Now, let’s cross our legs and sit upright. If you can sit in the full-lotus posture, please do so. When we practice the Inner Fire Meditation, there is actually a preliminary practice—Vase Breathing as shown in this diagram. Can you see a vase? When we inhale, we inhale through our nostrils, and the breath travels through two channels connected to the nostrils, down to the vase below. Inhale into the vase.
Form the Vajra Fist with your hands: Press your thumb against the base of your ring finger, bend your middle finger, ring finger, and pinky finger, and then use your index finger to press the first joint of your thumb. This is called the Vajra Fist. Form the Vajra Fist with both of your hands, pressing against the base of your thighs, and then inhale. In the beginning, take a few deep breaths to exhale the stale air. Inhale, and don’t hold your breath. Then, exhale it as much as possible. Take a few deep breaths to exhale the stale air. If you feel that you have a lot of stale air, you can take a few more deep breaths. From now on, keep inhaling without exhaling, and fill the vase with air from your breath until it is full. Your belly will expand slightly, and your lower abdomen will become firm. Just inhale deeply. You don’t need to deliberately inflate your belly or hold your breath. Just keep inhaling. Your belly will definitely expand, but don’t intentionally inflate it. After holding your breath for three to five seconds, exhale slowly, then pause briefly, and repeat this process three to five times until you have fully exhaled. After holding your breath, when you exhale, exhale a small portion first, then pause. Exhale another small portion, then pause again. After three exhalations, you should have fully exhaled. After exhaling completely, slowly inhale again. Keep inhaling until you cannot inhale anymore, then hold your breath for five seconds. When inhaling, do it as much as possible until you cannot inhale anymore, then hold your breath for five seconds, and then exhale in three to five parts. You can exhale in three parts: first exhale one-third, pause, then exhale another one-third, pause again, and finally exhale the remaining one-third. When we practice, we should exhale through the nostrils, and shouldn’t open the mouth. However, when visualizing, we should visualize that we are exhaling through every pore of our body. Now, let’s practice the Inner Fire Meditation, also known as the Tummo Meditation. When inhaling, also inhale from the vase in your lower abdomen, but much more gently than the vase breathing. Inhale naturally. After inhaling as much as you can, pause for one or two seconds, then slowly relax. You can place your hands on both sides of your thighs, or form the Dhyana Mudra. When inhaling, still inhale into your lower abdomen. Visualize that there is a small flame in your lower abdomen, and blow it. You can visualize it as a burning and dancing iron wire. Blow it, and then inhale. When inhaling, you don’t need to exert all your effort. Instead, inhale naturally until you cannot inhale anymore. However, you still need to exert some effort. When exhaling, relax.
