Bandhas—you hear about them in yoga class…and you’re told they can make your practice easier, give you that sensation of floating through your practice, ya-dah, ya-dah—but do you REALLY know what they are?
Nooooo…?!
Well, you’re not alone.
In our recent survey we received more requests from our community for a bandha training than anything else!
What we’ve noticed is that students and teachers may have heard about the bandhas, but most haven’t really grokked them.
It’s common for us to hear feedback that bandhas are a vague concept. Or that the information out there is too esoteric or even contradictory to be useful to the average yoga practitioner or teacher.
Not knowing how to find mula (sometimes spelled moola), uddiyana and jalandhara bandha, how to apply them, when to use them, what they’re useful for and if there are any times you wouldn’t want to use them, are all comments we hear when we conduct our workshops and teacher training programs.
Further confusing things, uddiyana bandha is also often misconstrued as having strong abs.
(By the way, you can get strong abdominal muscles as a byproduct of using uddiyana bandha, but it’s not the same as “six-pack abs.”)
So why bother trying to master this aspect of your practice?
My first experience of the bandhas goes back to the late 80s when I was introduced to Kripalu yoga and to the practice of pranayama.
At that time, the bandhas were introduced to me as a way to direct the energy stimulated during pranayama upwards and to simultaneously unlock mental and pranic levels of our being.
From that I felt them on a superficial level and did my best to use them based on my understanding at that time. Occasionally I could feel (or thought I could) the effects of the bandhas and a sense of rising energy as I went deeper into my pranayama practice.
In early 2000 along came Ashtanga yoga into my life. Rupali introduced this style of yoga in her morning classes at our then-studio, Yoga Hawaii, and people loved it…including me!
Once I started practicing Ashtanga the bandhas became a daily part of my asana practice and over the years my understanding has grown and changed and continues to develop and affect my pranayama and asana practices.
What transformed (and continues to) my understanding and practice of the bandhas was largely due to focus.
By using them as a focal point in my asana practice I was able to really feel them, not only the physical level, but energetically. As the old saying goes, “what you focus on expands.”
That’s true even in this case.
When I really gave attention to drawing the inbreath up from the joining of mula and uddiyana bandha and allowing all my vinyasas and asanas to expand out of this area, my practice transformed. It became less work—less physical and much more energetic.
So if that’s one tip I can give you today, start playing with that aspect: take every breath during your practice from the depths of mula bandha and connect it up to uddiyana bandha, in every pose. That one thing can transform your practice.
(And if that instruction makes you scratch your head, keep reading. You’ll want check out the interview link below.)
Years ago one of my Ashtanga teachers, Nancy Gilgoff, told me that about every five years she gets a new realization about the bandhas, and thinks to herself, “Oh, this is what the bandhas are!”
Then another five years later she’ll again think, “Oh, NOW I understand the bandhas.”
What she’s expressing is that over the years you gain a deeper understanding of this aspect of yoga. Your understanding and practice of the bandhas shifts and deepens over time.
And this has been true for me in my practice.
The layers of this practice unfold over time…on physical, energetic and psychic levels.
I love sharing my experience and insights about the bandhas with students. It’s one of the deeper practices in yoga that is transformational and often overlooked, mostly due to confusion and/or lack of knowledge.
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HI I really like this article . As a traditional Astanga teacher and really emphasise the ujjayi breath at the beginning of class which helps to take the physical out of the asanas. Early on in the class I also take the time to get everyone to switch on their bandhas and again not to pay too much attention to what the physical body is doing. I think if I did not teach like this I am not transferring the basic skills of Astanga yoga. Our bandhas are an integral part of ones practice and what makes yoga different to other physical practices. .Throughout the class I also remind people to connect to their bandhas and it does indeed transform their practice and as a safety measure helps prevent injuries. Many thanks for sharing Namaste Ruth
Aloha Ruth. Thank you for your kind words and glad you enjoyed the article. It’s great that you’re sharing one of the keys to a deeper experience of yoga with your students! It is integral to transforming your practice.
Thanks for adding to the discussion!
What a great introduction (for me) to the bandhas! Thanks for enlightening a beginner yogini:)
Aloha Tarah. Glad to help shine a light on the bandhas for you! Enjoy your exploration! Lot’s of discoveries ahead of you. :o)
Hi Tania,
I really enjoyed reading your article about the Tibetan Rites – I’ve heard about them some time ago from a senior teacher and the director of the Kripalu Yoga training program Micah Mortali.
I have been exploring pranayama as my daily practice and I’m fascinated by it. I’m glad that there are students wanting to learn more about this practice. Sadly this practice is becoming lost in the western focus on physical fitness. In this article about the bandhas, I like what you are saying about the focus and the ability to go deeper into your experience when engaging the bandhas. However, you’re performing the bandha standing (I’m assuming that’s you in the photo). Perhaps you are standing only for the purpose of demonstrating.
As I learned from my teacher and Dean of the Kripalu School of Yoga, Yoganand Michael Carroll, who has studied and practiced yoga intensively for many decades, the bandha mudras as part of the pranayama practice are done with breath retention and therefore it wouldn’t be safe to be standing. In fact the word “bandha” means “lock” – therefore locking the breath. All the mudras that have the word “bandha” in them are done with breath retention. The focus comes from that contraction in the body that takes all of your attention to that place – the pelvic floor, the belly, stomach or the throat. When done properly your focus cannot go anywhere else.
There is a second piece to it: this contraction can potentially generate a churning. When we stay present with the breath hold, able to observe everything that comes up, including fear or anger, we can grow and transform ourselves. Our conditioning, our perceived identity, begins to shake, becomes less stable, and when it’s put back together there is a chance that the identity reforms in a different way, perhaps becomes less rigid and we can experience more freedom.
Aloha Lutseeyeh,
Thank you for your thorough and thoughtful comment on the bandha article and glad you enjoyed our article on the Tibetan Rites.
It’s great to hear that pranayama lights you up. It’s what first hooked me so many years ago at my first yoga class (Rupali was the teacher). I am always encouraged when students are interested in exploring the power of breathing practice.
Yes, I am standing when showing uddiyana bandha in the photo. It’s part of the process I use to teach students how to find it and engage it, then incorporate it into their Ashtanga practice.
What you learned from Yoganand is correct…that using the locks with breath retention really precludes you from doing much else but taking your attention to the breath and bandhas. This is a very powerful practice and one I learned also from my experience at Kripalu and with Rupali (a long-time Kripalu student) and more recently from Tim Miller (a master Ashtanga teacher).
When used in this way it’s a powerful practice that is transformative in the way you describe so well. In the article I’m coming from the Ashtanga lineage and the use of bandhas in that form of yoga. My understanding is that as you get more proficient with the bandhas they become more subtle when used in asana practice and with a continuous ujjayi breath (no breath retention). They are still very powerful and transformative.
The two very different yoga lineages—Kripalu and Ashtanga— approach this deeper practice a little differently, but the end point is the same. Transformation and freedom, as you said so well!
Once a student progresses to a certain level Guruji (the late Ashtanga yoga master) would teach them pranayama practices that included stronger locks and breath retention, similar to what you describe.
We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and experience, Lutseeyeh.