‘What is Bandha in Yoga?’

There are many interpretations of the concept of Bandha within Yogic traditions in terms of muscular activation and where we focus our minds within our practcies. In this post I’ll share my own interpretation of this and how we can use the concept of Bandha as a philosophy for our lives and the way we live in the world.

On a gross level we could say that a type of Bandha is a muscular activation of a specific region of the body. Generally referring to a type of contraction, and ‘pulling in / up’. As this is such a broad topic let’s just mention the 3 main Bandhas that are commonly used in Yoga.

Mula Bandha: Mula Bandha involves the contraction and lifting of the pelvic floor muscles, specifically the Pubococcygeus.

Male pelvic floor

Uddiyana Bandha: Uddiyana Bandha invlolves a contraction of the lower abdomen, specifically just below the naval. transversus abdominis, rectus abdominis, and obliques.

Uddiyana Bandha

Jalandhara Bandha: Jalandhara Bandha involves contracting the throat, tucking the chin towards the chest, and lifting the sternum to hold and direct vital energy (prana) within the body.

Jalandhara Bandha

On thier own, these types of muscular activations are used specifically and differently within our Asana practices to potentially generate strength or an energetic feeling in the body to create lift / Pranic movement. Pranic being an upward directed movment usually on an inhalation. Or a downward energy, Apanic, usually on an exhalation.

Within our Pranayama practices these Bandhas or Seals are used to contain this energy. When I say energy I am speaking in terms of Prana ( life force ). Our focus and attention is drawn inwards to cultivate a direct connection to our senses so we can feel this energy flowing up and down within the central channel of our body, commonly referred to as the Sushumna.

A simple overview of the subtle body

I am often asked how do we sense this or feel it? This is actually quite complex and in my opinion takes many years of practice to cultivate what Bandha is. In the beginning we are working with the physical body on a very gross level, potentially over activating muscles and purely working with the physcial aspect of Yoga pratice.

As we develop a deeper undertanding of our bodies and our mind becomes clearer and less distracted, our awareness and imagination can go inwards, and we start to feel what this is. You can’t dissect a body and see the Nadi’s or energy points within the body where prana flows. You can’t show it to anyone. It’s something you sense and feel.

It would be like asking someone to look up or down who only could see life from a 2D perspective. Up and down doesn’t exist to this person in this analogy. We need to broaden our awareness and expand our mind and imagination to be able to see / feel things differently. Cultivating a sense of Bandha and Prana is like this.

If we think of Bandha in terms of energy, specifically opposing energies, we can find this in various forms within the body and our Yoga practice.

When we are in an arm balance for example we are creating a type of Bandha. As our hands press into the floor, the earth gives us the same energy back, creating lift. Newtons third law. This would be a type of Hand Bandha.

Hand Bandha

My jump Back article expands on this.

So on a gross level we experience our hands pushing down. We see this and feel this. On an energetic level we experience the earth sending energy back up from the floor into our hands which makes us go up and feel lighter. You can’t see this with your eyes, but you feel it.

These types of energy transfers are happening all of the time, all around you, through various observbations on every day life we take for granted. The internal workings of the body are no different in essence.

Through Yogic practices we cultivate a lost sense of the internal workings of the physical body through muscular activation which in turn generates a sense of the balancing between opposing energies. Strength and Flexibility, Left and Right, Up and Down, Inhalation and Exhalation, Pushing Out and Pulling In…

My own interpretation of Bandha ultimately comes down to the balancing of opposing energies. This opposing of opposites generates a state of Bandha. The state of Bandha is the middle path betwen opposites. Opposites, and opposite energies are found through life and throughout the known universe. They are unavoidable, and the balancing of these two opposites creates a perfect midline. This midline is what I call beauty.

The beautiful balance of nature

So many cultures and religions throughout the world have created symbology to represent this and highlight the importance of this state, but really we see it every day in nature. Nature is always correct in the sense of balancing opposites which is why we are so drawn to nature and it’s beauty

Yin and Yang

I say beauty because the middle point between two opposites is always the best result. Whether it is cooking, the balancing of sweet an sour, salt and sugar. When an instrument is tuned correctly and resonates with perfect harmony. When a golfer hits the ball with perfect precision and timing and the sound of the strike is felt within our body that tells you the tone was pitch perfect. Within your Asana practice you connect with the perfect balance between strength and flexability where the movement feels effortless and flows. I could list examples like this forever as we all expereince this state of Bandha every day, and we actually intuitively seek this out as human beings as I beleive we are all drawn to our natural state.

Our natual state is to be in balance. To balance our opposites, to create the state of Bandha. The middle path in Buddhism. This path leads to love.

In my meditation practices over the years of focusing on the state of Bandha, I have come to the conclusion that Love is our natural state. Love is Beauty.

We are taken out of this state because life is challenging. We are pushed and pulled from pilar to post and lose our centre. We are taken away from the midline and lose connection of who we are on an energetic level. We are much more than what is seen to the eye.

We are all energetic beings with the ability to sense and feel ourselves in this way. We just have to practice it. We have to practice cultivating our intuition. Intuition is not the mind.

If you look for the state of Bandha in your Yogic practices, you will look for this state in all aspects of your life. You will look for balance. Balance brings you into the best state there is to ever experience as a human. Love.

When you are practicing a sytem of Yoga that is designed to rebalance the body / energies of the body such as Ashtanga Yoga or The Element Series, the body becomes strong and supple. The mind is calm and your concentration is focused and you can play with the types of energetic seals mentioned at the beginning of the article and more. You will begin to sense what the sublte body feels like and can start the journey of meditations and visualisations within your practices to cultivate this rising and falling energy.

When this happens all types of physical / subtle changes occur within the body / psyche / emotional state and deep realisations occur that allow us to enter various states of consciousness and bliss and beyond, to the potential state of Bodhichitta. Altogether a fascinating exploration of the body mind.

This is a simplification of this philosophy, but you can find out more of my experiene of this here on my podcast. The Yogi Within Podcast.

For a deeper understaning of the physcial Bandha’s we can use within our Yoga practices check out my Jump Back Breakdown online course and Pranayama Course for instructions on how to cultivate this.