NAULI

Nauli is a dynamic exercise, a confluence of Pranayama and Asana. Therefore it

gives the benefits of both. Usually it is done in a half-standing position. As the yogic
practice advances, it can also be done in different asanas.
Nauli is defined in different ways:
1. the crown of all Hatha-Yoga techniques
2. goddess of creation which brings all happiness
3. an excellent exercise that removes all imbalance of doshas
4. the most important Shatkarma 4 ( Shatkarmas are the six cleansing
exercises of Hatha Yoga)
5. The word Nauli has phonetic similarities to the word Navel in English and
Nabel in German. The similarity continues in several other languages; in
Spanish navel is ombligo, in Italian ombelico, and in French nombril. The
Hindi equivalent of all these words is Nabhi, which in Sanskrit means a
wheel, a symbol of rotation.
Therefore in my opinion Nauli has a self-explanatory meaning; the rotation of the
navel as that of a wheel.
Nauliyoga has the highest goal of leading us towards self-realisation.
On the way to self-realisation, Nauliyoga confers several benefits; beauty, muscular
strength, youthful vitality, inner peace, emotional equanimity and intellectual
clarity.
However, the difference between Nauliyoga and other yoga exercises is that
through Nauliyoga these benefits are achievable in the shortest possible time.
Just ten minutes of Nauli every day can charge you with well-being, inner peace,
increased mental alertness and improved physical stamina for the whole day.
Nauliyoga thus has the added advantage that it can be easily integrated in the
hectic life-style of modern man.
Several factors combine to make Nauliyoga so effective, especially the induction of
hypoxia.
Hypoxia is a relative lack of oxygen. It is basically of two types; beneficial and
harmful.

Beneficial hypoxia is mild, short, intermittent hypoxia, within the physiological

range.
Harmful hypoxia is suffocation as during sleep apnoea.
We are interested only in beneficial hypoxia because Nauliyoga generates only
beneficial hypoxia. In Nauliyoga, the stomach muscles are rotated, after a strong
exhalation. This creates a state of lack of oxygen, or beneficial hypoxia, in the body
as we are not breathing during the rotation of muscles.
Nauli-generated hypoxia is comparable, in some ways, to the hypoxia used
during Intermittent Hypoxia Therapy or Altitude Training. These therapies
routinely use hypoxia to increase athletic performance, and to treat several
degenerative diseases. For example, new blood capillaries are formed in all vital
organs so that they can receive more blood.
Regular stimulation of such mechanisms through hypoxia therefore makes the body
resistant against degenerative diseases, that is, keeps the body young.
Like every other good thing in life, Nauliyoga has to be learnt.
Nauliyoga may look difficult, but everybody can learn it through systematic, stepby-step training, under the guidance of a teacher.
The good news is that you start getting many benefits of Nauliyoga already during
the initial stages of your training program. The effectiveness of the exercise
increases with time, as your stamina improves, and you gain more voluntary
control over your belly muscles.

KAPALABHATI
forehead (= brain) luminous, the scientific explanation for which is that strong
exhalations quicken the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain.
Cerebrospinal fluid nourishes and cleans the brain. With a faster flow of the
cerebrospinal fluid, toxins are removed from the brain at a quicker rate, and
nutrients supply is also faster. The brain is energised, functions better, or in other
words, becomes luminous.
We will also be doing some variations of the Kapalbhati Pranayam, after which we
will move on to the Bhastrika Pranayam (the bellows). During this pranayam,
inhalation and exhalation, both are forcefully exaggerated. It is a complementary
pranayam to kapalbhati.
AGNISARA

The second pre-nauli exercise is Agnisara. After a strong exhalation, the stomach
muscles are pushed out and pulled in a few times before we inhale again. Beneficial
hypoxia is created in the body, which immediately starts responding to this
stimulation. The first effect that you may feel, if you are not over-weight, is that
you get hungry after the exercise, and your digestion is improving.
If you are overweight, this exercise will help you lose weight quickly.
BELLYWAVE
We will learn to play with our belly muscles, while breathing normally, trying to
generate a kind of wave. We may use our hands in the beginning to guide the
muscles. Kneading, massaging, twisting, twirling the muscles with hands is also
helpful in bringing the muscles under voluntary control.
3 BANDHAS

