lighting the inner fire

“The person has no disease, nor old age, nor death, who has attained a body born of the fire of yoga.” (Svetasvatara Upanishad II, 12)

What images does the idea of fire conjure up for you? Heat, no doubt. And light  But what other functions of fire come to mind? A means of cooking, perhaps. Or of destruction. How about fire as a purifying, cleansing energy? Or as a symbol of the divine? Maybe all of the above. 

And what metaphors? The fire in the belly? A burning desire for something? The Phoenix rising from the flames?

Perhaps it is exactly because fire has so many associations – both positive and fearful – that it is such a potent symbol, not just in the yoga tradition but in many other traditions, including Christianity.  Personally, I always find it hard to think of the symbolism of fire without immediately calling to mind Handel’s Messiah, and the Old Testament description of God right at the very beginning of the oratorio as “like a refiner’s fire”.

In the Indian tradition, the associations of fire with the divine order go back to the very opening verse of the oldest of all extant sacred texts, the Rig Veda.  Leaving aside OM, the first word of the Rig Veda is agni, Sanskrit for fire, and in the Vedic tradition fire is worshipped as the earthly manifestation of the creative and regenerative power of the sun.  In its deified form, Agni is praised in the Vedas as, among other things, the bringer of the gods. Propitiation of Agni formed the root of Vedic ritual, and fire to this day remains an integral part of Hindu worship, or puja. The Vedic fire ceremony – or yajna – is a hugely powerful experience. Fire is transformative – we know, for example, that it will turn solids into liquids and liquids into gas – and the essence of yajna is the transformation of one type of substance or energy to another; in other words, whatever is offered to the divine fire is seen as being transformed to a higher level.

In the fire ceremony, the sacred fire is lit in a carefully constructed fire pit, usually square in shape, often with a yantra at its base.  Special wood is used and laid in the pit in a precise fashion, and the fire is kindled with the use of specific mantras.  As mantras continue to be recited at the fire, devotees make offerings – often of a special combination of herbs, spices and ghee – into the flames.  What is offered to the fire is transformed and transported to the invisible realms of the gods.  

The language of the Rig Veda is, in many respects, obscure, but over the centuries sages and scholars have sought to find more subtle meanings to the literal words of the Vedic mantras and more subtle interpretations of the Vedic rituals. To them, agni is not just the fire of the physical sacrifice but the divine spark within each of us which we need to make grow through our life and practice.  The fire sacrifices referred to in the Vedas are, it is said, symbolic of the sacrifice of the human ego to the divine fire which dwells inside us, and over the centuries a number of practices have grown up in which the classical “external” Vedic ritual has been “internalised”.

The imagery of the “internalised” fire is important. For us, the fire pit is located at our muladhara, or root, cakra. Before we can light the inner fire, we need to cleanse the fire pit – we all know that trying to light a fire on a deep bed of ash is difficult, so we need to begin by clearing away some of the ashes of our past actions and habits. The firewood is symbolic of our karmas, to be burnt away by the fire; the offerings into the fire are our ego; and the flames rise from muladhara cakra eventually to touch our heart centre.

The practice of yoga allows us to access this inner fire. In the yogic, especially the tantric, tradition, different parts of the body are seen as the abode of each of the five tattwas, or elements (earth, water, fire, air and space). The abode of the fire element (agni) is the centre of those inner flames, the abdominal area , and our various yoga practices can light the divine spark and help stimulate that “fire centre” leading, it is said, to the awakening of the inner fire of transformation within ourselves. 

One of the key elements of the practice of hatha yoga (the physical yoga of asana, pranayama, kriya, bandha and mudra) is the awakening of the energy known as kundalini.  The best known image of the kundalini energy is of a coiled snake, lying dormant either at the base of the spine or, in some texts, at the navel centre. Hatha yoga practice is designed to awaken that dormant energy, causing it to rise up through the central channel of the body (sushumna nadi, seen as situated within the spinal column) piercing each of the major cakras in turn. It is the igniting of the fire – the agni – within the body which is said to awaken the kundalini and cause her (she is always feminine) to rise. Interestingly, in Sanskrit, the kunda is the name for the pit or vessel used as the fireplace in ritual fire ceremonies, and one possible meaning of the word kundalini is “the dweller at the fire pit”.

To understand how we symbolically ignite this inner fire, it is necessary first to know something about prana.  As most yoga practitioners know, prana is the essential life force or vital force within each of us.  While the breath is its most tangible manifestation, prana is more than just breath.  Prana is constantly coming into us and leaving us, but must remain balanced, otherwise we may become agitated (if we take in more than we give out) or sluggish and depleted (if we lose more than we take in).

