How many times have you found yourself standing in Tadasana when your yoga instructor told you to “Activate your Mula Bandha”? Like other yogis in the room, you likely had an understanding of what to do physically. Start with an exhale, engage the pelvic floor, then draw it up towards my navel. Okay, got it. But why am I doing this?
Through yoga, we learn there is an intention behind everything—a purpose behind our breathing and something to learn from every posture. So, when yoga instructors cue subtle adjustments like these, we might question something like whether it’s for our alignment or to keep our minds focused.
As you continue to deepen your practice, you’ll have more opportunities to explore these deliberate movements with intentional thought. Learning about the bandhas and how to activate them to take your practice to the next level is a great place to start.
In yoga, Bandhas are commonly referred to as “energetic locks.” ‘Bandha’ means “to lock,” and your body has four of these interior Bandhas, or locks, that you can activate to enhance your practice on a physical and mental level.
When you engage the Bandhas, you contract muscles in specific parts of the body, enabling you to cultivate more strength and stability. But if Bandhas are inherent to the physical aspect of yoga, what is their connection to and purpose for the energetic body?
Bandha activation is common in asana and pranayama (breath control) practices because it controls the flow of energy, or prana, in your body. Hence why they are known as “energetic locks.”
Often in yoga, we are told to open up, receive, or expand. So, it’s normal to question the purpose and benefits behind locking up our muscles and energy.
For one, Bandha engagement temporarily blocks off our blood flow. Once we release that engagement, it enhances circulation, promoting a fresh flow of blood. The old blood cells are cycled out through this increase in circulation, and our organs become stronger and healthier through this renewal. This restorative cycle can help regulate your internal systems, balancing everything from your digestive to hormonal and metabolic processes.
If you wondered whether Bandhas are cued in a yoga class to help promote better focus, you certainly weren’t off base. Along with strengthening your organs, you can also sharpen your mind because this muscular contraction provides a single point of concentration.
Through this enhanced focus on the body, tuning into the breath with more control and steadiness becomes almost second nature. The benefit of all this is a clearer, more concentrated, and calmer mind.
Finally, Bandhas are beneficial for your brain centers, nadis (where prana flows through), and your chakras (energy centers). By contracting and releasing Bandhas, you can remove energy blockages to create balance and harmony within your energy body.
The connection between Bandhas and energy starts to make more sense when you look at where they lie within the body and how to activate them. For instance, let’s go back to the Mula Bandha, which means the root lock. ‘Mula’ is the Sanskrit term for root - you also see this word in Muladhara chakra or root chakra.
There are four main Bandhas that will help deepen your practice by connecting you to your internal energy flow.
Mula Bandha: Root Lock
When you engage your Mula Bandha during your yoga practice, you contract the pelvic floor muscles. The Root Lock directs your energy flow upwards, making you feel lighter on your mat and lighter within yourself. This upward energy can help you reach a higher level of consciousness.
Uddiyana Bandha: Flying Upward Lock
The Flying Upward Lock is located between your navel and spine - the point where your diaphragm forms an energetic funnel. This Bandha moves energy upwards with a great deal of force, bringing your awareness of higher realms and consciousness with it.
On a physical level, activating this Bandha massages internal muscles in your lower back, helping to stimulate digestion. On an energetic level, this contraction can create more awareness of your heart chakra, inviting more love into your life and releasing stress.
Jalandhara Bandha: Throat Lock
Jalandhara is best understood as the locking of energy flow through the vessels and nerves of the neck area. For this reason, this Bandha is typically engaged along with other breathing practices or meditation. It also helps to heighten these practices by increasing your concentration and moving and holding energy in the upper chakras.
The Throat Lock compresses the main arteries in your neck, which puts pressure on your throat. The physical benefit of this sinus compression is that it helps balance your thyroid to regulate your metabolism.
Maha Bandha: The Great or Ultimate Lock
The Maha Bandha is the activation of all the Bandhas at the same time. This lock has a tremendous impact on quieting the mind. And since it is limited to specific yoga postures, it is typically used in pranayama and mediation practices.
