Kapalabhati And High Blood Pressure

by Sanjay

Hi, my name is sanjay. I have just started doing yoga for the last 3 days watching it on dvd of baba Ramdev. I'm suffering with high blood pressure and do take tekma H every day after break fast. While I was just surfing the sites, your site suggest's people with High BP should not do kapal bharti. Kindly suggest.

Warm regards
Sanjay

Answer
People with high blood pressure should not do Kapalabhati. However, if by taking medicines your blood pressure is normal you may do this exercise, preferably under the guidance of a yoga teacher. Here are some precautions:-

~ First consult your doctor about doing Kapalabhati.

~ If your age is more than 40 and health is not good seek guidance of a teacher to start this pranayama.

~ Do not give shocks to your body by doing Kapalabhati while beginning your yoga practice. First do the yoga poses and pranayama which does not affect your blood pressure for a month or so. Yoga asanas free accumulated mental tension, removes toxins from the body and bring harmony of mind, body and spirit. This will aid smooth functioning of all organs of your body. A sound body is a pre requisite for doing pranayama.

~ Initially get going with as Alom Vilom, Rhythmic breathing and Chandrabhedi pranayama are ideal for high blood pressure.

~ Take extra care to reduce any source of stress in your life and master the art of relaxation.

Kapalabhati
When starting to do Kapalabhati, do it at a slow rate. For example, do 3 exhalations per 5 seconds and also reduce the force of exhalation. Do only 15-20 exhalations at a time and repeat 2-3 times with due rest in between. Gradually increase the no of exhalations and the number of repetitions.

Hope this helps. You can let us know of your progress by leaving a comment on this page. Other visitors are also welcome to share their experiences.

Regards
Daljit