In the yogic system, prana is seen to flow through the energetic body in 49 different ways, known as vayus.  (In Sanskrit, vayu means wind, and in the Vedic cosmology Vayu was the god of air, and also the father of the popular Indian monkey deity, Hanuman.)  Of those 49 vayus, 10 are of much greater importance than the others, and 5 of particular importance.  Those 5 – called prana (confusingly – a subset of the generic prana), apana, samana, vyana and udana – are of particular relevance to our yoga practice, each, like the elements, having its own “seat” within the body, governing a particular area of the body, governing certain bodily functions, and each having a predominant direction of movement within the subtle body.  One of the key purposes of the practice of hatha yoga is to regulate the flows of prana.  There are many ways of doing this, through asana, pranayama, bandha etc, in ways which can emphasise – or de-emphasise – one or more of the 5 principal vayus, with a direct effect on the mind and spirit.

For the purposes of this article, the two most important of the 5 principal vayus are prana and apana.  The seat of the prana vayu is the area between the navel and throat, and its primary directional movement is inward and upward.  The seat of apana vayu is the area between the navel and the pelvic floor, and its primary directional movement is downward and outward.  So prana vayu is responsible for our taking in “stuff” – physically, mentally and emotionally – while apana vayu is responsible for our getting rid of stuff – again physically, mentally and emotionally.

Those of you familiar with the cakra system will have noted that the boundary between the abodes of prana and apana is the region of the navel – in other words, not only the abode of the element fire but also the region of the third, or manipura, cakra, which is the energy centre located behind the navel. The manipura cakra is the centre of dynamism, energy, power and achievement. It is no surprise that its governing element is fire, and, when healthy, its energy is compared to the heat and radiance of the sun.  One of its most common symbols is a red triangle, with the apex pointing down, symbolic of flame. And it is the creation and stimulation of the inner fire with its heart at the manipura cakra which, it is said, arouses the dormant kundalini energy from her slumbers and persuades her to rise up through the sushumna nadi.

How then do we ignite this fire? As with so many things yogic, there are many ways in which, and many levels at which, we can do it.  We can begin at the level of the physical body – in yoga terms, the annamaya kosha – with our practice of asana, or yoga postures, where we seek to stimulate the physical fire, or jathara agni. The best postures for stimulating our jathara agni are those which stimulate our digestive system, most notably twisting postures, though also postures which require us to work deeply from our core, e.g. navasana, or which physically stimulate the abdominal area, e.g. salabhasana.   Jathara agni is also stimulated by kriya (cleansing) techniques such as agni sara – a series of repeated contractions and expansions of the abdominal muscles while the breath is held out, a practice which must be learned under the supervision of a teacher.

It is important here to stress that we are not seeking to activate jathara agni to excess.  Here, the image of fire as a means of cooking can come back into play. To cook food properly, we need the right combination of temperature and time.  Too much heat, the food will burn.  Too little, and it will not cook at all.  Too long a time in the oven, it will dry out and become inedible.  Too short, again it will not cook.  So we need to stimulate jathara agni by just the right amount to ignite the physical fire. How do we judge this?  The best way is to check into our own digestive system. When jathara agni is functioning at the right level, our digestive system will be in balance; our digestion and elimination will be good, and our appetite regular and healthy.

It is also worth stressing that cultivating jathara agni is not the same as cultivating bodily heat. Sitting in a sauna for half an hour will cultivate intense bodily heat, and will have its own effects on our physical and nervous systems, but it is unlikely to increase our jathara agni. A full on hot yoga practice – whether Bikram or any other practice in a heated room – will make us sweat, but that, of itself, will not necessarily cultivate jathara agni. (Of course, it may, depending on the postures and practices used, but the mere fact of bodily heat does not necessarily mean that jathara agni is stimulated.)

The next level at which we can work is the level of prana, the pranamaya kosha.  This is the level at which, having prepared the physical body, we can begin to work with the prana vayus. Before doing so, however, it is wise to spend some time working with the outward manifestation of the prana, the breath, in particular to seek to cleanse and purify the principal nadis, or channels, through which prana flows, so that when the kundalini energy begins to rise, it does not find its way into sushumna nadi blocked. Probably the best and most accessible pranayama technique for this is the familiar alternate nostril breathing – nadi shodhana, literally nadi purification.   

We have already seen that the boundary between the “zones” of the prana and apana vayus is the abdominal area.  However, we have also seen that prana’s primary direction of movement is inwards and upwards, while apana’s is downwards and outwards.  The two tend to flow in the same direction at the same time: in other words, on inhalation prana rises from the navel to the throat, while apana rises from the pelvic floor to the navel, and vice versa on exhalation.  Yet the ancient scriptures teach us that, for the fire to be kindled, prana and apana need to unite….  e.g. the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, which teaches that when “prana and apana unite, urine and stool are decreased and even an old person becomes young” (ch 3 v 65). 

