Uddiyana Bandha Anatomically Speaking By David Keil © 2010

Understanding uddiyana bandha

In the last piece about mula bandha and its relationship to the pelvic floor muscles, I alluded to the muscle that might be most associated with uddiyana 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 and an anatomist second. However, there are physical parts that can help us understand and relate to these more subtle aspects of our anatomy. For mula bandha it was the pelvic floor, for uddiyana… well, let’s talk about this for a minute.

How do we know if someone is using their bandhas?

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 mula and uddiyana bandha in the individual as they move and practice. What are the qualities? Mula is the root lock, which means one would observe a grounded quality to the asana being performed. Uddiyana bandha on the other hand means upward flying and is often observed as an overall ease and particularly a lightness in the yoga 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 also require the use of the subtle aspects of our being.

Uddiyana and the psoas muscle

I know I’ve been keeping some of you in suspense about what physical part of the body is related to uddiyana. 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 mula and uddiyana 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 is 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. The 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. Many other muscles are required to carry out this complicated and coordinated action.

A functional uddiyana bandha

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 and women, but not so much. If we think of other types of movement, like graceful dancers, or the powerful changes in direction of football players, what they are doing is controlling the center of gravity in their body.

The psoas is perfectly positioned to make this happen. It is a two-sided muscle. Each side is a more or less tapered, tube-shaped piece of myofascia falling on either side of our center of gravity. What this means, is that it is intrinsically linked with the control of this area of the body.

Connecting to the center of your body

When you jump back, forward, or lift up into a handstand you are essentially controlling your center of gravity. You’re controlling your center in relation to your foundation, which in this case is your hands. I hate to over-simplify it, but uddiyana bandha is having a connection to one’s center, physically and energetically. One result of psoas awareness of the psoas, and an intentional use of it, seems to be the effect of uddiyana bandha – flying upward with control and lightness. At the very least, with attention to the psoas you should feel the beginnings of uddiyana bandha and can then refine that over time.

There is of course one more element that we need to discuss, if we’re talking about bandha. And, that is breath. Without it there is no prana to control. Perhaps next time we’ll discuss that.