Matthew Sweeney Interview

From Yoga Taravali by Sri Shankaracharya

I bow to the two lotus feet

of the (plurality of ) Gurus

Which awaken insight into

the happiness of pure Being,

Which are the complete

absorption, the jungle physician,

which eliminate the delusion

caused by the poisonous herb of

Samsara (conditioned existence).

There are 125,000 (meaning,

numberless) methods of laya

(yogic disolution) described

by Lord Siva in the world.

It is my opinion that nada

-anusandhana (pursuit of

“Inner Sound”) into the

deepest samadhi is the best

of all these layas.

With full exhaling, full

inhaling, and retention

of the breath, all of the

nadis are cleaned out. Then

through the anahata cakra

(the heart/ “wheel of the

unstruck sound”) many types

of internal sound are

expressed inside.

Obeisances to you,

Nadanusandhana (also a name

of Siva). The practice of you

gives birth to experience of the

highest truth. By your kindness

and with the internal breath,

may my mind dissolve into the

lotus feet of Visnu.

They say that jalandhara,

uddyiana, and mula bandhas

are deep in the throat, the

abdomen, and the root of the

anus. Having established these

three bandhas all around,

where is the dread of the noose

of time?

By uddiyana, jalandhara, and

mula bandhas the sleeping

serpent wakes up (makes an

about face) turns back, and

enters the susumna (central

channel). Then the coming

and going of the breath ceases.

By constantly squeezing the

Apana Vayu a bright torch

of fire rises up from the

muladhaara. Because of that

heat streams of nectar fall from

the moon (at the root of the

palate) to be drunk by the

fortunate.

The shining of the effulgent Paramatma

totally destroys the darkness of ignorance.

O Wonder! The Awakened One,

who has no fault (no imperfection) in their seeing,

sees not a “thing” in this whole world!

Sri Shankaracharya

Bandhas and granthis From the book Moola bandha the master key

To further understand bandhas we must extend our
view so as to see them not only as locks but also as removers
of locks or blockages, in the form of physical and mental
impurities. According to the scriptures there are granthis or
psychic knots, located at mooladhara, anahata and ajna
chakras. Granthis represent blockages in man’s awareness
of himself at the different levels of consciousness; they
obscure the true image of man’: essential nature. Tradi-
tionally, bandhas were prescribed as one of the most effective
means of untying these knots or blockages, existing as
tension, anxieties, repressions and unresolved conflicts,
thereby allowing us to rediscover our true nature.
The force generated from the bandhas may be likened
to that of increased pressure in a tube. Imagine a piece of
tubing resting vertically to the ground. This tube represents
sushumna nadi (the main pranic energy channel which
runs up the spine).
1. Moola bandha represents the sealing of the lowest portion
of the tube, thus preventing the downward motion of
prana. It stimulates energy in mooladhara, awakening
kundalini shakti.
2. jalandhan handha seals off the top portion of the tube.
Prana is now locked within this tube.
3. Uddiyana bandha completes maha bandha. It further
increases pranic pressure by stimulating the solar plexus
(manipura chakra), filling and expanding the closed tube.
Thus, when maha bandha is performed, prana is
compressed in sushumna. The locks prevent its downward
and upward movement at the same time stimulating energy.
Release of the bandhas flushes prana through the whole
body, and as prana is by nature vital, life-giving energy, the
body is relaxed, toned and rejuvenated. The granthis can
then be pierced and untied. expanding consciousness.

Mula bandha, Uddiyana Bandha from the book Ashtanga yoga practice and philosophy Gregor Maehle

The term bandha is related to the English word “bonding.” We bond breath, movement, and awareness together. The first bandha is called Mula Bandha,which translates as “root lock.” The root referred to here is the root of the spine, the pelvic floor or, more precisely, the center of the pelvic floor, the perineum.The perineum is the muscular body between the anus and the genitals. By slightly contracting the pubo-coccygeal (PC) muscle, which goes from the pubic bone to the tailbone (coccyx), we create an energetic seal that locks prana into the body and so prevents it from leaking out at the base of the spine.Mula Bandha is said to move prana into the central channel, called sushumna, which is the subtle equivalent of the spine.Locating the PC muscle might be difficult at first.It has been suggested that one should tighten the anus, or alternatively contract the muscle that one would use to stop urination, but these indications are not entirely accurate: Mula

