HEALTH Put your waistline under fire

Put your waistline under fire


Yoga
Lee Kennedy

Fire cleansing, or ‘agni sara’, is a wonder yoga pose for the abdomen – and don’t worry, there’s no fire involved. Using the breath to ‘stoke your internal fire’, it increases the circulation to the abdominal and pelvic muscles, the tissue and the organs, aids digestion and helps reduce overall excess fat around the abdomen.

• Stand with your feet parallel to the sides of a yoga mat, about shoulder width apart
• Squat slightly (keeping the spine straight as much as possible) to place the hands just above the knees, arms straight, with the fingers on the inside of the thighs, right hand on right thigh, left hand on left thigh
• Exhale forcefully through the mouth until the lungs are really empty
• Then with no breath in the body, quickly draw the head and tailbone towards the navel, with the back arching up to the ceiling
• Use the abdominal muscles, lifting from the pelvic floor muscles up towards the diaphragm. Bringing the abdomen up and towards the spine, as high as you can
• Release the abdomen muscles quickly and draw back, repeating for as long as you can, without breathing
• Now, relax the abdominal wall and let everything gently fall back into place, take a long slow, deep breath in through both nostrils and exhale through both nostrils

That’s one round. Do two or three rounds to start, building up to five or six. This practice should be relaxing and stimulating, and you should be able to feel the heat generated in the body.
Practice on an empty stomach, at least three hours after eating and avoid doing Agni Sara during pregnancy or if you suffer from abdominal, heart, nervous or respiratory conditions.

Lee Kennedy has a Yoga-teaching Diploma from the YTTC and an Iyengar-teaching Certificate from BKS Iyengar Yoga UK. For current local and private classes, phone 086 3906343.