In ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, teachers and practitioners describe three main spinal Bandhas: Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha and Jalandhara Bandha
These are the most subtlest part of the practice, only after you have been open up your body through the practice and sharpen your awareness will be possible for you to start to feel these energetic locks within the body.
However if you approach to the Bandhas in certain ways you can create a deeper and quicker connection who can serve you to move with lightness, and injury free through the practice.
The easiest way to start to connect with Mula Bandha is by knowing the physical location. Mula Bandha the root lock is located in the pelvic floor area for men and for women is also include the muscles of the cervix, by knowing the location you will know where to rest your awareness in order to get in touch with this lock.
If you can not feel your pelvic floor and muscles of the cervix, Mula Bandha can be awake by activating the toes, quadriceps and specially the inner tights, by keeping these muscles active you will notice a huge and positive change in your practice.
When to do this?
If you want to awake Mula Bandha the easiest way is by getting in touch with these muscles as often as possible
Since you start the first Samasthiti of the practice all these group of muscles have to turn on, by doing this you will notice the following qualities in your practice.
1. Lightness in the lower limbs
2. Lengthening in the lower back
3. Engagement of the lower abdominal region
4. Jumping back and through can get easier
5. Jumping in Sun Salutations will fell much lighter
6. Your backbend practice will feel pain free and deeper, if you have enough flexibility in the upper body
When Mula Bandha is properly use you will have a clear sensation of feeling grounded and light at the same time. Please remember that this lock will assist you in maintain prana (life force or vital energy) inside of the body for a longer period of time and it will assist the movement of prana within the physical and energetic body, because of the subtle nature of the Prana the muscle activation in the areas described above should be just enough to feel grounded, supported and light through the practice without compromise the flexibility and the quality of the breathing
The quality of the breathing will help you to understand how much effort you have to apply when you engage these areas. To much effort will reduce your ability to breath, under activation of these muscles will give you a lot of freedom in the breathing but not enough support during the asana practice, find a middle way of activation is ideal.
Is like playing guitar to much tension in the string and the string will broke, to lose and it will not create sound only with the right amount of tension you will be able to create a proper sound
Apply this and let us know how your practice change
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Namaste
