कपालभाति
Kapalbhati — the Shining Skull
kapāla = skull, bhāti = shining — the skull-brightening breath
Short, brisk exhales pumped from the belly — a strong cleansing kriya, learned properly in person.
In the simplest words
Push your breath out through your nose in quick little puffs, like blowing out tiny candles, letting your tummy do the pushing. It wakes your head up — but this one is for bigger kids and grown-ups, learned from a teacher.
What it is
Kapalbhati is not a calming breath but a cleansing one — strictly speaking a kriya, one of hatha yoga's six purifications (shatkarma), though everyone files it with pranayama. The belly snaps inward to push a short, brisk exhale through the nose; the inhale happens by itself as the belly releases. Twenty to thirty of these strokes make one round. Done well it feels bright and wakeful — the name means "shining skull". It is also a practice with real force in it — only bhastrika is stronger — which is why the tradition teaches it face-to-face and why its caution list below is long and meant seriously.
Where it comes from: One of the six shatkarmas of classical hatha yoga (Hatha Yoga Pradipika II.35) — a purification, traditionally taught in person.
Before you practise — health first
Do NOT practise kapalbhati in pregnancy, or with heart disease, high blood pressure, hernia, epilepsy, glaucoma, vertigo, recent abdominal or eye surgery, ulcers, or during menstruation if it feels wrong. Dizziness means stop at once and breathe normally. Health always comes before the practice — and a live teacher comes before this page.
How to practise
Learn it first from a yoga teacher in person — this page is a reminder, not a substitute.
Sit very stable — vajrasana or a firm cross-legged seat — spine tall, hands on knees.
Breathe in halfway, then snap the lower belly in to push a short, sharp exhale through the nose.
Let the inhale happen entirely by itself as the belly releases — you only ever do the exhale.
20–30 strokes make a round; then breathe normally and feel the stillness. Two or three rounds are plenty.
The face stays soft throughout; the moment it strains, stop and rest.
Practise now
Practice timer
Finished sessions are added to your sadhana log — stored only on this device.
When & how long
Morning, always on an empty stomach, after the bowels. Never before sleep — it is a wakeful practice.
What it is kept for
Practitioners describe a swept-clean alertness — traditionally a preparation that brightens the head before pranayama and meditation.