The easiest way to understand the bandhas is to understand that when we push a
heavy object, we automatically apply all three bandhas; mulabandha, uddiyana
bandha, and jalandhara bandha. That is how we generate that extra power to move
an object many times our body weight.
When we are trying to stop the flow of excreta (urine or stool) from the body, we
apply the mulabandha.
When we are trying to push the excreta out, we use the uddiyana bandha, and the
glottal stop which is a part of the jalandhara bandha.
So mulabandha on one side, and uddiyana and jalandhar bandha on the other,
normally function as two opposing pistons of the same motor. If we learn to control
these pistons, we can generate an astonishing amount of power and stamina in the
core of our body.

Nauliyoga slims you down because it has a stimulating effect on the entire
metabolism. A higher rate of metabolism means we are burning more calories all
the time, even when we are sleeping.
This observation is scientifically proved by the fact that hypoxia increases the
number of mitochondria in the brain and liver cells. Mitochondria are the power
houses of the cell. They burn fat to produce energy.
Nauliyoga stimulates both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism; the two ways of
energy production in our body. During hypoxia, the anaerobic pathway is
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stimulated. As soon as normal breathing is resumed, the aerobic pathway resumes

its work with renewed energy.
The result is that we get rid of unwanted fat tiers, without taxing the
joints, tendons and ligaments.
Nauliyoga reduces belly fat.
Belly fat is associated with a higher risk of heart disease, hypertension, insulin
resistance, Diabetes Mellitus Type 2, and dementia.
There is also a correlation between an increase in waist size and a decrease in
pulmonary function and brain volume.
Therefore, let us do nauli to keep our waist slim and prevent all these diseases.
Hypoxia induces our genes to produce Hypoxia-inducible factors, which lead to a
cascade of activities (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, Erythropoietin etc.)
promoting the growth of new capillary networks, an increase in the iron absorption,
and the production of new red blood cells.
Nauliyoga thus effectively treats anaemia due to lack of iron absorption.
More oxygen to the organs, leads to our better health and increased stamina.
The formation of new capillaries with Nauliyoga reduces the total peripheral
resistance to blood because the blood has new pathways to flow into.
Our blood pressure is the result of the product of amount of blood pumped by the
heart and the peripheral resistance:
Blood pressure = blood pumped by the heart X peripheral resistance
Therefore if we decrease peripheral resistance, there will be an automatic decrease
in blood pressure. High blood pressure is thus effectively controlled by Nauli.
Nauliyoga stimulates stem cells and keeps us young.
Stem cells are the immortal cells. They are important for the development, growth
and regeneration of our body.
An adult body develops from stem cells of the embryo, which can make all types of
cells.
In grown-ups, adult stem cells can generate all the cell types of the organ from
which they originate.
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Nauliyoga may prevent heart attack by keeping the blood-vessels clean.

Nauliyoga activates endothelial cells, which cover the interior surface of our blood
vessels.
Healthy endothelial cells produce nitric oxide, a chemical signal that makes
arteries elastic and keeps plaque formation in check. Nitric oxide also prevents the
narrowing of the blood vessels by curbing the abnormal growth of muscle in the
vessel wall.
A deficiency of nitric oxide may cause arterial aging, high blood pressure, and heart
attack.
Bioactivity of Nitric oxide is closely linked to good hypoxia.
Nauliyoga therefore has a blood vessel cleansing action through the regeneration of
endothelial cells and regulation of nitric oxide bioactivity.
Perhaps this is the reason why it is called the most important Shatkarma
(cleansing exercise) of the Hatha Yoga.
Nauliyoga stimulates the protein P 53, which is an anti-cancer, anti-aging protein.
It helps in the repair of sick, mutated cells. If these cells cannot be repaired, P
53 helps in their elimination.
Because of its function, P 53 is also called cancer suppressor protein and the
guardian of the DNA because it prevents mutations in DNA.
P53 is activated by hypoxia.
The elimination of sick cells is one more reason to call Nauli the most
important cleansing exercise.