The ultimate goal of deepening your understanding of Bandhas is not just to learn how to guide your students through the steps to engage them. In our 300-Hour Online Yoga Teacher Training course lesson on Bandhas, we will dive further into the specifics of how to engage these locks in your practice. You can view the entire lesson on Bandhas for free here.
Through experience, practice, patience, and repetition, the Bandhas will teach you important lessons to apply to your practice and life off the mat.
Some day you can inspire that same level of curiosity in your students that you once had. One day, you will be the instructor who tells your students, “Activate your Mula Bandha”, with inner-knowing and intention that reaches beyond the physical body.
Learn more about our self-paced online yoga teacher trainings.
Astrologers have determined that every two thousand years, time moves us backward through the astrological signs, into a new age. A New age calls for its own words to live by. Yogi Bhajan, of Kundalini Yoga and spiritual teacher to thousands, shared five principles which he called the Five Sutras of the Aquarian Age.
The first of an ultra-rare pair of back-to-back Aquarius full moons is just what we need to forge a path to living and speaking our truth…t0 stand and march to the beat of our own drum. Aquarians are the seekers, visionaries, the non-conformists, the ones who get away with stuff because they are so easy to live with. Face it, moonbeams, it’s their AGE, we just live in it! Those old Aquarian vibes will remind us that we are part of something larger than ourselves, and that acting on our ideas and ideals will benefit everyone.
Cancer protects what is most sacred…a stable home and the desire to always feel safe and secure. We tend to look outwards when talking of home but think about this.
There is such a soothing and regenerative power to water…why not cleanse your energy under the Cancer moon. Pour in some sea salt scented with some rose, ylang ylang or a fave of mine...frankincense with sweet orange. Submerge a crystal or 2 to charge your bath with the healing energy of the mineral world. Suggestion: moonstone, of course, which embodies feminine power and the energy of the moon itself. A few dried rose petals (organic) thrown in for its' calming effect on the nervous system.
at its brightest. The vibes of this moon in the earthy, no-nonsense sign of Capricorn offer us the opportunity to truly evoke change…to bring new life to those projects and tasks we have been putting off. Capricorn is all about discipline and responsibility with the ability to see and bring about change. What do you need to consider now? What requires your attention? To truly evoke change, you have to work deep beyond the surface. With Capricorn ruled by Saturn and being attuned to the earth element, security and inner strength are of utmost importance…very root chakra. And as the Law of Attraction states, “The roots create the fruits.”
MOON MAGIC:
Gemini is the premier sign of change, saying one thing and doing another. Sound familiar? Represented by the twins- one mortal and the other spiritual/immortal-there may be some uncomfortable and seemingly clashing opportunities of change on the horizon-remember, we have double Sun-Moon energy going on now. These 2 eclipses signify it is time to find the deeper meaning and higher truth we need to survive. This is also the last Eclipse we will experience in Gemini until 2029, so whatever is planted now will create a ripple until this time.
We can usually expect Mercury-the celestial ruler of Gemini to really open up the dialog…but with the planet in retrograde until June 22 expect some cosmic mayhem on the horizon. Now might be a good time to slow down, reflect and make sure we have all the information we need before journeying on our new path. Keep calm, allow the messages to appear and surrender to what comes…trust that this New Moon Solar Eclipse will lead you to where you need to be going-the manifestation of a more evolved version of yourself.
When you experience physical body pain, how often do you pause to acknowledge that your physical ailment could be a manifestation of your emotional pain? Undesired or painful physical symptoms in the body are often linked to the negative thoughts, beliefs, feelings, or attitudes that we hold onto in our minds. And, as the mind and body are so intricately and closely connected, the longer we cling to these negative thoughts, the more it can impair our health.
