March 23rd, 2007 | admin

Bhastrika literally means bellows. This pranayama step got its name from the fact that the breathing resembles the action of bellows.

Sit in a meditation or prayer pose.

Put your left hand palm-down on your right knee.

Put your index and middle finger between the eyebrows, leaving thumb and ring finger free.

Close right nostril with the thumb. Briskly breathe in and out through left nostril for ten times.

Release the thumb and take in breath through both the nostrils, slowly and deeply. Close both the nostrils with thumb and ring finger to keep the breath inside.

Release both fingers before you feel breathless. Slowly, but steadily release the breathe completely.

Take two or three regular breathing.

Repeat the whole process by closing the left nostril and breathing through the right.

Beginners need to practice only one cycle only. You can gradually increase the number of cycles to 15-20 a day over time.

This is not indicated for persons with hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart diseases.

Benefits
Bhastrika, the third step of pranayama eliminates germs and accumulated wastes from lungs. It is beneficial for persons suffering from asthma and tuberculosis.

It is also to be noted that the persons practicing this step experience the release of mucus on larger quantities. Nothing to worry, it is the method of expelling wastes from the lungs.