Fire Up your Body With Bhastrika Pranayama / Bellows Breathing:

Bhastrika, a Sanskrit word, meaning leather bellows which are used to increase airflow in furnaces. This breathing exercise, bhastrika pranayama, increases the fire in the body. This practice heats up the body.

Not enough Oxygen to the Brain?

Bhastrika pranayama is one of the best ways to pump more oxygen to the brain. It also improves the circulation of blood and oxygen throughout the body.

Why Bhastrika Pranayama:

Best done early in the morning, Bhastrika Pranayama is one of the most effective breathing techniques that can help you calm your mind, bring all your doshas (vata, kapha, and pitta) into balance. The best feature of this breathing technique is that it helps oxygenate the entire body and relieves any congestion you might have in your nose, throat, and sinuses.

You can avoid diseases such as the common cold, respiratory-related problems like asthma. You can also fight low blood pressure.

This type of pranayama is also great for those who suffer from stomach-related disorders like indigestion, gas, acidity. Bhastrika is one of the most important pranayamas.

The movement of the stomach (due to the rapid exhalation and inhalation of air) stimulates the walls of your intestine, helping it eliminate waste matter and function optimally. This asana is perfect if you want to achieve a calm mind and good digestion. 

Bhastrika Pranayama Benefits:

• Improves lung capacity
• Oxygenates the brain and body
• Improves overall body immunity
• Detoxifies the whole body
• Eliminates stomach disorders
• Brings tranquillity and peace to your mind
• Purifies breath and improves your heart health and hence good for low blood pressure patients.

Bhastrika Pranayama Steps:

This pranayama is a combination of Ujjayi Pranayama and Kapalbhati Pranayama and is done using diaphragm movement. 

It is a breathing technique where breathing is forcible and through the nose, with equal time for inhalation and exhalation.

1. Sit in a cross-legged posture in sukhasana or padasana with your spine and head comfortably straight, relax your shoulders and close your eyes.

2. 

   Keep your palms facing sky resting on your thighs in Gyan mudra.
3. Inhale; as you breathe in through both nostrils, push your abdomen out releasing the diaphragm.
4. Exhale; as you breathe out through both the nostrils, pull your abdomen in contracting the diaphragm.
5. Steps 3 and 4 are a cycle. Do it deeply and vigorously with pulling abdomen in and out as quickly as possible at a frequency of about two to three times per second.

Begin with 25 to 30 cycles and gradually increase to 100 or more cycles.

Some Tips To Do Bhastrika Pranayama Correctly:

Some steps have to be followed to achieve perfection in this type of pranayama.

• When you sit in sukhasana or padmasana. Inhale through your nose, making sure your back, neck, and chest are straight and that you inhale as much as you can.
• See that your stomach does not expand due to breathing in and your chest expands instead.
• Hold your breath for a few seconds (preferably five counts), and then exhale forcefully, contracting your stomach.
• When you inhale your shoulders should be relaxed and not rise as you inhale. Breathe into your lungs and not your stomach.

Precautions:

People with High blood pressure and acute heart problems should avoid this practice.

Take Away:

Don’t just gulp some coffee every time you feel dull, instead try bhastrika pranayama. This breathing exercise clears your nadis, nostrils, and sinuses with deep breathing. It also energies your body circulating more oxygen and blood.