Orientation to Yoga’s Subtle Energies & the Bandhas

aLex Levin • In-Depth YTT • January 2016

Maps of our Inner LandscapeDifferent kinds of maps represent same subject, but present different information. Yoga offers a variety of “maps,” overlays, that help us chart our experience, and orient ourselves in service of living most authentically, most fully. Yoga also provides instructions and tools to help us recognize our unique experience of landmarks and navigate our course on the way. Our attention skills are honed and we become more familiar with ubiquitous awareness.

the 5 koshas: dimensions of our being

Annamaya physical body made up of food we eat purified by diet, asanas, kriya (cleansing) practices

Pranamaya sheath made of energy or vitality purified by breathing practices and kriya

Manomaya mind, perceptual, emotional sheath purified by service, bhakti, chanting, yama and niyama practices

Vijnanamaya wisdom, discernment, character sheath purified by being in satsang (the company of truth), svadhyaya, meditation

Anandamaya bliss sheath purified by joy, samadhi

Prana - the life force - flows, that is its nature. We also have the ability to act and direct its course. Our choices at all of these dimensions influence freedom or obstruction of the flow. Bringing conscious attention to our experiences helps us be aware of the choices we are making.

Sometimes, often, we choose to protect and defend against pain and other unwanted states. The mind takes on the role of protecting the heart and can create barriers to prana flowing freely among all aspects of our being. The mind cannot unravel itself and yoga’s tools offer a way to go around the mind’s controls and unravel our tensions.

prana flows where attention goes

In general, and without our intentional attention, prana and our attention tend to flow outward more than inward.

practices we played withuddiyana bandha (gross play) from standing according to BKS Iyengar instructions in Light on Pranayama

mula bandha (gross play) reclining with knees bent, squeezing and releasing

• uro-genital opening in anterior pelvic tilt (vajroli mudra) • anal opening (ashwini mudra) in posterior pelvic tilt • [lift upward] the perineum between these two in neutral pelvis

jalandhara, uddiyana & mula bandha (more subtle, letting body position and breath assist) in tadaka mudra (like reclining in tadasana with arms overhead):

• after each inhale draw chin toward chest, keeping head on the floor • add watching belly draw toward spine and up toward back of head on exhales natural

flow, then actively accentuate • notice action of the belly pulling up pelvic floor

jalandhara, uddiyana & mula bandha (much more subtly) reclining, knees bent, comfortably - relax at each bandha area, sensing flow and movement

the nadis

“little rivers”: channels of energy

said that there are 72,000

pranayama is a key tool to clearing the nadis

the three main nadis• ida & pingala - opposing forces;

pingala masculine, heating, sympathetic nervous system; ida - feminine, cooling, parasympathetic nervous system

• intersect at each chakra (energy centers)

• sushumna - the main channel; the yogi’s task is to bring attention and energies to this center for equipoise, equanimity

• channels are cleared by asana, pranayama, visualization, chant, visualizations (e.g., nadi shodhana)

• The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a classic text that describes many of these practices. “Ha” meaning sun, “tha” moon, “hatha” indicates these forces coexisting. That union confers incredible force and so sometimes “hatha” translates as “forceful.”

Sushumna central channel

Ida & Pingala left & right channels

Kundalini• Pure potential (in dormant state)

• Powerful energy of transformation becomes available when obstacles in the nadis and chakras are cleared for “awakening”

• Symbolized by serpent at root chakra coiled 3 1/2 times (see serpent in diagram on previous page)

• Sometimes referred to as Kundalini Shakti - the feminine force of creation, complementing Shiva’s energy of conscious awareness

the bandhas bandha - “lock”; from root bandh meaning to bind, fix or stop

The bandhas regulate pranic flow.

mula bandha - root lock at pelvic floor

uddiyana bandha - “flying up” or upper abdominal lock

jalandhara bandha - chin lock, cloud-catching or net lock (network of nadis in the neck)

maha bandha - combination of the above three locks

brahma bandha - fixing one’s consciousness on the all-pervading Source

What instructions have you heard for practicing the bandhas?

vayus: prana in the body* prana vayu moves from the diaphragm to the base of the throat. It is seated in the heart and regulates breathing, heart rate, circulation and speech.

apana vayu flows downward from the navel to the feet. It controls urination, defecation, giving birth, menstrual flow, ejaculation, and creative work.

samana vayu occupies the space from the navel to the diaphragm. it flows back and forth like a pendulum there, regulating digestion and assimilation and balancing the prana and apana vayus.

udana vayu flows from the base of the throat to the top of the head. It regulates expression and locomotion (and includes coughing, choking, hiccuping, and swallowing).

vyana vayu flows in all directions, carrying prana to each cell of the body.

* adapted from Jivamukti Yoga: Practices for Liberating the Body and Soul by Sharon Gannon & David Life

the knots that bind: grants granthis = knot or doubt

experienced as tensions, stress, blockages

Brahma granthis between root and second chakras - low belly region

Vishnu granthis between third chakra and the heart - upper belly, diaphragm muscle region

Rudra granthis between heart and third eye - throat and mouth region

Practicing the bandhas, harnessing and concentrating the vayus, is said to melt these knots.

Resources

• Energy Medicine, Donna Eden

• The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy, Cindi Dale

• Light on Yoga and Light on Pranayama, BKS Iyengar

• Eastern Body, Western Mind, Anodea Judith

• Untethered Soul, Michael Singer (chapter 5, “Infinite Energy”)

• Jivamukti Yoga: Practices for Liberating the Body and Soul, Sharon Gannon & David Life