Nauli - Turning of the Abdominal Muscles

There is a rule in Yoga that each muscle should move at least once a day. This brings our
energy back into flow and releases blockages. Energy is like water. Water that stands still
becomes impure and putrid. On the other hand, flowing water always remains pure. This is
the reason why we should also move the muscles of our abdomen and intestines daily. Nauli
very effectively supports digestion and the elimination process.
As a preliminary exercise it is recommended to practice the following technique Agnisara Kriya.

Agnisara Kriya

Technique: Stand with the legs slightly apart. >Inhale deeply through the nose. >Exhale
fully through the mouth while slightly bending the knees, placing both hands on the thighs.
>Straighten the arms. The back is straight, the head upright. Allow the abdominal muscles
to relax. >Now without breathing, move the abdominal wall powerfully and quickly, in and
out 10-15 times. >Inhale through the nose and stand upright again. >Repeat the exercise
3-5 times.
Benefits: Agnisara Kriya activates the Manipura Chakra and awakens the digestive fire. It
has a stimulating effect on metabolism, strengthens the immune system and is helpful for
diabetes.
Caution: Only practice on an empty stomach. Do not practice this technique during
pregnancy, menstruation or after any abdominal operation. Consult a Doctor before
practicing this technique if there is any disease of the intestine or pancreas.
Once the abdominal muscles have been strengthened for a few weeks through the
practice of Agnisara Kriya, then one may begin to practice Nauli.

Nauli
Technique: Stand upright with legs slightly apart. >Inhale deeply through the nose.
>Exhale through the mouth and bend forward, keeping the back straight. Bend the knees
slightly and place both hands on the thighs. Draw in the muscles along the sides of the
abdomen and at the same time contract the muscles that run parallel to each other in the
centre of the abdomen (Rectus abdominus). In this way a strong suction effect is produced
within the whole abdominal cavity. >When the impulse to inhale occurs, stand upright again
and inhale. >This process can be repeated 5-6 times, or for as long as there is still power in
the abdominal muscles. >After practicing for some time, it is then possible to move the
Rectus abdominus from right to left, then left to right and also later, to move these muscles
in a circular motion.
Benefits:

Nauli strengthens the abdominal muscles and massages the intestines and organs of
the lower abdomen. It regulates blood pressure and has a preventative effect against
diabetes. Helpful for heartburn and skin diseases (acne).

Nauli is one of the best exercises for our health, due to the stimulation and
regulating effect upon the entire digestive system. Many illnesses have their origin in
the digestive system: headache, skin diseases, sometimes also Cancer. Toxic
substances and waste products that have not been excreted in a timely manner, are
stored in the body - this is the cause of these misfortunes.

Caution: Practice on an empty stomach. Do not practice during pregnancy or if kidney or

gallstones are present.

Kapala Bhati Pranayama - Cleansing the Frontal Sinuses

Technique:

Bend the head and upper body slightly forward. Inhale through the mouth and
exhale in short, powerful bursts through the nose 25-50 times.

Initially this exercise is practiced through both nostrils and afterwards through each
individual nostril while the head is bent either to the right or left side.

After practicing Kapala Bhati one should relax for 1-2 minutes.

Benefits: This technique has a refreshing effect and gives new energy. Blood supply is
stimulated to the whole forehead region and nasal passages. It is very helpful for sinusitis.
The nose is cleansed and the respiratory system is strengthened. The effect is calming and
therefore counteracts stress. Practiced prior to meditation, this technique brings inner
peace.
Caution: Kapala Bhati may give rise to slight feelings of dizziness, however, these pass
after some practice.