Your emotions, whether positive or negative, can affect the physical state of your body. At the same time, how you take care of your body impacts your mental state. This complex mind-body connection serves as a reminder that if we want to heal ourselves, we must be willing to look at our entire being. The approach we must take to better our health is a holistic one that recognizes everything occurring within us is integral. So, while understanding and exploring emotional pain through the lens of the physical body isn't the most widely taken approach to overall health and wellness, it is an effective one.
Can you recall a time where you were feeling stressed out or anxious about something, so your heart started beating quickly, your palms began to sweat, and you got the feeling of having a knot in your stomach? These are just a few manifestations of emotions like anxiety or stress that most of us can relate to, and it's one way of understanding the fascinating linkage between the body and mind.
It helps if you understand your emotions as energy in motion. Emotional pain can get stuck in the body, and it requires awareness and effort to keep it moving, or else it can contribute to pain, illness, or disease. You may have lingering emotional issues that you have swept under the rug for a long time, and it is important to be aware that this can ultimately lead to chronic pain.
In this free course preview, you will be exploring your body, taking notes on any areas of your body that are tender, sore, or painful. You will be using this body exploration to see if you can learn anything new about yourself and create affirmations surrounding your issues to address and heal.
As the eclipse arrives with a shadow crossing over the moonlight, it’s anyone’s guess what truths will be revealed. Eclipses always follow cycles and generally come in pairs-the Lunar Eclipse, which falls on the Full Moon and a Solar Eclipse which falls on the New Moon. Wednesday brings us Sagittarius Full Moon Total Eclipse and on Thursday June 10th we have a Gemini New Moon Solar Eclipse. The time between these two pairs of Eclipses is considered the Eclipse Gateway and is a period that usually lasts for about 2 weeks. It’s kinda like having an extra potent full moon every night-a peak time for manifestation. The thing with Eclipses is that they represent portals that elevate and push us, shining a light on what is needed to change. Use this time to connect with your inner, true self. Also in astrology, a blood moon eclipse is said to bring sudden change or a need to transform or shift our lives in a new direction. Having a lunar eclipse in the free- spirited sign of Sag will allow us to set our intentions and aim our arrows in that direction, knowing within that any transformations that unfold are part of your evolution.
situations in a new light. Lunar eclipses are a time to let go and surrender, to release, purge, and do what is best for your soul. Paired with the Sagittarius Full Moon the eclipse will help us see deeper and offer a shifting energy that many of us have been praying for. Can you feel the shift? Are you ready to be guided on a completely different path? Then just breathe and surrender…the revelations and changes just might rock your world.
What do I need in order to feel happy fulfilled and yes, loved. Taurus, like spring, is bursting with new life, but after all the crazed energies of the last 2 months, we are being encouraged to trust our instincts and deepen our embodiment to our own sexuality. This New Moon on May 11, 2021 (at 2:59 PM EDT) will usher us into eclipse season with a Super Full Moon Total Lunar Eclipse at month’s end…a time of shifts and transformation. So, before all that how about some fun?
I know, I know: Taurus wants to indulge and that is what I am saying, right? However, this moon also gives us the space to make plans, organize our thoughts and connect us with the strength of self-worth needed to navigate the intense changes which will occur during eclipse season. For all the procrastinators out there, don’t fret if you haven't gotten your intentions totally outlined. Deep down in your sub conscious you already know what your intentions should be- your conscious mind just needs to catch up. Under the influence of this Taurus moon our thoughts turn to grounding, a strong solid earthy foundation on which to stand. Ground your bare feet into Mother Earth and express your gratitude for all the abundance she provides. This will also help you detox your body, reduce inflammation, and help you relax as you glide through May with a harmonious, romantic ease. As witches know, the new moon is an excellent time to shine! So go ahead my loves, you have no idea how brightly you glow!
TOUCH YOURSELF- This is a trauma/trigger phrase. Instead, use place a hand, add depth by, press your hand into.
CAN'T- Same as with "never." Every time we say can't, it's a declaration that whatever it is we aren't yet able to do is ultimately out of reach. The truth is, how do we know? Tell yourself you can, always. And keep practicing until you get it.