Names

Agnisara Kriya, Vahnisara Kriya, Belly Flipping

In Sanskrit the word ‘Agni’ means fire and ‘Sar’ means essence. The meaning of this Kriya is thus the one which has the essence of fire. It is the Kriya that creates fire inside.
Of the six Kriyas of yoga, one is called Dhauti. There are 13 different kinds of Dhautis, separated into four categories. Agnisara Kriya belongs to the category ‘Antar Dhauti’ and is an advanced practice.

How to perform Agnisara Kriya

Sit on your mat in Siddhasana or Vajrasana, keep your spine straight and take 2 rounds of Dirgha Pranayama, deep breaths. Now inhale completely and exhale forcefully through the mouth while bending forward with your upper body and chin. In this way you empty your belly and lungs completely and press even the last bit of air out. Your belly is now like a vacuum.
Contract your belly in as if you would perform Uddiyana Bandha , pulling your navel up and in. Instead of holding your belly in though, you move it in and out without inhaling.
You can move it from 30 up to 60 times in and out.
When you feel like inhaling, first relax your belly muscles and then inhale.

Benefits of Agnisara Kriya

The name of this Kriya already tells you what it does: it creates fire, heat inside you. This heat has several benefits for your body.
It does, for example, burn away any extra belly fat that you may have. It doesn’t really matter how big your belly is, if you do this Kriya for two weeks with full dedication, you will see the difference!
The fire of the Agnisara Kriya also stimulates your digestion and metabolism, reduces problems with gas in the belly and even helps with hyperacidity. If you have trouble eating and want to increase your appetite, you can also do this exercise.
By the movement, your abdominal organs get massaged and stimulated. Your kidneys as well as the small and large intestines are activated and cleansed.
Moving your belly in this way in and out is also good for your diaphragm.
Additionally to this all, the Kriya also tones the lower back.

Focus Points

Focus on the movement of your belly, in and out. In the beginning, you move your belly slowly and once you are confident with the motion, you can gain speed.

Tips and Help

Agnisara Kriya should be performed only with an empty stomach. If you perform it on full stomach, you most probably get belly ache.

When to Avoid this Kriya

People with high blood pressure, heart disease, diarrhea and intestine ulcers should avoid this pose as well as people who recently had abdominal surgery or spinal surgery.