In the last piece about mulha bandha and its relationship to the pelvic floor muscles I eluded to the muscle that might be most associated with uddhiyana bandha. Well, here we are continuing down the path to try and bridge the subtle and gross of our bodies as best we can.
Again, I should mention that the bandhas in particular are an area that I shy away from making too anatomical, as they are energetic components, not physical. After all, I consider myself a yogi first, anatomist second. However, There are physical parts that can help us understand and relate to these more subtle aspects of our anatomy. For mulha bandha it was the pelvic floor, for uddhiyana… well, let’s talk about this for a minute.
I often ask the question, how would you know if someone was engaging or using their bandhas? The answer in some form or fashion is that you see the results. You see the qualities created by mulha and uddhiyana in the individual as they move and practice. What are the qualities? mulha is the root lock, which means one would observe a grounded quality to the asana being performed. uddhiyana on the other hand means upward flying and is often observed as an overall ease and particularly a lightness in the practice. The very famous, floating aspect in advanced practitioners is a sign of bandha use and control.
This is not to say that there is no muscular effort, there most definitely is. One must also have strength to make these movements happen but to look effortless seems to require the use of the subtle aspects of our being.
I know I’ve been keeping some of you in suspense about what physical part of the body is related to uddhiyana, but some of you have probably guessed already. If you haven’t, it’s the psoas muscle. I’ve already written a short article on the psoas posted on the website. For our purposes today I want to tie the workings of mulha and uddhiyana together.
There are three muscles that one could associate with the word psoas. First is the very small psoas minor muscle. Second, is the psoas major. Third is the Iliacus muscle which when combined with the psoas major is known as the Iliopsoas. The psoas minor is somewhat disregarded as it a small muscle with a long tendon, meaning it’s not very powerful.
It is the function of the iliopsoas (the combination of iliacus and psoas major) as the strongest hip flexor of the body that brings everyone’s attention to it. This movement of hip flexion is essential to us as humans as it is what takes us forward in our daily life. It is the primary muscle for walking. Although you could simplify walking as flexing the femur so that one foot goes in front of the other, it’s certainly much more complex than that, and requires many other muscles to carry out this complicated and coordinated action.
What we’re essentially doing is both controlling and moving our center of gravity forward in space. We’re balancing it on those two long sticks we call legs. Our physical center of gravity is near the top of our sacrum. It’s only slightly different for men or women, but not so much. As we transition into other types of movements, especially if you think of graceful dancers, or powerful changes in direction like football players, what we essentially do is control the center of gravity in our body.
The psoas is perfectly positioned to make this happen. It is a two-sided muscle, each side a more or less tapering tube-shaped piece of myofascia falling on either side of our center of gravity. What this means, is that it is going to be intrinsically linked with the control of this area of the body.
When one jumps back, forward, or lifts up into a handstand they are essentially controlling their center of gravity over, or in relation to, their foundation (in this case hands). I hate to over-simplify it, but it’s having a connection to ones center physically and energetically. Awareness of the psoas, and attempted use of it, seems to trigger the resultant effect of uddhiyana bandha, flying upward with control and lightness. At the very least you should feel the beginnings of it and it would need to be refined over time.
There is of course one more element that should be discussed if you’re talking about bandha… and that is breath, without it, there is no prana to control. Perhaps next time we’ll discuss that.
If you can find your psoas and move from it and with it, you should find, strength, stability as well as control and lightness. I’ve put together a couple of resources for you here. Included is a videoclip of me leading students through some suryanamaskara with a psoas focus. It’s from a recent Yoga Anatomy workshop at Still Point Yoga London. On the same page is a great psoas article by Liz Koch, known for looking at so many of the aspects and effects of having awareness of this muscle. And, if you’d like more from me… you can download just the psoas section of my YogAnatomy Volume 2 at the shop here.
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[...] the last two newsletters I’ve covered both mula and uddiyana bandha from an anatomical point of view. I feel the need to finish off these two articles with one [...]
Hmmm… I was thinking the transverse abdominus played more of a role than the psoas. Any thoughts?
Well, you’re thinking of the actual drawing in of the abdomen, which is definitely related to the way in which we stimulate uddhiyana bandha. This is the action if you will. However, what we’re really after is the affect of uddhiyana, the quality that it creates. So I offer psoas as the functional component of creating the qualities of uddhiyana bandha on the physical level. Such as lightness and control. I hope that helps.
David
Surely as students and teachers we are looking for the action first – in order to get the effect? Anatomically speaking, are we not talking about a number of muscles which together stabilize the lower spine? Most students who have overindulged in food and have sat in chairs all their lives have lost the natural tone of the transverse abdominis, resulting in loss of essential support of the lower spine and the resulting epidemic of lower back pain.
Uddiyana bandha is an important aspect of pranayama practice – Guruji used to press his fingers deep into the abdomen of the student, so that he/she would contract the transverse/oblique muscles and draw the internal organs towards the spine. He also guided us to press our fingers into the abdomen in Uttita Hasta Padangustasana and Prasarita Padottanasana B – again stimulating the contraction of the obliques and transverse abdominis.
I would suggest, that in chaturanga, for instance, the transverse abdominis and obliques must play an equally if not more important role (not that we could do without any of these muscles). Maybe what you are talking about is the actions of jumping rather than asana, because in asana, an important function of the bandha and contraction of the obliques/transverse is on breathing as well and preventing hernia.
You are absolutely right… no muscle every works alone or by itself. I say it in workshops all the time. This is especially true to stabilize the lower spine.
The thrust of this post was begging the question of what anatomically creates the appearance as well experiences of lightness that we associate with uddiyana? What helps us move in an effortless and efficient way through our practice? My answer to this aspect is psoas. I wouldn’t limit this to the “actions of jumping rather than asana”. Not at all. I also would not say that your transverse abdominus or other obliques and rectus abdominus are not important stabilizers. They actually help the psoas do its work. They are definitely needed and all work together.
Having said all of that. Psoas is not your uddiyana. Transverse abdominus is not your uddiyana. Uddiyana is energetic and at best is stimulated by muscular contraction? Or is it the mental/mind that controls prana? Is it not more important to have a clear and strong mental focus or Intention of activating these energetic components? I would suggest that the psoas helps bridge this gap between subtle and gross more effectively than the abdominals. I find it to be a better mental hook of sorts that gets people headed in the right direction, a place of focus.
Which leads me to suggest that INTENTION comes even before action… through intention and action, yes we get an effect. I have put people’s intention on moving from their psoas hundreds of times now. Let them see images of it. Help them to feel their own and then hold it as an intention of moving from that place through a few sun salutations. Yes, back to movmement… and those that do feel a difference in those sun salutations all report similar experiences from a change in intention, which creates an action and an effect. That sensation can be carried into the static aspect of other asana as well.
The overall uddiyana conversation is much bigger and broader than the psoas. I wasn’t trying to suggest that the psoas was the be all end all of uddiyana or suggest that no other muscles might be used.