Kapalbhati

Kapalbhati is a part of Kriya Pranayama where one forcefully exhales rapidly in short bursts. yoga Practitioners claim that it helps in cleaning lungs and in exercising the abdominal muscles, an ideal way to reduce tummy fat.

The word ‘Kapalbhati’ means skull illumination. Yogis claim that the practice cleanses one’s mind and boosts a person’s appearance, also vouched for by modern science.

Today, research shows that the a part of the polluted air we breathe through our nostrils goes directly to the brain via the olfactory lobes (area responsible for sense of smell) and the rest goes to the lungs, supplying necessary oxygen to the blood.

While medical researchers show that pollutants are flushed most of the times by the immune system, the toxic particles in the brain go accumulate.

This has alarming implications for modern living, as the inhaled pollution from household and automobile smoke, dust and general industrial environment has the ability to directly affect the nervous system.

Statistics of increased cancer, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease rates have been attributed partly to the invasion of toxins in the brain.

There are, however, indications that some of these small particles can be flushed out by the cerebrospinal fluid which floods the brain. During episodes of dreams, this flushing mechanism is highly active.

Since these small particles enter the brain through the olfactory lobe, they can be flushed out by the forceful exhalation in Kapalbhati. This follows the principle of equivalence.

The forceful exhalation creates a venturi effect in the nasal passage, thereby creating a partial vacuum, sucking these particles out of the olfactory lobes. Natural designs are very efficient and take into account all paths and forces. Thus the forceful exhalation not only exercises the abdominal muscles, but also cleans the lungs and brain.