How then to bring the two together?  In this, there is consistency in the yogic texts. The means of bringing the two energetic flows together is by blocking the normal downward  and outward flow of apana, so that instead of descending from navel to pelvic floor on exhalation, it is drawn into the abdominal area to meet the descending prana (in the process also stimulating a third vayu, samana, located in the abdominal area and governing assimilation).  The technique to achieve this is mula bandha – the root lock.  The Hatha Yoga Pradipika teaches (ch 3 v 64) that:
 “there is no doubt that by practising mula bandha, prana and apana…..  are united.” 

The Yoga Yajnavalkya (ch 12 v 1-7) teaches that:
“pressing the anus with the left ankle and the perineum with the right ankle [see below]….  meditate on the flames of the fire. Then the prana … is blocked and slowly moves from the region of apana to the abode of fire. The fire, which is fanned slowly by the apana, glows in its abode in the centre of the body”.

The great tantric scholar Sir John Woodroffe put it thus:
“The natural course of the apana is downward, but by contraction at muladhara” [i.e. mula bandha] “it is made to go upward through sushumna where it meets prana. When the latter vayu reaches the region of fire below the navel, the fire becomes bright and strong, being fanned by apana. The heat in the body becomes very powerful and kundalini, feeling it, awakes from her sleep.” (The Serpent Power)

The practice of mula bandha is referred to in very many places in the core yogic texts, especially in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita, Yoga Yajnavalkya and several of the Yoga Upanishads. Precise instructions for its practice vary slightly between the texts, but the most common thread is that, on the physical level, mula bandha is the gentle contraction of the muscles around the perineum (the region between the genitals and the anus) or, for women, sometimes described as the contraction of the muscles around the cervix. The ancient texts often describe this technique as being done in a seated position, with one heel pressing the perineum to seal off apana’s exit route. Interestingly, as noted above, the Yoga Yajnavalkya describes the practice as pressing one heel into the anus and the other into the perineum, but it is important to contrast mula bandha with tightening the anus….  It is true that some texts (notably the Shiva Samhita) and some teachers talk about mula bandha as either pressing or contracting the anus, but that practice is more commonly known as ashwini mudra, and is a different practice. 

It is perhaps the Hatha Yoga Pradipika which is the clearest and most precise about the effect of the practice of mula bandha on the inner fire and the kundalini, in a series of verses in chapter 3:

62:  By contracting the perineum, the downward moving apana vayu is forced to go upward. Yogis call this mula bandha.

64: There is no doubt that, by practising mula bandha, prana and apana are united….

66: Apana moves up into the region of fire (the manipura cakra), then the flames of the fire grow.

68: Through this, the sleeping kundalini is aroused by the heat….

69: Just as a snake enters its hole, so kundalini goes into brahma nadi (the innermost core of sushumna). Therefore the yogi must always perform mula bandha.

At the more subtle level, the practice of mula bandha involves not just physical, muscular contraction but also contraction of – and therefore stimulation and awakening of – muladhara cakra, which we have seen is the seat of the fire pit and the home of the dormant kundalini energy.

So having looked at the ways of cultivating the inner fire at the outermost physical level through asana and kriya, and at the pranic level through pranayama and bandha, how then can we ignite the inner fire at the levels of the mind, intelligence and spirit?  Interestingly, in the yogic tradition the sense organ most closely associated with the element of fire is the eye, and one of the best ways of igniting the fire at the level of the mind, and ultimately the spirit, is through visualisation practices.  One of the simplest starting points is the practice of trataka, gazing at a candle flame, which helps promote the power of concentration, an important element of visualisation practices. 

There are a number of internal visualisations and meditations which can invoke the fire element and help light the fire at the levels of the manomaya (mind) and vijnanamaya (intelligence or intuition) koshas.  Some are as simple as visualising and meditating on the symbol of fire – the red inverted triangle – with its downward pointing apex at muladhara cakra and its upward facing base initially at the level of manipura cakra (the navel) and watching the triangle slowly expand to fill the whole body.  More complex versions involve visualising actual flames rising from muladhara cakra and the mental offering of the physical body and the senses to those flames.  One of the most powerful and beautiful – which can awaken the fire at both mental and spiritual level – is a visualisation and meditation based on the ancient Vedic fire ritual, with or without the invocation of specific deities. Again, these visualisations and meditations can, and should, be learned from a competent teacher. And when we are able to move even beyond the level of the mind and intellect – into the level of bliss, the anandamaya kosha - our ultimate practice is to offer all of our experiences to the fire of pure awareness.

