Breathing waves, intentionality and equilibrium.
Sama Fabian Feb. 2008
There are many ways in which prana infuses into our bodies. It comes in through the skin, in the form of light and heat from the sun, through the food we eat in the form of rasa (essence) and through the respiratory system in the form of breath. It is this latter form that concerns us here.
The most important source of vital prana is the atmosphere with its gases (oxygen) and electrical charge (negative ions). It is this prana that the science of pranayama attempts to harvest and distribute around the body. In this task the movement of prana and the action of the bandhas cannot be dissociated.
The bandhas tend to happen at what we could call collection sites where pranic potency can be built up. Imagine a flood-gate filling up and then opened to release a harvest of built up energy.
Although traditionally translated as locks, it is interesting to understand the bandhas as the gateways through which prana is fluidly and swiftly distributed around the body. They are both collection and distribution points.
Anatomically the bandhas tend to be located where there is an arched bony structure supported by a ligament and muscle hammock such as the pelvic floor and the diaphragm.
The pelvic floor can be divided into two triangular zones. Drawing an imaginary line between the two sitting bones we find to the front of that line the urogenital organs and to the back the anal sphincters.
Traditionally Mula bandha is performed during the exhalation phase and engages deep muscles of the lower abdomen and back, the transverse abdominals between the navel and pubic bone. If taken boldly to its full expression, at the end of exhalation, this action might also mobilise the urogenital triangle, which lifts and becomes sensitive. The intensity at which we choose to practice this bandha is up to each individual according to her level of understanding and integration.
As far as the anal triangle is concerned the practice of lifting and releasing the sphincters is a complimentary yet different action from that of Mula bandha, called Aswini Mudra.
Lifting our focus upward we find the diaphragm, the large circular muscle that separates the organs of digestion from those of respiration, a mobile boundary between thorax and abdomen. This is the site of Uddhiyana Bandha. When practiced as a kriya (cleansing action) this bandha is the result of a strong abdominal lift at the end of an exhalation and on empty lungs. Here the organs in the abdominal cavity are gathered back and upwards, creating a vacuum during which the blood supply to the area is increased and the internal organs thoroughly massaged. This also helps to relax the solar plexus, specially in the inhalation phase where the abdomen is encouraged to broaden and release; the letting go is as important as the sucking up.
Finally we arrive at the upper thoracic inlet where the scapulae and the clavicles meet and the neck extends upwards to support the head. Here we have a funnelling from the expanse of the chest to the narrow passage of the neck. This is the site of Jalandhara Bandha, in effect a consequence of Uddhiyana Bandha. As we feel the hollowing of the notch of the throat we extent the chin forward and down to create a pressure in the carotid sinuses either sides of the neck. This can be done delicately producing a hollow space under the chin and keeping the muscles round the back of the neck fairly soft. This bandha is possibly the first we ever attempt since we prepare for it with Sarvangasana and Halasana.
The above technical explanations and anatomical descriptions cannot alone reveal the experience of the bandhas. In effect these
happen naturally in the body following the rhythm of the breath.
In the context of different postures and pranayama exercises the bandhas can be felt and intensified at different moments of the breathing cycle. We can experience Mula Bandha on the inhalation phase, where telluric prana is collected into the arches of the feet (Pada Bandha) and lifted up to the perineum in a continuous wave of inhalation. Here the Mula Bandha picks up the surge and containing the forward thrust of the abdomen and ribs energises the kidneys. In turn the action of Uddhiyana Bandha creates a broadening and lifting of the back ribs and supports the inhalation wave through the heart centre, into the upper chest.
At this level we either contain the movement in the chest with Jalandhara Bandha or we follow the wave through the throat towards the base of the skull, following the beautiful curve of the occiput to touch the crown and irrupt into the space above.
This inhalation wave, if experienced through a clear bandha awareness will alone reorganise the entire body into a balanced and harmonious posture. This can be used to establish an internal and energetic alignment in any asana.
Furthermore the intelligent use of Mula and Uddhiyana Bandhas will provide additional safety in the practice and teaching of asana. In taking on the bandhas in all aspects of the vinyasa, asana and pranayama practices the adept strengthens the core muscles of the abdomen bringing stability and poise to the body and also generating pranic potency, insuring good levels of energy to sustain the practice and integrate what it might reveal.
This upward surge of pranic potency can be conducted with extreme sensitivity and delicacy, lightly using the structural muscles to shift our awareness towards a deeper experience.
This serpentine wave moves through major centres in both the physical and the energy body. These centres are often charged with deeply held, emotional tensions, which can be released with the use of bandha awareness. In letting go of those holdings we may experience the talents and freedoms buried in each centre and be revealed to ourselves in the natural dignity and luminosity of our human nature.
Bibliography
“Dancing the Body of Light” Dona Holleman/Orit sen Gupta
Dona Holleman, from talks
“The Heart of Listening” Vol 1 & 2 Hugh Milnes
