Agni Sara, breath of fire

6. Agni Sara

Agni sara is the breath of fire. It brings tone, heat and attention to the core of the bodymind and is a wonderful way to start the day. It is best done first thing in the morning, after emptying the bladder and bowels and before eating or drinking. Do not practice if you have a stomach ulcer or hiatal hernia, are pregnant, or during the menstrual cycle.

The last two articles in this series have been leading up to the teaching of agni sara. Finding breath that is relaxed and integrated with the natural movements of the belly (#4: The Core of the Matter) and learning to initiate from the pelvic floor (#5: Pelvic Floor) are skills you’ll want to practice before trying the breath of fire.

1. To begin agni sara come to a comfortable standing position, with feet hip width apart. From here you’ll lean over and place the hands on the knees, and then begin doing the cat/cow pose: exhaling and bringing the belly into the spine, and breathing into the heart and lengthening the spine on inhale. Work for 5 breaths, and then come to standing and rest for several breaths.

2. Repeat #1, this time bringing awareness to the pelvic floor, allowing it to contract and lift on the exhale, and to release and open on inhale. If you find this difficult, lie down and practice the exercises from the pelvic floor article.

*I recommend staying with #1 and #2 until you they become familiar and can be done in a relaxed manner.

3. For the full agni sara you begin from standing:

A. Inhale the hands overhead.

B. Exhale out through the mouth while bending over and placing the hands on the knees. Mindfully bring the belly in towards the spine and lift the pelvic floor.

C. Hold the breath out, while lifting the belly in and up and avoiding any strain in neck throat or face.

D. Release the abdominal muscles and diaphragm, and begin the inhale. Let the rest of the inhale bring you up to standing.

E. Take a few resting breath, and then either repeat #1, or try #3 again.

F. Pause and notice the effects.

Pelvic Floor and Mula Bandha

August 3, 2011

The pelvic floor, or perineum, is the base of the pelvis. Diamond in shape, it is marked by the pubic bone in front, the tail bone in back, and the two sitz bones on right and left. This is a very personal area, and one that most of us spend don’t spend a lot of time examining. From a yogic perspective, it is a very important part of the body, as it supports the abdominal organs, correct and deep breathing, and therefore overall health. Mula bandha is the movement of the pelvic floor; a healthy pelvic floor moves with both strength and flexibility.

We begin with simple and profound act of observation: Visualize that you have a balloon in your belly, and that the balloon expands on the inhale, and deflates on the exhale. Remember that the body is three-dimensional. The breath moves the front and back (abdomen and low back), right and left (both sides of the waist) and top and bottom (diaphragm on top, and pelvic floor on the bottom). Pay special attention to the movement of the pelvic floor.

The muscles of the pelvic floor are like any other muscles in the body, and will fall somewhere on the strong/weak and tight/flexible spectrums. The muscles of the pelvic floor are different from other muscles in that they are prone to holding tension that is deeply personal, and often sexual. It is very important that you begin your practice with observation, seeing the body as it is and not as you would like it to be. This state of mind, objective and clear, will allow you to work gently and wisely.

Take your time. There is no rush. You may find that you stay with the observing for many practice sessions.

The next step is to deliberately engage the muscles. Begin by squeezing and then releasing the entire pelvic floor and buttocks.

Now practice the Kegel exercises, imagining you are stopping and starting urination. Do your best to isolate and pulse, and you may enjoy visualizing an elevator climbing to a higher floor with each pulse.

Pause, taking a moment to digest and let the breath equalize.

Next move to the anus, and imagine that you are holding in a bowel movement: pulse these muscles several times.

Pause again.

Go back and forth a few times, from front to back, and then begin to notice the area in the middle. This is what we are interested in, and the next step is to explore initiating a lift from the center of the pelvic floor. For women this will be the same sensation as squeezing and lifting a penis. The men describe it as lifting up the area between the genitals and the anus. Play with isolating these muscles. Rest if you get tired or frustrated, and when you have worked for one minute.

Now return to observing the imaginary balloon in the pelvis inflating and deflating. Practice relaxing and expanding on the inhale, and gently contracting on the exhale. Be careful to not try too hard, as the trying will add tension. Remember that you are retraining a very sensitive part of the body.

Continue to rotate between observing and gently working. At the end of the session rest in savasana, letting go of all effort.

i love how this picture is just plain funny.

i like the way copper likes to lay on things when she doesn't want her basket and she's to tired to go to a bed

i like how my two cats spend time playing together

i took this picture when i felt like i wanted to explore nature

The Core of the Matter, Part 1

I get many snickers in class when I talk about efficient breathing being a wonderful abdominal exercise. People hope that this is true, but in general seem to not quite believe it.

Right now, take a deep inhalation.

What did you do? Take a moment and reflect, or perhaps try again.

Most people will start right where they are and inhale. I suggest that the most efficient way to take a deep inhale, is to first exhale. You must first empty the lungs, making room for them to be refilled.

Try it again, exhaling first.

What did you notice?

The inhale always begins with the diaphragm dropping down. This action happens on its own, and is directed by the nervous system. The dropping of the diaphragm creates a larger cavity in the lungs, and this larger cavity has a lower pressure. Air naturally and always flows from high to low pressure, and so the air quite easily and effortlessly flows in. Upon close examination you will find that inhaling involves relaxing, and allowing. The emptier the lungs are in the beginning of the inhale, the more room there is for the air to flow into.

Strengthening the exhale:

Lie on your back with knees bent, feet about hip width apart and a comfortable distance from the buttocks. Place hands on belly. Take a few moments to simply feel the breath moving through the belly, noticing how it lifts and lowers the hands. It may help to visualize the hands “riding” the breath, much like a raft floats in waves. Try your best to not change anything. This is a profoundly difficulty task, as the observer necessarily effects the observed.

The next step is to begin to slowly and gently deepen the exhale. Work carefully and mindfully: listen to the body, watch the natural movement, and then let how it is – and not your idea of how it should be – guide how it becomes. Let the movement emerge from within. It may help to visualize the belly button moving in towards the spine, and you will eventually feel the low back moving into the floor.

After several rounds like this, return for a few moments to observing without acting.

Then begin again to work with the exhale. This time bring attention to the floor of the pelvis, noticing that these muscles initiate the exhale, and are the roots of the abdominal muscles. Continue slowly turning up the effort on the exhale, until you find the pelvis begin to lift up two inches, as the feet press into the floor. Let the inhale be exactly as it is, with no effort to change it.

Return to lying flat and letting the hands be moved by the breath. Notice what has changed.

Have fun with this, and next month I’ll write about how to bring this into the standing agni sara that you may have done in the restorative breathwork class.