Bandha
Body Locks
What is Bandha?
Kundalini yoga challenges each student to go inside themselves and build upon their spiritual self. One of the practices that paves the road to enlightenment is the humble bandha. These movements are often seen within sessions as a new dimension of the practice takes hold of each student.
The “bandha” is one of the main elements of Kundalini yoga. Simply meaning “body lock”, these movements or poses engage different muscles and create tension within your body.
Cultivating these skills allows students to enhance their levels of control, focus, and attention as they move through the practice. More than mere locks, each of the bandhas has a deep and profound meaning. Activating them unleashes an immense amount of power, which the student may choose to harness in their practice.
The practice allows you to engage both the prana and apana within your Kundalini yoga. Once you have done so, you will be able to direct these two forms of energy and use them. The inner spiritual self is engaged during this practice and those who master it can create a sense of connectedness between the two. The coming together of the two selves happens within the lock and transforms our inner being as it does so.
“The process of self-healing is the privilege of every being. Self-healing is not a miracle, nor is self-healing a dramatization of the personality as though you could do something superior. Self-healing is a genuine process of the relationship between the physical and the infinite power of the soul.”
Yogi Bhajan
Sensory human being
Yogi Bhajan spoke about the journey toward becoming a sensory human being and the underlying importance of that role. Those who achieve this noble goal are able to maintain a sense of inner calm and sensitivity in a chaotic world. The focus of each bandha is to enhance this element of the practice. We must each develop ourselves in each session and work toward the destination we have created.
Hydraulic pressure
When we begin with bandhas, the aim is to encourage energetic flow throughout the channels within the body. The hydraulic pressure must build to such a point before it is released. Those practicing will desire to hold open their sushmuna and execute strength and control over it. The experience will bring a deep surge of energy which we feel as we maintain the lock and hold our power for a moment in time.
Enhancing the energy flow
Cleansing, restoring, and refreshing the body’s internal systems, bandhas play a central role in our spiritual transformation. Students must feel the energy flow through them while they hold each body lock and have the wisdom to harness that power. As the Kundalini energy comes to life, it rushes through the body and the self. The intensity of this energy must not be underestimated. It takes hold of a part of each student.
Tension release and relief
Tension within the body builds each day. The bandha locks each take an aspect of this pressure and releases it slowly. As we move into the body locks, the relief is great and important to our practice. Having the inner power to hold each and every bandha allows us to release the tension and realign the spine and the spiritual channel that is the sushumna. Engaging in such locks as a student is a colossal and changing experience.
Practicing Body Locks
The Benefits
Body locks, or bandhas, should be a focus of every student’s practice, but what do they offer us and why do they hold such significance? These poses are a part of every Kundalini yoga journey, which is why we must each seek to further understand them and respect their power. We must take a moment to appreciate the benefits that practicing body locks gives to each of us and how we may utilize them within our lives.
1. Increase Kundalini energy
The core benefit of this practice is the enhancement of the Kundalini energy within each of us. Encouraging the flow of this force and allowing it to become one with our inner self is a belief that we all must hold. As the student begins their journey, they will have the chance to take control of the energy and allow it to give them strength in their day to day lives.
2. Encourage control and focus
Control and focus are two traits that each of us must cultivate within each session. Practicing the bandha means invoking these two powers and developing our skills with each lock. Having a sense of attention of focus within your yoga is absolutely vital to your progression and spiritual awakening. Allow these skills to manifest within yourself.
3. Develop core strength
On a purely physical level, these exercises and body locks encourage the growth and development of muscles. As you engage each bandha, your body must create tension and pressure within itself. This practice means that your muscles have to become activated in each lock and will strengthen as a result of the movement.
4. Invoke blissful feelings
Your mind is free, relaxed, and calm. A sense of joy and bliss washes over your body as you remain perfectly still. One of the major benefits of bandha practices is that they invoke feelings of bliss and enhance your levels of relaxation. Some believe that they allow for stress relief and curb worries within the body.
5. Steady emotions and mind
In the same light, you may use the bandha poses to steady erratic emotions and recharge the mind. As the student holds each body lock, they are able to take their focus to any given area. You may use this power to rid yourself of dark or negative feelings. Replacing each of these emotions with a plain and steady alternate allows us to build our strength and resilience. It is a spiritual process that transforms the busy mind in an instant.
6. Protect the spine
Through asanas and kriyas, we must move and contort the body greatly. Bandha practice can aid us in protecting our spines and ensuring that they have both strength and flexibility. Similarly, we can improve our daily posture and stances through these practices and change the ways in which we hold ourselves. The more we challenge our body through this method, the greater the results.
Different Types of Bandha Techniques
Now that you’ve had a brief introduction to the realms of bandhas, we ought to delve deeper into the varying techniques. There are a few different types of bandha, each of which serves a different purpose within the world of Kundalini yoga.
As you learn and master the art of this practice, you will come into contact with a great many locks and quickly add them to your repertoire. If you’re a new student, you should get to know four of the major bandha techniques that you will use within your initial practice.
Maha Bandha
Body Lock Also known as the “Great Lock”, the Maha Bandha is one of the fundamental locks in the practice of Kundalini yoga. It is
Uddiyana Bandha
Bandha The uddiyana bandha (also known as the diaphragm lock) is an at once stimulating and invigorating part of kundalini yoga. When students first come
Jalandhar Bandha
Bandha The Jalandhar Bandha, or Chin Lock, is a powerful and intense body lock. The pose combines pranayama breathing exercises with a medium physical feat
Mula Bandha – Root Lock
Bandha (Body Locks) There is a whole energy system that runs from the base of your spine (or root) all the way up your spinal
“If we are pure, we are clean. Then our soul’s light can shine through our own mind and we can be creative and beautiful. The real strength, the real beauty, is that of the soul which should not be blocked by the darkness of the mind.”
Yogi Bhajan
