In this podcast extra Professor Robert A.F. Thurman leads an extended Nine Fold Purification Breath Meditation from the Yuthok Nyingthig as taught by Dr Nida Chenagtsang.

This practice, also known as “Expelling the Dead Air” begins with by sitting in the Vairocana Meditation posture and then visualizing moving energy with the breath through the Central, Left + Right Channels to clear blockages, decrease negativity and increase clarity.

According to Tibetan Medicine, ultimate health can only be achieved when approached from the perspective of body, energy, and mind together. Yuthok Nyingthig is considered the most important practice for Tibetan medicine healing practitioners- helping one reveal the rainbow body that is each person’s natural state.

This 9 Fold Breath Meditation was excerpted in the second half of  Episode #176 “Bias, Racism + Buddhism ” of the from the Bob Thurman Podcast.

This week’s episode’s of the Bob Thurman Podcast was thanks to Menla Retreat and Dewa Spa in Phoenicia, New York & brought to you in part through the support of the Tibet House US Membership Community.

This podcast is apart of the Buddhist Inner Sciences 101 Podcast Series taken from the Bob Thurman & Tibet House US archives which are intended to provide an introduction to the yogic, meditative & theoretical practices of the tradition. These recordings are intended to be general overviews & one should be studying with a qualified teacher before attempting or engaging in the practices.

About The Yuthok Nyingthig

The Yuthok Nyingthig (Tib. གཡུ་ཐོག་སྙིང་ཐིག་), the ‘Heart Essence of Yuthok’, composed by Yuthok the Younger, the great 12th Century Tibetan yogi-physician is a complete cycle of Vajrayana Buddhist practice, beginning with the preliminary practices (Tib. སྔོན་འགྲོ་ “ngöndro”) and progressing through the development and completion stage practices to the highest practices of Mahamudra and Dzogchen. It is characterized by its concise and simple methods which bring about both worldly benefits, including improved health and longevity, as well as the ultimate benefit of complete spiritual liberation. The Yuthok Nyingthig is the main spiritual practice of Tibetan physicians, and it contains many unique techniques to heighten the intuition and healing capacities of the doctor.

These practices eliminate and prevent illness, lengthen the life span of the practitioner and bring all levels of spiritual accomplishment. As the great master, Guru Rinpoche said, ‘of all activities, the first should be long life practice. If life is long, it can be virtuous, and the purpose of this life and the next can be achieved.”

The Seven Meditation Postures of Vairocana

1. Sit Cross Legged, Ideally in full lotus position. 2. Sit with the Spine Straight with vertebrae balanced like a “stack of golden coins”. 3. Clasp the hands in Vajra Fists (Thumb on Ring finger, back of fist pushed down inside each leg) 4. Press the tongue to the palate, just behind the teeth. 5. Lift the shoulders with straightened arms like folded eagle’s wings 6.