Understanding The Four Bandhas In Yoga Bandhas are a popular term in yoga classes. You must have heard them during practice. They are often used to interpret the internal energy locks in yoga. However, not many understand what bandhas really are. This article will discuss bandhas, their purpose, and how to activate them during yoga practice. In Sanskrit, bandhas, which is the plural form, means “locks.” Three of these locks are created through contraction by three of the six sphincters in the digestive system. The locks or bandhas are listed as follows: • Anal Sphincter: This sphincter is contracted to create Mula Bandha. • Sphincter Of Oddi: contracted to create Uddiyana Bandha. • Upper Esophageal Sphincter: contracted to create Jalandhara bandha The fourth bandha, Maha Bandha, can only be created when all three locks have been formed. In essence, the application of the first three bandhas will build the fourth bandha. In applying the bandhas, you must exercise some level of physical and mental control. Benefits Of Bandhas Applying the bandhas in yoga has both physical and astral benefits. These two categories of bandhas benefits will ultimately result in the physical and mental well-being that you enjoy through yoga. When it comes to physical benefits, bandhas will help you activate the muscles. They can also stimulate the organs and glands. One way to look at this is the activation of the muscles in the pelvic floor whenever the Mula bandha is activated. Additionally, the reproductive organs are stimulated. The Mula bandha tones these muscles and increases their level of functioning and performance. The astral benefit of bandhas has to with the stimulation the chakras experience when the energies around them are locked. For instance, the bandha increases the flow around the chakras as the prana moves. The stimulation of the chakras is what helps in the buildup of mental and physical wellbeing. However, understanding how bandhas bring out these physical and astral effects and understanding what constitutes the pranas is crucial. You should note that prana means “vital energy” or “life force.” These pranas are what we need to perform our life activities like breathing, speaking, and moving efficiently. Therefore, to do these activities, we need different energies, which we call pranas. Here are the major pranas that give energy for the major life activities. • Apana: The energy that aids excretion like urinating and sweating. • Samana: The force that functions for digestion and metabolism. • Prana: The force whose function is for the heart to work. • Vyana: The energy that aids movement and circulation. • Udana: The energy required for body actions like eye movement and talking. The proper application of these energies in the body will help you build a functioning body system while also aiding the body’s healing and regeneration. Conclusion The truth is that the application of these locks can be uncomfortable at first. However, as you practice and endure this temporal discomfort, you will ease into the practice. Make sure that before you get started on these locks, you are comfortably seated. As you start doing them in their proper form, you will stimulate astral and chakras.