Bandha is neither of these two muscles but located right between them.These suggestions have their value, however, offering some guidance until we become more sensitive and are able to isolate the PC muscle more precisely.For females it is essential not to mistake Mula Bandha for a contraction of the cervix. This con -traction tends to occur especially during strenuous activity. Should a woman do this on a daily basis when engaged in two hours of yoga practice, she could experience difficulty in giving birth.In the beginning we employ mainly a gross muscular lock, which works mainly on the gross body. Through practice we shift to an energetic lock,which works more on the subtle or pranic body.When mastered, Mula Bandha becomes exclusively mental, and works on the causal body.To become familiar with Mula Bandha, sit tall and upright in a comfortable position and focus on slightly contracting the perineum, which is the center of the pelvic floor. With the exhalation, visualize the breath beginning at the nostrils and slowly reaching down through the throat, the chest, and the abdomen until it eventually hooks into the pelvic floor, which contracts slightly. As the inhalation starts, there will be an automatic reaching upward.Since we keep the breath hooked into the pelvic floor through contracting the PC muscle, we create suction and an energetic lift upward through the entire core of the body. This is Mula Bandha. With this movement the first step is taken to arrest the downward flow of life force, which increases with age and invites death, disease, and decay like the withering of a plant, and convert it into an upward flow that promotes growth and further blossoming.Mula Bandha is held throughout the entire breathing cycle and during the whole practice. Every posture needs to grow out of its root. This is only finally released during deep relaxation in complete surrender.The second bandha is Uddiyana Bandha. It is sometimes confused with Uddiyana, one of the shat karmas or six actions, also called kriyas, of Hatha Yoga. This Uddiyana is a preparation for nauli, the stomach roll.Nauli is practiced by sucking the entire abdominal content up into the thoracic cavity. It is done only during breath retention (kumbhaka), and it is very different from the technique practiced in VinyasaYoga. The Uddiyana Bandha of Vinyasa Yoga is a much gentler exercise. It consists of lightly contracting the transverse abdominis muscle, which runs horizontally across the abdomen and is used to draw the abdominal contents in against the spine.To successfully switch on Uddiyana Bandha, it is important to isolate the upper transverse abdominismuscle from the lower part and use only the part below the navel. Doing other wise impinges on the free movement of the diaphragm. If the movement of the diaphragm is restricted for a long time, aggressive,boastful, egotistical, and macho tendencies can develop in the psyche. This is not endorsed by traditional teaching, however. Shankara and Patanjali provideus with the following explanations. True posture,according to Shankara, is that which lead seffortlessly to meditation on Brahman and not to pain and self-torture. Patanjali says that asana is perfected when meditation on the infinite (ananta) is achieved through the releasing of excess effort.Some have claimed that Ashtanga Yoga is warrior yoga, and that warriors used it to psych themselves up for battle. This is a very sad misunderstanding.Those who have had a true experience of the practice will have come away feeling tired and happy —and definitely not psyched up for battle. Rather, one feels more like hugging one’s enemy and, incomplete surrender, handing them whatever they demand — perhaps even imparting genuine adviceas to how to enjoy life and not waste it with suchbstupidities as aggression and warfare. There is no warrior yoga. War and yoga exclude each otherbecause the first yogic commandment is ahimsa —nonviolence.Richard Freeman says that Uddiyana Bandha is infact only a slight suction inward just above thepubic bone. The more subtle Uddiyana Bandha becomes, the more blissful, peaceful, childlike, and innocent becomes the character of the practitioner.I suggest starting by firming the abdominal wall below the navel and then, as awareness increases with years of practice, allow Uddiyana Bandha to slide downward. Again, the more subtle it becomes,the more influence Uddiyana Bandha will have on th esubtle body.As I have mentioned in the previous section, a lot of emphasis has been placed on abdominal breathingin our culture in the last forty years. This has its place in the performing arts — especially dance and theater — and for therapy. It is certainly helpful for singers and actors, and for someone undergoing psychotherapy. Abdominal breathing, with complete relaxation of the abdominal wall, is recommended a suseful when ever we want to connect to our emotionsand bring them to the fore. In the New Age movementin particular, emotions are seen as something sacred that one needs to follow and live out. Abdomina lbreathing is a good idea whenever one wants to intensify one’s emotions.In many other situations, though, it is not helpful to heighten one’s emotions. After all, emotions are only a form of the mind. To be emotional means to react to a present situation according to a past conditioning.For example, if I