental stimulation. The longer I practice, the more in tune with myself and the universe I feel and there is nothing better than feeling like you are genuinely in tune with yourself, inside and out.
4. Do it for the Kids!
Yoga practice is a wonderful thing to teach and perform with your children, helping them to understand the absolute importance of peak physical health. Too often in Western society we become dulled to the need for fitness and longevity, focusing instead on the instant gratification offered by fast food and laziness. My two-year-old isn’t much for 30 minutes of practice but he strikes a mean tree pose and helps to make my practice exponentially more enjoyable.
5. Mental Development
While yoga offers much in the way of physical exercise, it also creates the opportunity for clarity of mind and insight. The fluid movement and steady breath that the practice of yoga entails naturally creates a peaceful place for both body and mind, allowing you to experience the mental clarity and evolvement that comes hand in hand with not only yoga, but many mindfulness training practices.
6. Sleep Well, Every Night
I have no clear facts or evidence to demonstrate the effect that yoga has on sleep patterns but I can say with true authority that a day for me that includes 15 or 30 minutes of practice is guaranteed to end with a fit, restful sleep. A day with no yoga might see me sleep a full eight hours with only a slightly rested feeling while yoga creates in me the ability to sleep a scant six hours while waking up alert and rested, ready to attack the day. Peacefulness in the mind body and exercise in the physical body add up to allow one to reach a deep sleep more quickly, giving your body the ability to maximize the benefit of each and every moment that you slumber.
In summation: do yoga! It can be as little as five minutes each morning before work or each night before you hit the sack; unlike many forms of exercise, the benefits of yoga can be seen and felt immediately and will increase steadily in the long term. Many people that I talk to are extremely surprised that, after attempting and then quitting everything from jogging to jump rope, they feel absolutely compelled to continue their yogic practice with no prompting whatsoever – yoga simply speaks for itself!
photo by daily pleasure
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