Body and Breath

Each month a new series of 10 questions will be posted on the Test Yourself page. The following month the questions will then be posted here along with the answers and explanations.

Answers to the September 2002 questions are posted below. ( View Archive )

Test yourself, September, 2002, with answers

You are teaching practical aspects of anatomy to a group of experienced hatha yoga teachers. The assignment: Using the postures discussed in the last half (beginning on page 177) of chapter three of Anatomy of Hatha Yoga as a frame of reference, discuss how various postures encourage or discourage the practices of ashwini mudra and mula bandha.

Looking carefully, I am finding it is difficult to improve on many of the comments in the text. Therefore, quoting first from chapter three, page 183, for ashwini mudra:

"Some postures make a pure ashwini mudra easy, and others make it difficult. If you stand with the feet well apart and bend forward 20-30°, you will find it awkward to contract the anus and pelvic diaphragm, and almost impossible to contract them without activating the muscles around the genitals as well. Now stand upright with the heels and toes together and try it again. This is easier. If you don't tighten too vigorously you may be able to isolate the pelvic diaphragm and the gluteals from the muscles of the genitals. Next, bend backward gently, keeping the heels together and the thighs rotated out so the feet are pointed 90° away from one another. Keep the knees extended. Then tighten gently behind and try to release in front. This is one of the easiest upright postures in which to accomplish a pure ashwini mudra. Last, bring the toes together and rotate the heels out. This again makes it difficult."

"These simple experiments illustrate the general rule: any posture that pulls the hips together will make ashwini mudra easier, and any posture that pulls the hips apart will make it more difficult. That, as it happens, is one problem with all cross-legged sitting postures. Try it. When the thighs are flexed with respect to the spine and abducted out to the sides, it is almost impossible to contract the gluteals and only a little less difficult to isolate the anus and pelvic diaphragm from the genitals. But if you try the mudra in the shoulderstand or headstand with the heels together and the toes out, you will find that it is easy because gravity is already pulling the pelvic diaphragm toward the floor. Little or no effort is needed to achieve a fully pulled-in feeling, and that effort need not involve the genitals. Now lie supine on the floor and notice that you can easily tighten up in the rear without recruiting muscles around the genitals. Prone, it is more difficult, at least in men, in whom the muscles associated with the genitals are stimulated by contact with the floor."

"One of the best postures for ashwini mudra is the upward-facing dog. As long as the pelvis is lifted slightly off the floor (figs. 5.13-14), it is impossible to do this pose without activating the pelvic diaphragm, yet it does not stimulate the muscles in the urogenital triangle in the least. The down-facing dog (figs. 6.17 and 8.26), not surprisingly, creates the opposite effect: this posture is one of the easiest poses for recruiting the muscles of the urogenital region in isolation, but a pose in which it is almost impossible to isolate the muscles associated with ashwini mudra."

Next, for mula bandha, again quoting from chapter three, pages 183-187:

"In ashwini mudra we strongly activate the pelvic diaphragm, the anus, and the gluteals. Mula bandha is more delicate. Here we mildly activate the pelvic diaphragm plus-more strongly-the overlying muscles of the urogenital triangle, which includes the muscles associated with the genitals and the urethra. Therefore, to understand mula bandha we have to examine the anatomical disposition of these muscles."

"Looking at a superficial dissection, we see that three pairs of muscles overlie the genitals. In both male (fig. 3.28) and female (fig. 3.29), the superficial transverse perineal muscles course laterally in the shared border of the urogenital and anal triangles, extending laterally from a heavy band of centrally located connective tissue-the central tendon of the perineum-to the ischial tuberosities. The bulbospongiosus muscles in the male encircle the base of the penis; in the female those same muscles encircle the vagina and urethra. The ischiocavernosus muscles in both the male and female lie superficial to the erectile tissues of the corpora cavernosa, which themselves course from the inferior pubic rami to the body of the penis in the male and to the clitoris in the female. In a slightly deeper plane of the urogenital diaphragm (in both male and female), the deep transverse perineal muscles spread out laterally in sheets that attach to the inferior pubic rami, and the urethral sphincters encircle the urethrae."

