Bhastrika (Bellows Breath)

Hi, welcome to Yoga & You, I am Sanjana Prasad. In today's episode, we are going to learn how to practice Bhastrika Pranayama, let's get started. Bhastrika Pranayama, "Bellows of a Blacksmith." So the name itself indicates that this pranayama is a very powerful one.

It helps to energize the entire body, it strengthens your nervous system, and because of the powerful inhalation and exhalation, the metabolic activity in your body increases and it helps to push out all the waste and the toxins, thereby balancing all the three doshas — the vata, pitta and the kapha. It also helps to increase your lung capacity, and it is very good for people who are suffering from depression and anxiety — it helps to really boost your mood, brings in tranquility, and also brings in one-pointedness as a preparation for your meditation practice as well.

There are a few contraindications for Bhastrika. If you are suffering from any heart ailments, from glaucoma, vertigo, if you are having ulcer, hernia — pregnant women in their first trimester, avoid practicing Bhastrika. Please practice with a well-trained teacher who knows what they are teaching, because this pranayama is definitely a powerful one and must be practiced with care. Let's get into the practice of Bhastrika.

We are going to start in a comfortable seated position, it can be in Sukhasana or in Vajrasana. Make sure you are comfortable, your spine is tall, and you are able to breathe comfortably. We are going to keep your palms in Chinmudra, joining the index finger to the tip of the thumb, palms facing the ceiling, roll your shoulders back, keep the spine tall. First, let's establish a connect to the breath.

As you inhale, notice the expansion in your belly; exhale, completely relax. We will practice a few rounds of modified yogic breath here: inhale, allow the belly to expand first, gradually allow your chest to expand; as you exhale, allow your chest to relax, slowly your belly relaxes. Let's do three more breaths — inhale, abdominal breathing, thoracic breathing, and completely exhale; inhale deeply, exhale; inhale, inhale, exhale. Slowly open your eyes and release the mudra. So the first step in this pranayama practice is to establish the connect to the breath and make sure when you are inhaling there is expansion, when you are exhaling there's complete relaxation, because very often we do the opposite.

Once you have this pattern in place, for Bhastrika we are going to make the inhalation and exhalation forceful — there will be a gentle snuffling sound from your nose, it will sound like this. So both the inhalation and exhalation when you are doing Bhastrika is forceful. We are going to try this for about 10 times and then come back to our natural breath. Throughout, you can maintain Chinmudra on your thighs, close your eyes. Let's begin — take a deep inhale, we are going to close the eyes, we will practice 10 rounds. Take a deep inhale, exhale completely, more inhale, exhale. We are going to practice 10 breaths, forceful inhale and exhale. Start by taking one deep breath — inhale, exhale — and let's begin. Slowly come back to your natural breath, very gently open your eyes.

Now, if this was comfortable for you, we are going to practice the same technique — forceful inhale and exhalation along with your arm movement — and this really emphasizes on that forceful inhalation and exhale, and it enhances the entire practice. So as you inhale with open palms, you are going to lift your hands up, and as you exhale, forceful exhalation, and you are going to fist your palms and bring it back down to shoulder level — like you are really squeezing the elbows into the body and opening the chest, flushing the air out. Remember, when you are inhaling, expansion; when you are exhaling, complete relaxation. So inhale, arms up, spread the fingers; exhale and down, fist your palms. Let's try this — close the eyes, inhale deeply, exhale completely, one more inhale, exhale, let's begin. Slowly come back to your natural breath, very gently open your eyes.

We are going to practice this one last time — this time we are going to introduce retention at the end of your last exhalation, this is called Kevala Kumbhaka. After your last forceful exhalation, sometimes you have that natural urge to hold your breath, it happens very naturally, it doesn't have to be forced. If you find that urge, you are going to hold the breath for about 10-15 seconds and then return to your natural breathing. We will try this one time as the last round — eyes closed, deep inhale, complete exhalation, prepare your arms, exhale and let's begin. Hold the breath 10-15 seconds, slowly come back to your natural breath, gently open your eyes.

So that was Bhastrika Pranayama for you. We can also practice Bhastrika with just single nostril, with Antar Kumbhaka — internal retention of breath — and Bahya Kumbhaka — external retention of breath — but this requires some practice and experience. So for now, get into the practice of Bhastrika, see how it is helping and see how it is working for you, and then we can start working on the other layers.