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August 2004 Topic of the Month

The Bandhas
Bandha literally means to lock, in actuality bandhas directs the flow of prana like a valve, not a lock.

Bandhas give tone to the inner body –the digestive organs and all the internal organs that maintain our health and life. With age, these organs begin to drop with gravity and be less efficient, the physical action of the bandhas works to maintain lift and tone of our internal organs keeping them healthy and working properly. The bandhas also give lift and extension to the spine, this provides greater ease in your practice and more room to breathe.

The bandhas give us a way of doing practice from the inside out. Yoga is concerned first and foremost with the inner life. On a most obvious level the bandhas will strengthen the abdominals and protect the spine, but when you do them you also become alive with energy. Through the action of mula and uddiyana Bandha prana is drawn up toward the heart creating an inner energetic lift that supports the body and the flow of energy upward.

Bandhas direct or re-direct the flow of breath and prana they do not initiate or move the flow of prana, it is the unfolding of the breath in the body –and our spiritual awareness-- that moves the energy within us, the bandhas help us direct this flow. The bandhas are a bridge that allows us to move practice from merely a physical practice to inner energy work.

Benefits of the Bandhas:

	Builds heat in the body
	Supports the spine
	Gives us lightness and ease of movement
	Improves digestion and function of the internal organs
	Takes our attention—keeps up present
	Help direct our energy upward

The bandhas should be engaged throughout most of our day (except during rest periods). I have a little joke though at my house—No bandhas after 9pm ;)

“The Root”
Mula Bandhas is our root, we establish our support and grounding with help of the mula bandha.
Mula bandha is not just a tightening or clenching of the pelvic floor muscles, it creates an inner lift. It is a small and subtle contraction, it does not require much effort, but does require attention. It is about “Lift and Lightness”

When learning Mula Bandha it is easier to start by contracting the muscles around the genitals, then contract as if you are stopping the flow of urine which takes the contraction deeper, and the deepest contraction finally to the perineum—which is the lift of mula bandha. With practice you will learn to isolate these different contractions and the Mula Bandha “lift”.
(Mula bandha needs correct posture, otherwise it becomes ashwini mudra! If you slump and roll back on the sitting bones and tail bone you will not be able to get the lift in the pelvic floor region, instead you get a squeeze of the anal sphincters.)

To practice: bring your attention to the cave of the mula bandha (a point in the center of your body about 2 or 3 inches below your navel and inward), Exhale fully and begin your inhale from the cave of the mula bandha, feeling a suction effect pulling upward with your energy as air moves in and down, drawing on the opposition of these two. Draw your tailbone toward your pubic bone and your sitting bones toward each other –do not round your lower back or slump, initiate the exhale from the center of the pelvic floor pulling upward following the upward flow of the exhale.

As you sit and breathe, focusing your efforts on your mula bandha feel the lift you receive in your energy and your spine.
NOTE: These actions should feel natural and supportive rather than forced or constrictive.

The physical contraction of perineum has beneficial effects of maintaining hormonal balance and stimulating and regulating the nerves that innervate the lower pelvic region. Mula bandha is a tool in the treatment of digestive ailments and sexual disorders. This is one of the reasons why mula bandha has been called “the destroyer of decay”.

Continuing upward with Uddiyana Bandha

There is some debate whether the uddiyana bandha we practice during postures is a continuation of mula bandha or a separate exercise. In many yogic texts uddiyana bandha is described as a cleansing technique done by a complete “sucking up” of the lower and upper abdomen (others call this uddiyana kriya). For our purpose I am going to refer to uddiyana bandha as separate work from mula bandha, and uddiyana kriya as the complete sucking up of the abdomen.

Uddiyana bandha involves the abdominal muscles, primarily 3 of the 4; it uses the transverse abdominis (the innermost muscular layer running horizontal), and the internal and external obliques (muscles that extend from the hips to the ribs and from the ribs to the hips at an “oblique” angle). Uddiyana means “upward”, so your uddiyana bandha is not just a contraction of these abdominal muscles, but a pulling upward, akin to “picking yourself up by your bootstraps!” To practice:

	Seated in your meditation position, bring your attention to the Cave of Mula Bandha, tilt your pelvis forward and apply mula bandha as above, exhaling rock your pelvis backward into a posterior pelvic tilt pulling in the lower sides of the abdomen and draw your front lower ribs in and down, hold these muscular contractions and bring your pelvis into a neutral alignment feeling length on the back, front and sides of your body, ribs now floating far above the hips.
	As you sit up tall pay attention to keep the front lower ribs in and down, this keeps you connected with your uddiyana bandha and prevents “rib cage” popping.
	You want just enough toning and lift of lower abdomen to leave belly unrestricted for breathing (this distinguishes Uddiyana Bandha from just tightening your abs). Uddiyana bandha should not restrict the action of the diaphragm, it supports it and aids to better exhale.
	Physiologically uddiyana bandha provides muscular support for pelvis and spine, it lifts the lower abdominal organs up off the pelvic floor releasing pressure on the pelvic floor, it develops elasticity and tones the intercostals muscles (muscles between the ribs) and diaphragm, which enhances deep thoracic breathing.

Breathe behind your heart . . . A common phrase I use when I teach, if you have proper lift of mula and uddiyana bandha your breath will no longer be dropping into your belly, it will instead be expanding the ribs and thorax. This type of breathing encourages deeper lung gas exchanges, giving your body more oxygen with each breath. The lower lobes of your lungs has larger capillaries--thus more blood with more oxygen, so deep thoracic breathing gets you more oxygen in each breath. Thoracic breathing will also strengthen and soothe the nervous system, enhancing body/mind control.

(I have found in my personal practice during standing poses I put more attention to the uddiyana bandha and during seated poses I put more attention to the Mula bandha.)

Alignment of the upper spine, shoulders head, and neck
Mula and Uddiyana bandha keep the pelvis and lower spine in good alignment, now turn your attention to continuing the alignment upward:
Alignment of the shoulders, chest, and upper back:

Draw the bottom tip of your shoulder blades slightly toward each other and forward to cradle your heart. As your chest lifts, your upper arms will rotate outward, your collar bones will lift and expand. Feel as though you are magnetically engaging your shoulder blades to your back.

Alignment of the head and neck:

	Most of us sit in “forward head posture” all day, shortening and tightening the back of the neck, collapsing the chest, and rounding the shoulders. To get the lengthening, release, and relaxation effect at the back of the neck, you want to practice head retraction. To do this prepare as if you were to kiss your fingertips, without moving your hand, pull your head back as you tilt your chin slightly down.
	Your neck lengthens at the base of your skull and ears, your ears become in line with your shoulders, and your head balances lightly on top of your spine. You will feel a release in the muscles at the back of your skull, your shoulder blades release and flow down your back; you can feel a lengthening upward from the center of your spine through the crown of your head.
	In Savasana if the chin juts forward, there is there is a strong excitation of mental processes which interfere with relaxation. By adjusting your head position the brain relaxes.

Combining inner lift with outer lift
Mula and Uddiyana bandha create an inner lift from the root of the spine upward to the navel, when we continue this alignment upward we receive an outer lift from the heart center to the crown of our head.
I like to picture this as a Lotus Flower. The lotus flower grows out of the mud and muck. It rises above the challenge of the mud, opens to the sun and blooms. We can do the same, we can pick ourselves up out of the first and second chakras (energy centers within our body that deal with life in general) with our inner lift, open our heart chakra and bloom into our 5th, 6th, and 7th chakras with the help of our outer lift.
May we all behave as the lotus flower, rise about our challenges and bloom.

© 2006 Bobbi Misiti | Be Fit Body & Mind YOGA