"Unlike ashwini mudra, which is often a response to sharp and sudden increases in abdominopelvic pressure, mula bandha (the root lock) is a gentle contraction of the pelvic diaphragm and the muscles of the urogenital triangle. It does not counter intra-abdominal pressure so much as it seals urogenital energy within the body, controlling and restraining it during breathing exercises and meditation (again, this is a literary rather than a scientific use of the term "energy"). What actually happens is more easily sensed than described, so we'll begin with a series of exercises."

"First try sitting in a hard chair covered with a thin cushion. In a neutral position, neither perfectly upright or slumped, try to blow out but without letting any air escape. Try hard. Notice that the pelvic region contracts and lifts up involuntarily enough to counter the downward push from the chest and abdominal wall. Now try the mock blowing maneuver again, but this time keep the pelvic region relaxed, and notice that it feels like straining for a bowel movement. Try it one last time, but this time lift the entire anatomical perineum consciously, and you will quickly sense that these efforts bring both the pelvic diaphragm and the muscles of the urogenital region into play. Next sit really straight, arching the lower back forward. Exhale, pressing in with the abdominal muscles, and notice that it is natural to find a focus for your attention at a point between the anus and genitals. You may sense a slight tension in the muscles of the genitals, but little or none in the anus, and certainly none in the gluteal muscles. This describes the root lock. You don't have to make extreme efforts. The cushion on which you are sitting places enough pressure on the muscles of the urogenital triangle to focus your awareness on the lock."

"Now try the same exercise in a slumped posture with the back rounded to the rear. This changes everything. It shifts your attention from the front of the anatomical perineum to the rear, and it elicits a mild ashwini mudra instead of mula bandha because you are tipping backward toward the plane of the anal triangle and away from the plane of the urogenital triangle. (The angle between these two planes is shown clearly in fig. 3.4). Sitting straight rocks you up and forward so that contact with the cushion favors the root lock. The lesson: sit straight if you wish to apply mula bandha."

"If this is still confusing, it will be helpful to first experience a gross version of the root lock. The best concentration exercise for this is to sit upright and try breathing in concert with slowly increasing and decreasing tension in the perineum. With the beginning of exhalation gradually tighten the muscles of the pelvic diaphragm and genitals, aiming for maximum contraction at the end of exhalation. As inhalation begins, slowly relax. Repeat the cycle for ten breaths several times a day. At first it may be difficult to tighten the muscles without also tightening the gluteal muscles, but if you are careful to sit straight it will become easy."

"With practice you will be able to sense the contraction of successive layers of muscles from the outside in. Starting superficially and with a minimal effort, you can feel activity in the ischiocavernosus, bulbospongiosus, and superficial transverse perineal muscles. And with a little more attention you can activate the deep transverse perineal muscles and the urethral sphincter. And with yet more effort you can activate the pelvic diaphragm."

"The central tendon of the perineum, which as discussed previously is located at the dividing line between the anal and urogenital triangles, appears to be the key structure around which the more delicate versions of mula bandha are organized. This is an extremely tough fascial region into which the superficial and deep transverse perineal muscles insert. If you can learn to focus your attention on this tiny region while creating minimal physical contraction of the nearby muscles, you will be feeling the root lock. (Yoga teachers who speak of placing awareness on the perineum are referring to this region.) Concentrate on the sensation, and in time mula bandha will feel natural and comfortable. With experience you can hold the lock constantly, which is what yogis recommend for meditation."

"In addition to the down-facing dog (figs. 6.17 and 8.26), which was just mentioned in the section on ashwini mudra, one of the best yoga postures for helping you come in contact with the delicacy and precision of the root lock is a modified cat pose. From a kneeling position, bring your chin to the floor, swing your elbows out, and bring the upper part of the chest as low as possible, arching your back deeply and mimicking a cat peering under a couch (fig. 3.30). Then tighten the perineal region generally. You will immediately notice that the exposed anus in this position brings the sensations toward the front of the diamond-shaped perineum rather than behind, and that even if you squeeze vigorously the gluteal muscles remain relaxed. After you have practiced this pose several times and gotten accustomed to its associated sensations, you can try to find the same feelings when you apply the root lock in sitting postures."

The rest of chapter three deals with practices such as A and P breathing, agni sara, uddiyana bandha, and nauli. The following comments will assume you have at least scanned through the rest of the chapter.

