#Seated hatha yoga sequence how to#

This facilitates the widening of the front of the pelvis and helps draw the thighs and knees away from each other. Next, move the sitting bones toward each other. Bring your pelvis into a more neutral alignment by moving your buttocks forward, so that they’re underneath your shoulders as you draw the lower ribs back. To help remedy this, find Mula Bandha in Virabhadrasana II by lifting the pelvic floor, the pubic bone, and the sternum. The knees buckle inward, bringing too much weight to the inner edges of the feet. From here, the buttocks go back and the lower ribs jut forward. But all too often the pelvis listlessly drops into an anterior tilt, the front thigh turns in, and the belly becomes slack. Virabhadrasana II, when done well, is a classic illustration of Mula Bandha in action. Mula Bandha in Virabhadrasana II (Warrior Pose II) This leads you into a hybrid pose, which contains both extension and flexion and creates a neutral pelvis, making it possible to engage Mula Bandha during both the inhalation and the exhalation. This action brings length and leanness to the waist so that the ribs and thighs are drawn slightly away from each other. However, it is possible to retain the lift of the pelvic floor with the inhalation if it is accompanied by a light lift of the pubic bone, navel, and lower ribs.

With the subsequent inhalation, there is a natural tendency to release the pelvic floor and allow the rib cage to drop toward the thighs. Here’s why: In Prana Dog it is more difficult to access the lift of the pelvic floor, whereas that lift happens naturally at the end of the exhalation in Apana Dog. As you exhale, return to the Apana Dog flexion position of the spine, and again focus on how the pelvic floor lifts. Keep lengthening and lightly lifting the area between the coccyx and the pubic bone, between the pubic bone and the navel, and between the navel and the lower ribs. With the next inhalation, create Prana Dog by extending your spine from your tailbone, but don’t allow your ribs to sink too far toward your thighs. Notice that at the end of the exhalation, the pelvic floor naturally draws upward-this is Mula Bandha. Then exhale and flex your spine by tucking your pelvis, slightly rounding your shoulders, drawing your ribs up, and looking toward your navel. See also A Woman’s Guide to Mula Bandha Mula Bandha in Adho Mukha Svanasana variations (Prana Dog and Apana Dog)ĭownward-Facing Dog is an excellent pose in which to practice Mula Bandha, especially if you explore two different expressions of the pose: Prana Dog, which is linked to the inhalation, and Apana Dog, which is linked to the exhalation.įrom Downward Dog, inhale and extend your spine by taking your head and shoulders toward the floor, drawing your hips away from your hands, and lifting and spreading your sitting bones. When your pelvis is neutral and you find Mula Bandha in Tadasana, you’ll feel a sense of stability without gripping. As you do this, lift the pelvic floor and lengthen the waist and groins-again, this is Mula Bandha. To find it from the posterior position, draw your hips slightly back until the buttocks relax and the lumbar spine regains its natural curve. To find neutral, stand with your pelvis anteriorly tilted, then lightly lift first the pubic bone and then the pelvic floor as you lengthen the groins-this is Mula Bandha. When it is in the posterior tilt, the buttocks clench and, again, the groins shorten. Then, exhale and bring the hips and buttocks forward, flattening the lumbar spine and pulling the pelvis into a posterior tilt.ĭo this several times, and begin to notice that when the pelvis is in the anterior position, the muscles in the lower back tighten and the inner groins shorten. As you inhale, draw the hips and buttocks slightly backward and increase the curvature in the lumbar spine. Stand upright with your feet together and your arms by your sides. To find this neutral position, explore the potential placement of the pelvis. In Tadasana, you want this basin to be in a neutral position so that if the basin were filled with a precious liquid, it wouldn’t spill out the front or the back. With a few simple adjustments, you can learn to integrate Mula Bandha, one of four bandhas mentioned in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and the Gheranda Samhita, into your daily asana practice. The bandhas are mechanisms by which a yogi can direct the flow of prana, the universal life-force energy that animates and unites us all.

#Seated hatha yoga sequence how to#

Here, begin experimenting with how to integrate Mula Bandha into your asana practice. Mula Bandha may be the most befuddling, underinstructed technique in the world of yoga. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!