Two poses for today are Deep belly breathing and Agnisar Kriya

Deep belly breathing and Agnisar Kriya

Deep belly breathing

Through Deep Belly Breathing, you will find that you have a tool to maintain your equilibrium in situations where you used to become tense and uncomfortable. Your everyday level of internal tension will lessen, allowing you to move your body and concentrate your mind with greater ease.

Steps

1. Start sitting comfortably, either cross-legged, kneeling, or even sitting on the couch. Imagine that you have a flame burning at the center of your belly.
2. As you inhale, relax and breathe into your belly. Imagine the flame getting warmer, bigger, and wider, expanding into your low belly, pelvic floor, hips, and lower back.
3. Exhale, and lift the pelvic muscles in and up, as if trying to hug the flame up behind the navel.
4. You can add arm movements to help visualize the flame growing and shrinking. Start holding hands together, one stacked on top of the other and palms facing up, in front of your navel. During the inhale, bring arms out and down as if holding a large exercise ball in front of you. During the exhale, bring them back in towards your navel, one hand in a fist and the other cupping it from the bottom.

Agnisar Kriya

Agnisar Kriya is one of the most important forms of pranayama that can be practiced by an individual. Along with Anulom-Vilom, Kapalbhati, Bhastrika, Bhramari, Udgeet, and Bahya, it is considered with great reverence in yoga literature. This kriya and its breathing process help to regulate and balance the Manipura chakra. It functions as a great way to remove toxins from the body and enhance the immune system.

Steps

Follow the Agnisar kriya techniques closely as you perform this asana.

• Sit in the Padmasana position and keep both your hands gently on your knees. Close your eyes and focus on your normal breathing as you sit in this position.
• Slowly exhale and then stop it outside. Put slight pressure as you keep your hands perfectly straight on your knees.
• Start contracting and expanding your stomach as you try to touch your naval deep inside.
• Remain still in this same position as you inhale slowly. Keep on taking deep breaths as you stay stable.
• The expansion and contraction of the stomach must be performed at least ten times. You can start by doing it for around 5 minutes at the initial stages and then extend it gradually up to around 15 minutes.

Benefits

Here are the major benefits of Agnisar Kriya.

• Agnisar Kriya is one of the best asanas to strengthen the abdominal muscles. It focuses on churning out the practitioner’s belly which can improve the abdominal muscles and get rid of digestive disorders. It is an excellent pranayama for the abdomen.
• Agnisar Kriya can help in curing lung disorders since it involves strong forceful rhythms of inhalation and exhalation. Such a strong breathing technique empties lungs of phlegm and coughs thus ensuring smooth breathing.
• The kriya helps to regulate the fire element of the body which in turn helps to keep the energy levels high all day. It also maintains the warmth of the body and removes sleepiness.
• The kriya plays a very important role when it comes to rejuvenating the organs which can also hinder the aging process. It can also help to retain youth for a long time.
• Agnisar kriya helps to increase the blood flow within the body.
• Agnisar basically serves an inner activity in which the digestive and abdominal muscles get churned out. This process helps to massage the internal organs, especially the belly.
• This practice can stimulate the pancreas and liver thus curing obesity problems and diabetes.
• It can also cure problems like tuberculosis and asthma.