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 October 2002 questions are posted below. ( View Archive )

Test yourself, October, 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 chapters one, two, and the first half 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.

Answer: First of all, if you have not read "Test yourself, Sept, 2002, with answers," I suggest that you go to the archives and read it now, as the following comments will assume you have considered and absorbed those basic principles. Then turn to the pertinent poses in chapters one, two, and the first half of chapter three as discussed below.

Figure 1.2. Ashwini mudra is held naturally, but it will be somewhat lopsided, with the gluteal muscles associated with the rearward pointing thigh held more tightly than the muscles associated with the forward facing thigh. Holding mula bandha (the root lock) feels artificial, and is unnecessary.

Figure 1.14. It is unnatural and unnecessary to hold either ashwini mudra or mula bandha in the corpse pose. If you tend to fall asleep in this posture, however, you can hold a mild ashwini mudra, and the concentration necessary to do this constantly will help keep you awake.

Figure 1.15. It is impossible not to hold ashwini mudra vigorously in the prone boat. The position of the genitals against the floor, especially for men, brings some attention as well to mula bandha, but the root lock is so completely overshadowed by ashwini mudra that it is not particularly relevant.

Figure 1.16. The hamstrings-quadriceps thigh pull brings awareness to the root lock, but this position makes ashwini mudra impossible.

Figure 2.10. With respect to ashwini mudra and mula bandha, this variation of the cobra is almost identical to the prone boat in figure 1.15.

Figure 2.11. The diaphragmatic rear lift, which requires that the hips and thighs be kept fully relaxed, is totally inconsistent with ashwini mudra. It feels artificial to hold mula bandha, but it is an option.

Figures 2.16 and 2.17. All standing poses with the feet together are similar with respect to ashwini mudra and mula bandha. With the heels together and the medial surfaces of the feet defining a 90 degree angle, ashwini mudra is easy and natural, and mula bandha is difficult. On the other hand, if the big toes are together, and the heels are splayed apart 90 degrees, ashwini mudra becomes difficult, if not impossible, and mula bandha becomes an option. With the feet together and parallel, you can hold both gestures, but ashwini mudra feels easier and more appropriate.

Figures 2.19, 2.20, and 2.25. If you sit near the edge of a chair, ashwini mudra feels awkward and artificial, and trying to hold the root lock (mula bhanda) continuously requires constant effort. If you sit slightly further back and place a folded washcloth at your perineum, ashwini mudra is about the same, but mula bandha is encouraged by pressure from the washcloth.

Figures 2.22a-c. The corpse pose with sandbag is similar to the corpse pose without a sandbag (Figure 1.14) with respect to mula bandha and ashwini mudra, except that ashwini mudra will never be appropriate, for the simple reason that your mind and body are already fully occupied with feeling and accommodating to the sandbag.

Figures 2.23 and 2.24. Lying prone in any version of the crocodile with the heels held tightly together is a standard practice position for ashwini mudra. The root lock is optional but is overshadowed by ashwini mudra.

Figure 3.1. If you exhale while lifting up in the crunch exercise, the entire pelvic diaphragm, including the superimposed muscles of the urogenital triangle, is gently but firmly pulled in and up. Then while lowering back down during the inhalation phase the pelvic diaphragm is released. In other words, both ashwini mudra and mula bandha are held and released rhythmically with exhalation and inhalation.

Figures 3.16 through 3.23. All the rest of the abdominal exercises in the first half of chapter three are similar with respect to ashwini mudra and mula bandha in that, as in the case of the exhalation phase of the crunch, the entire pelvic diaphragm, including the muscles in the urogenital triangle, are pulled in and up in order to counter increased (sometimes greatly increased, as in the case of the peacock) intra-abdominal pressure. The main contrast, at least in many cases, with the crunch is that you will generally take small exhalations and inhalations continuously and without releasing fully. Only when one lifts the feet all the way up (as in the case of the up phase of the double leglift) or rests them entirely back on the floor at the end of a full inhalation will the intra-abdominal pressure (and with it the tension in the pelvic diaphragm) be fully released.