To return to our original question…..  what images does the idea of fire conjure up? More relevantly, why exactly do we conjure up and work with the element agni in our yoga practice?  As we have already noted, fire is the great transformational energy.  Yes, it can be destructive – destroying our negative tendencies, our past karmas and our ego, but it is also the “cooking” energy – stimulating our awareness, our enthusiasm, our burning desire for transformation and bringing light to our spiritual practices. Just as it transforms solid to liquid and liquid to gas, it is the power which transforms us from the cold feelings of ignorance and unhappiness to the warmth of awareness and bliss. In our overall yoga practice, we can use the yamas and niyamas to prepare ourselves for the sacred fire – to clear away the ash; asana to balance and purify  the physical fire of the digestive system; bandha and pranayama to ignite the fire which awakens the dormant kundalini energy, and our practices of concentration, visualisation and meditation to increase the fire of discrimination and intelligence…. leading eventually to the awakening and growth of bhuta agni, the fire of life, the fire of enthusiasm for our practice and for the sheer pleasures of living, the fire of joy, the fire of love. 
 
Of course, as with any elemental force, we can have too much.  Too much earth element in our practice can lead to lethargy, too much air element – perhaps through too much, or injudiciously chosen, pranayama – can de-stabilise our nervous system. So we need to be cautious. We need to learn to harness the powers of the inner fire and not allow it to consume us. We must observe when the digestive jathara agni is overstimulated, or when too much use of breath and bandha has overstimulated our energies. In other words, while the fire can be always burning we need to be cautious about how much fuel – and what sort of fuel – we place on it.  We are enabled to do this through the balanced fire of our intellect, discrimination and judgment, but also through the guidance of our teachers. Some of the practices described in this article – especially the bandha and visualisation practices – can be very powerful and should be learned from a competent teacher.    
 
Let us finish by returning to the Upanishads, the sacred texts which first sought to “internalise” the “external” Vedic yajna.  As we have seen, in the Upanishadic scheme of things, the fire symbolised the burning of the ego and the illumination of the true Self.  So the Katha Upanishad prays:

 “may we light the fire…  which burns out the ego and enables us to pass from fearful fragmentation to fearless fullness in the changeless whole.” (Katha Upanishad III,2)

May your practice light your own transforming fire, and may that fire burn brightly and clearly.

Graham Burns
October 2006

Graham Burns is a London based yoga teacher who has studied intensively in the USA and the UK with many of the west's top teachers, most notably his current principal teacher Rod Stryker. A keen student of yoga history and philosophy, he is known for his humorous and light hearted approach to teaching, while still preserving the best elements of the yoga tradition.  Graham teaches at London’s top yoga centres as well as teaching and mentoring students on one of the UK’s leading yoga teacher training programmes.

Glossary of Sanskrit Terms

Agni The element fire; the Vedic fire deity
Anandamaya kosha The innermost of the koshas: the level of bliss
Annamaya kosha The outermost of the koshas: the level of the physical body
Apana The downward and outward moving vayu, located between the pelvic floor and the navel
Asana Yoga postures
Bandha Energy lock or seal
Cakra (or chakra) Energy vortices, seen as located along the spinal column within the subtle body
Hatha yoga “Physical” yoga: the yoga of postures, breathing techniques, physical cleansing techniques and bandhas
Jathara The abdomen
Karma The results of our past actions
Kosha A “sheath”. One of the 5 layers of the body in yoga
Kriya Cleansing technique
Manipura cakra The cakra located on the spinal column directly behind the navel
Manomaya kosha The third kosha: the level of the mind
Mudra A bodily gesture, often with the hands, but sometimes with the whole body: a component part of hatha yoga
Mula bandha The energetic lock or seal of the perineum, or muladhara cakra
Muladhara cakra The cakra located at the very base of the spine, or the perineum 
Nadi An energy channel within the subtle body through which prana is said to flow
Nadi shodhana A pranayama technique involving breathing through the two nostrils alternately
Niyamas The 5 “internal” disciplines set out in the Yoga Sutras: cleanliness, contentment, discipline, self-study, acknowledgment of a higher power
Prana The essential life force which flows within us; also the inward and upward moving vayu, located between the navel and the throat
Pranamaya kosha The second outermost kosha: the level of prana
Pranayama Techniques to control prana: breathing techniques
Samana The centring and assimilating vayu, located in the abdominal area
Tattwa One of the 5 elements (earth, water, fire, air, space)
Trataka Practice of concentrated gazing, usually at a flame
Vayu Literally “wind”: one of the ways in which prana is seen to flow within the subtle body
Vedas The most ancient of Indian sacred texts, the oldest of which (the Rig Veda) may date back to 2000 BCE or even earlier
Vijnanamaya kosha The second innermost kosha: the level of the intellect
Yajna The Vedic fire ceremony, or sacrifice
Yamas The 5 “external” disciplines set out in the Yoga Sutras: non-violence, truth, honesty, self-discipline and non-grasping
Yantra Geometric design used as a focus for meditational or devotional practice

©  Graham Burns 2006