A typical set of Kapalabati in Kundalini Yoga practice might be as follows:

You begin by inhaling and exhaling, breathing in deeply and completely, then
exhaling squeezing the breath out completely, 5 breaths. Then begin Kapalabati
for 3 to 5 minutes, followed again with 5 more breaths, then one more round of
Kapalabati, followed by 5 more breaths. At the end of the last breath inhale
deeply, pull the root lock, press the lower vertebra forward, press the
shoulders back and down, bring the chin in slightly, and project the flow of
energy up through the spine and through the passage through the crown and
through the third eye (forehead). Then exhale and pull all the locks
(Mahabhanda) holding the breath out. Inhale relax.

A milder version of Kapalabati is used in kriyas and mantras and meditations
where you chant "har" repeatedly, while exhaling and compressing the navel
inwards, the diaphragm upwards. Another example is the mantra:

"Eh Ong Kar-ah, Sata Nam-ah, Siri Wha-ah, He Guru" where on each "ah" sound
you contract inward, as though doing Kapalabati, releasing to allow the air to
flow inwards.

After Kapalabati, one might also do a set of Sat Kriya, because, when you make
the sound "Sat," pulling the root lock and compressing the navel inward, the
diaphragm goes inward and upwards together with the shoulders and arms as the
palms are pressed together, bringing the flow of energy up to nourish the glands
in the brain, which in turn opens the tenth gate in the crown.

Again to affect the greatest benefit of Sat Kriya, you will find that after
Kapalabati, when you squeeze with the sound "Sat" the diaphragm is compressed
similar to Kapalabati. So that when you release air flows in allowing you to
chant the sound "Nam" and then continue with "Sat." In a Sat Kriya series
following a set of Kapalabati, the nadi system including the circulatory system,
nervous system and meridians will be so energized and free flowing with prana,
that the sound of the mantra - Sat Nam - will begin to vibrate powerfully
throughout and around the body, even generating a kind of subtle blissful energy
that will have the effect that you will want to continue on with Sat Kriya for
some time.

Hopefully, from the above descriptions of Bastrika and Kapalabati in relation to
Breath of Fire, as well as the weblink, these three types of pranayamas will be
well understood, as well that Breath of Fire is neither of the other 2.

Proper understanding and practice of the different pranayamas, in particular
Long Deep Breathing and Breath of Fire, leads to gaining the maximum benefit in
the shortest time with the least problems in Kundalini Yoga Sadhana - the
Radiant Road to Reality, through which all the knots (granthis) that seem to
bind one's idea of identity to the reflected consciousness if the mind in the
Sacred Centers of the Kandal, the Sahasrara and 10th Gate, and the One Star
(Hrdayam) - are sundered.


Then you inhale and hold the breath. With this flow of energy swirling through
the body, it's important that you know how to hold the breath at the end of a
session of Breath of Fire, whether sitting in easy pose or from a posture or
movement. In easy pose, you expand the lungs from the very bottom, feeling the
downward pressure through the navel to the solar plexus, then continuing to
breathe downward, with your hands on your knees, you pull and expand the ribcage
forward and press down with the hands against the knees to cause the upper part
of the ribs to lift. This will enable you to fill the lungs entirely from the
bottom, to the top and every area between.

Then you pull the shoulders back, chest forwards, pull the root lock, press the
lower spine forwards (the spine remains straight) and you will feel a sensation
of the breath suspending, as the energy flow presses from the spine through all
the frontal chakras through the heart, throat, forehead and crown. Then exhale
and squeeze the breath out until the sides compress and the area below and
between the navel and 4th vertebra contracts upwards creating an electromagnetic
sensation in the Kundal. Repeat this (inhale hold/suspend, exhale contract
suspend) a few times, then relax the breath. You may feel a swirling sensation
in the area just below the navel, a sensation of a flow of electricity from this
area (Kandal) to the 4th vertebra and an electric sensation from the base of the
spine through the crown. Then just wait! Wait a few minutes for the glands to
secrete and support the electric flow, so that the electric flow deepens. This
results in the conversion of bindu to ojas, where you develop a ground of basic
voltage and with each Kundalini Yoga exercise, kriya, mantra and meditation the
ground of energy consciousness deepens and expands.

Kapalabati is a special type of pranayama that is also not Breath of Fire,
although
one often sees Breath of Fire described in yoga books as being Kapalabati. In
Kapalabati, the air in the lungs is entirely expelled and squeezed / out by
contracting the diaphragm inwards together with the navel and solar plexus in a
way that you feel the area between the navel and 4th vertebra contracting
upward, as though you are effecting a root lock, but without actually pulling
the anus and sex organs. The basic practice of this pranayama can be done
sitting crosslegged in easy pose or sitting on the heels in rock pose. When you
exhale you also press the hands down on the knees to effect a complete
contraction of the diaphragm. There is no inhalation involved, only exhalation
with a force that in the process of squeezing the air out, the abdomen and sides
between the hips and ribs are compressed inwards and the ribs are compressed
inwards. Thus, when you release the internal contraction, the abdomen and ribs
spring back to a relaxed state and the air naturally is drawn back into the
lungs without effort.

Kapalabati is performed with a rhythmic breath, forceful on the exhalation and
contraction, no force on the inward flow of air. The effect is to completely
squeeze the impurities from the blood steam, as the lungs are compressed to the
deepest part where most of the blood sacks are located. At the same time the
entire bronchial system is purified. All the tensions in the abdominal and chest
areas are also wringed out of the body.


from PDF file by pieter
Oct 2009 by Sat Avtar Kaur