Kabbalati Pranayama means Skull Shining and is a dynamic breathing practice that focuses on active exhales and passive inhales.
It helps cleanse the respiratory system,
Energizing the mind,
And improves your focus.
Sitting in a comfortable seat with a nice straight spine,
You will actively exhale through the nose by contracting your abdominal muscles.
Think of actively drawing your stomach inward towards your spine.
Your breath will shoot out of the nose,
Making a sneeze-like sound.
The moment you release the abdomen muscles,
The breath will automatically begin to naturally and without effort fill your lungs,
Making for a passive inhale.
We will perform three rounds of 20 repetitions each.
Feel free to slow down your pace if you are new to this or start to feel a little light-headed.
And skip this practice altogether if you are pregnant or have high blood pressure.
It can also be helpful to place one hand on your belly so you can feel the motion and help keep the breath active in this area.
Let's begin by softening the gaze,
Taking a deep breath in through the nose filling all the way up and hold for a moment.
Now exhale out the mouth with a sigh.
One more like this,
Inhaling filling all the way up,
Holding at the top,
Opening the mouth and exhaling with a sigh.
Inhale filling up,
Now exhale out the nose about three-fourths of the way and we'll begin round one with an exhale.
Couple more rounds.
Now nice inhale and exhale.
Go back to your natural breath.
Eyes stay closed,
Body's relaxed.
Just feel this prana energy moving through you,
Helping to cleanse stagnation from the mind and the respiratory system.
Take note if you're clenching your jaw or tightening your face muscles and just let that go.
And we'll prepare for round number two.
Deep inhale through the nose,
Exhale three-fourths of the way out and begin.
Deep inhale and exhale.
Body's relaxed,
Eyes stay closed.
Just feel your body,
The breath,
The connection.
Remember you are in control of the motion,
So find a pace that works for you.
And we'll begin last round starting with a nice full deep inhale,
Exhale three-fourths of the way out and exhale.
Last one and inhale,
Exhale.
The breath goes back to your natural rhythm.
You can keep your eyes closed.
Just take a moment to observe any changes in both your body and your mind.
Kapalbhati pranayama is a great practice for waking you up.
It's great for preparing for exercise and it's great for building momentum before a big presentation.
It's important to note that activating breaths like this one should be done in small doses and never before bed.
Thank you for breathing with me today.
My name is Mary of Breath Mindset.
Breathe well,
Friends.
