PUSHTI: February 2025, A Quest For Fire

Agni Sara
“then the abdomen is pushed out and in rapidly while the breath is held” – HYP

There is a fire inside of us. Call it source, digestion, consciousness, prana, a burning desire – the seat of transformation. We can stoke the flame, nurture it, become intimate with it, direct its energy towards evolving and awakening, or we can continue to dampen it with unskillful superficial habits of perpetual attachment. Learning to play with fire is what burns away our fear. Intimacy with the Self is the true result of Agni Sara. And from there anything is possible. That’s a guarantee.

Agni Sara has its origins as a Dhauti Kriya (washing, cleansing practice), which is one of the Shat Karma Kriyas (six acts of purifying) as detailed in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (HYP), a definitive scriptural source text that is the foundation of combining yoga theory and practice. Even though its original creation is said to be somewhere between the 6th and 15th centuries AD, it serves as the basis and authority of the way modern yoga is practiced. Its detailed instruction, mystic understanding, and subsequent results are nothing less than scientific method, having been replicated time and again over the centuries. There is no greater modality for mental, physical, and spiritual fitness than yoga.

As we explored Uddiyana Bandha last month (January 2025), an abdominal retraction lock on an exhale retention – we forged a path to continue with Agni Sara, which:

“involves moving the ‘fire’ in the body. Vahni or Agni means ‘fire’. Sar is ‘essence’. The essence of fire is located in the navel region. On a physical level, the practice involves conscious movement of the abdominal muscles and organs and creates internal heat… The Gheranda Samhita says to, ‘Push the navel against the spine 100 times...’ (1:19)… Jalandhara bandha is held first, then the abdomen is pushed out and in rapidly while the breath is held... For most people it is unnecessary to practice 100 times; 50 is sufficient.” – Hatha Yoga Pradipika, p.193-194, commentary, Swami Muktibodhananda, Bihar School, India.

First, the HYP states the importance of learning from a qualified teacher (or guru) cannot be overemphasized, as this reinforces qualities of humility and lineage – which are like gold. Setting out on our own without a guide is like climbing Everest without a sherpa – there is much danger without a guide, and the written page of instruction is not enough in the yogic arts. So, not only is Agni Sara (also translated as fire wash) simple enough that we can all practice in class, but it is offered as a decades-long practice in my own life, as taught to me by my teachers. But mostly it’s offered because of how cool it is to explore this aspect of our bodies: each of us becoming a scientist expert of what we call “me.” Moreover, in yoga class, we still have been treading lightly, soft and slow, just learning to crawl – approaching Agni Sara with regard, so that we collectively can experience the potency of casting our awareness ever increasingly into our own physical being.

Second, Hippocrates is known for saying “All diseases begin in the gut,” and given our inheritance and conditioning of the SAD diet (Standard American Diet) most Americans are unfamiliar with a life without pharmaceutical drugs over the age of 55, prescribed to deal with all the crap our bodies cannot get rid of. That is not so true for the yogi. At Satsang, over the years, people not only decrease their meds, but often become med-free. To explore the abdominal region from the inside out by the practice of Agni Sara (and soon, Nauli!), not only do we tone, squeeze, heat, massage, detox in the furnace of our being, but all systems can return to functioning optimally, such as digestion and elimination. We joke, but we yoga students are real, regular people.

I am excited to see you in class this month as we get to delve deeper into Agni Sara instruction and explore in ways that the above only scratches the surface. It is important that you are also informed as to some contraindications of this practice. As stated in the HYP, “Those who are suffering from heart disease, hypertension, hernia, gastric or duodenal ulcers, or who are recovering from internal injury or abdominal surgery” and I can add, pregnancy – should not do it. It doesn’t mean you cannot come to class, just do not participate in this portion of class (about 5 minutes). There is still a lot to learn from listening and watching.

In Yoga we dwell,
Jeffrey
February 2025