The Three Bandhas

Bandha means bind, lock, or hold. There are three that matter, they are physical actions performed by identifiable muscles, and they are usually described in language so vague that people practise them for years without knowing whether they are doing anything.

Here they are in muscles.

Mula bandha — the root

What it is: a lift and contraction of the pelvic floor. Specifically the deeper layer, and specifically towards the front — around the perineum, between the anus and the genitals — rather than a general clench of everything down there.

How to find it: the muscle you would use to stop urinating midstream is adjacent to it but not it. Squeezing the anus is also adjacent and not it. What you want is the space between them, lifting upward and slightly forward.

Try this: sit upright on a firm surface. Exhale fully. At the bottom of the exhale, draw upward from the perineum, as if lifting a small point in the centre of the pelvic floor towards the navel. Nothing else should move — not the buttocks, not the belly, not the thighs.

What it should feel like: subtle. A small internal lift, not a squeeze. If your buttocks tighten or your breath stops, you are doing too much.

Intensity: perhaps twenty to thirty percent effort, held lightly, sustained. This is not a maximal contraction.

What it does: stabilises the base of the trunk, subtly lengthens the lower spine by drawing the tailbone forward, and gives the abdominal work above it something to press against.

Uddiyana bandha — the abdominal lift

What it is: on an empty exhale with the breath held out, the abdominal wall is drawn back and up under the ribcage. The diaphragm rises, creating a hollow under the ribs.

Important distinction: there are two versions and confusing them is the main source of trouble.

The full version — dramatic, hollow under the ribs, only possible on a full exhale with the breath held out. A discrete practice, done on an empty stomach, in sets. Not something you hold during asana.

The working version — a light, continuous engagement of the lower abdominal wall drawing back towards the spine, maintained while breathing normally. This is what is meant when a teacher cues it during practice.

Full instructions in its own note. Learn the full version separately, and use the light version in asana.

Jalandhara bandha — the throat

What it is: the chin lowers towards the top of the sternum while the sternum lifts to meet it, and the back of the neck stays long. Both movements — most people only do the first, which is just dropping the head.

What it does: compresses the throat, which is used during breath retention to prevent pressure building in the head and ears. It also stops air escaping during a hold.

When it is used: almost exclusively during retention in seated pranayama, and in shoulderstand where the position produces it naturally. Not during asana generally.

The order to learn them in

Mula bandha first, on its own, seated. Five minutes daily. Just finding it and holding it lightly.

Then mula bandha during asana. Standing poses first, where the effort is obvious. Then everything else.

Then the light abdominal engagement, added to mula bandha. The two together form what is often called the lower lock, and it stabilises everything above.

Then full uddiyana, as a separate practice on an empty stomach.

Then jalandhara, when you start working with retention.

Then all three together — maha bandha, the great lock — which is an advanced practice and belongs with a teacher.

Most people meet them in a class as three words in a list and then have no idea what to do about it. Six months on mula bandha alone is a reasonable investment.

The two errors

Gripping. These are subtle sustained actions, not maximal contractions. A hard clench of the pelvic floor does the opposite of what is intended: it makes the pelvic floor tense and short, and a tense pelvic floor is a weak pelvic floor. If your buttocks are squeezing, you have gone too far.

Holding permanently. Some traditions cue mula bandha continuously throughout practice. Others use it only at moments of effort and transition. For most people the second is safer. A pelvic floor held at thirty percent for an hour daily for years can develop the opposite problem to weakness — chronic over-tension, which has its own set of consequences.

If you have any pelvic floor history, or you are working on this after childbirth, get guidance from a pelvic health physiotherapist rather than from a yoga class. This is a specialist area and general cueing is not adequate.

What they are actually for

Stability. A trunk with a lifted pelvic floor and a lightly engaged abdominal wall is a more stable base to move a limb from. In arm balances and inversions this is not optional; without it, the middle of the body sags and the shape cannot hold.

Direction of effort. The locks give the breath something to work against and give the practitioner something specific to attend to at the moment of greatest effort, which is when attention usually scatters.

The traditional account describes them as redirecting prana within the body. That framing is coherent within its own system, and if it is useful to you, use it. The mechanical account above is sufficient to practise from and is checkable, which the other is not.