am rejected in a certain situation that is new to me, I will feel hurt. If i find my self in a similar situation again, I will become emotional even before any new hurt has been inflicted. I will emote “hurt” before I actually feel it. An emotion is a conserved feeling that arises because the original feeling has left a subconscious imprint in the mind. Patanjali calls this imprint samskara. The theory that being emotional is being more authentic is flawed, since an emotional person is as much in the past as a person who is constantly“in his or her head.”Besides the fact that it makes one emotional,constant abdominal breathing also has negativ ephysical repercussions. It leads to sagging, collapsing abdominal organs with enlarged, weak blood vessels and stagnant blood. Then follow a lack of oxygen supply, a decrease in vitality, and eventually the development of chronic disease.If the lower abdominal wall is kept firm and the upper wall is relaxed, the diaphragm moves up and down freely and the whole abdomen functions like the combustion chamber of an engine, with thediaphragm as the piston. This produces a strong oscillation of intra-abdominal blood pressure, and it is exactly this mechanism that produces healthy abdominal organs. When the diaphragm moves down and the abdominal wall is held, the pressure in the combustion chamber will rise. When the diaphragm moves up, all the blood is sucked out of the abdomen and blood pressure drops. This strong oscillation of abdominal blood pressure constantly massages the internal organs and leads to strong,healthy tissue.We look now at the subtle mechanics of Uddiyana Bandha. Uddiyana means flying up. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika states that, because of Uddiyana Bandha, the great bird of prana flies up incessantly through the sushumna. Sushumna is the central energy channel,which lies, albeit in the subtle body, roughly in front of the spine and originates at the perineum. It terminates within the head — some sources say at the highest point of the head, but more often it is described as ending where the head is joined to the spine. The sushumna is usually dormant. It is accompanied by two other nadis (energy channels), which wind around it like the snakes of the caduceus.These are the lunar (ida) and solar (pingala) channels.There are certain parallels between solar and lunar energy channels on the one hand and the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems on the other, but we cannot say that the one is the other.The Hatha Yoga Pradipika explains that prana should be directed into sushumna by closing the ida and
pingala. The same text states that, by practicing MulaBandha, prana will enter sushumna. In a later stanza of the text a great truth is revealed: time (which we perceive as the fluctuation of night and day) is produced by the sun and moon.In other words, it is the illusion of time that prevents us from recognizing deep reality (Brahman), which is timeless and is fabricated by the moment of inner breath (prana) int he pingala (solar) and ida (lunar) energy channels.The stanza goes on to reveal the key to all physical yoga, which is that the sushumna devours time.In other words, if prana is made to enter the centralchannel it will devour time, which is itself a creation of the fluctuating mind and which keeps us from abiding in deep reality, the timeless consciousness(Brahman). Time is the operating system of th ehuman mind; to go beyond time is to go beyond mind. This is possible when the great bird of prana flies up in sushumna, and sushumna devours time.For this the use of Mula and Uddiyana Bandha is prescribed.Even the great Shankara says that Mula Bandha should always be practiced, since it is fit for raja yogins. In other words, even raja yogins — those who practice mind suspension and who are sometimes disparaging about Hatha yogins and their preoccupation with their bodies—should take up the practice of Mula Bandha, since it leads to going beyond mind.If we remember now Patanjali’s definition of yoga being the suspension of mind, we begin to understand the importance of Mula and Uddiyana Bandha.

El suelo pélvico como muelle interno.~ Toni Romero

Toni Romero,urdhava Kukkutasana

En el desarollo de la inteligencia musculatur relacionada con el pc se convierto en una toma conciencia de la fuerza interna. El cuerpo se extiendo, estira y se eleva con suma facilidad desde la fuerza interna que produce ese muelle muscular a nivel físico y pránico en el marco sutil. Al producir esa contracción en el plana primero, abre los canales internos para un flujo libre de las fuerza pránica y apánicas dentro del canal central. Uddiyana en el ascensor del cuerpo, al retornar el flujo energético en los canales chackras mueve todo el espacio interno y exterior como las piezas de un reloj extendiendo y replegando el cuerpo desde ese axis que mantiene toda la estabilidad esquelética y muscular.
Una forma muy efectiva de empezar es estudio de mulabhanda es el control muscular al orinar, cerrando y abriendo el paso para ir tomando conciencia de una forma del tejido interno del suelo pélvico. Con un tracción más profunda del Mulabhanda, Uddiyana (una ligera succión del téxido justo encima del "pubic bone") es automáticamente conectada, ya que son dos aspectos inseparables del mismo grupo muscular encadenado uno al otro.