In the case of practices discussed within the section titled agni sara (pages 188-195), they are all reflexly accompanied by at least mild contraction of the pelvic diaphragm and muscles of the urogenital triangle. In other words this happens automatically without having to think about it. If you try the first experiment that deals with forced exhalation through pursed lips, however, it becomes obvious that these same muscles are tightened more vigorously to keep the lower sphincters of the urinary and digestive tract tightly sealed for the sake of tidiness.

There is one point of possible controversy in this section that warrants a closer look. On page 192 the comment is made that:

"The airway is open in agni sara, and intra-abdominal pressure remains in approximate equilibrium with atmospheric pressure, so it is not necessary to apply mula bandha. And it is not only unnecessary to apply ashwini mudra-in the bent-forward position it is impractical. Beginners, however, may find it helpful to establish the root lock while they are learning to activate the wavelike recruitment of abdominal muscles from below. Focusing their attention on the front of the perineum may help them develop and refine the practice. After that they should stop paying special attention to the root lock. It is not a part of this practice."

I am pointing this out for two reasons, first because many teachers find that students are able to learn the practice of agni sara more quickly and easily by focusing on mula bandha (the root lock) as a preparatory step. The last two sentences in the quote are included, however, because Swami Rama was once heard to make similar comments privately in response to hearing a teacher make a big deal out of applying mula bandha for the practice of agni sara.

To accomplish uddiyana bandha and nauli, one again reflexly keeps the pelvic diaphragm and muscles of the urogenital triangle in a state of mild isometric contraction. There are two other practices, however, that were not included in the text because they are too esoteric for the general reader. They are worth mentioning here because they illustrate some features of the muscles at the base of the body. Neither of these practices should be done without specific instruction from an experienced teacher.

For beginning practice of vajroli mudra, a sterile urethral catheter is inserted in the penis and sterile water is sucked into the bladder by applying uddiyana bandha along with either nauli or more simply by tightening all of the abdominal muscles, which creates enough of a vacuum in the abdominopelvic cavity to draw liquid up the catheter and into the bladder. (Women could presumably do this as well with a specially constructed catheter, but I've never heard of anyone trying it.) With advanced practice it is said that one can do the practice without using a catheter by simply inserting the end of the penis in a bucket of water. This would obviously require total relaxation of the urethral sphincter as well as an abdominopelvic vacuum. To be honest, I would have to see it to believe it.

For beginning practice of basti, or vasti, you insert an enema cannula in the anus, sit on your heels in a tub of water, and suck water into the lower digestive tract exactly as in the case of vajroli mudra for the bladder. As soon as you have come to the end of your capacity for holding your breath (fully exhaled to your residual capacity) and of keeping your abdominal muscles tight, thus generating an abdominopelvic vacuum, you hold your finger over the end of the cannula (to keep water from running freely out and soiling your tub of water), and breathe freely. Then you re-establish uddiyana bandha with abdominal muscle contraction, and as soon as you are set with your maximum abdominopelvic vacuum, you release your finger and again feel water rush in. This procedure is repeated 10-15 times to capacity, at which time you stand, squeeze your maximum ashwini mudra, and holding tight, gingerly remove the cannula, waddle over to the toilet, and release the water from the lower intestine. As in the case of advanced vajroli mudra, it is said that experts are able to suck water in and control its exit without the benefit of a cannula. Again, I would have to see it to believe it.

These two practices illustrate several important principles. First, you have to generate a substantial abdominopelvic vacuum (much more than that which is generated by uddiyana bandha alone) in order to draw water up and into the bladder or colon. Second, controlling the exit of water from the colon is purely a function of the anal sphincter and ashwini mudra. Third, controlling the exit of water and/or urine from the bladder is a function of both ashwini mudra and more importantly the muscles of the urogenital diaphragm, including the urethral sphincters. Fourth, the practices bring into stark perspective the nature of the sphincters, pelvic diaphragm, and urogenital diaphragm in retaining urine and feces until one is ready to eliminate. And fifth, the practices illustrate not the ubiquitous use of the sphincters and muscles of the pelvic floor in controlling outward flow, but in relaxing (in the cases of the supposed advanced practices) to permit inflow.