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 November 2002 questions are posted below. ( View Archive )

Test yourself, November, 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 four and five 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" and "Test yourself, Oct, 2002, with answers," I suggest that you go to the archives and read them now, as the following comments will assume you have considered and absorbed those basic principles. Then turn to the pertinent poses in four and five as discussed below.

Figures 4.15-4.18. With the feet held parallel, whether together or slightly apart, ashwini mudra and mula bandha (the root lock) are in a state of relative balance, in that it is difficult to strongly contract one without the other. The slightest variation in posture, however, makes a big difference in emphasis. Standing up very straight favors ashwini mudra, and relaxing, as in letting the pelvis move slightly to the rear, permits selectively contracting the muscles of the urogenital triangle as in mula bandha.

Figures 4.19-4.20. All standing backbends (whether whole-body or relaxed) with the feet parallel strongly favor ashwini mudra over mula bandha.

Figures 4.21-4.26. All forward bends make it difficult and even inadvisable to hold ashwini mudra, and make it an easy option to hold mula bandha.

Figures 4.27-4.31. Side bends with the feet parallel are all neutral with respect to ashwini mudra, much as in figures 4.15-4.18.

Figures 4.32-4.34. The second you shift one foot to the side (lateral rotation of that thigh) in the triangle or its preparatory poses, you will strongly favor the application of ashwini mudra. You can then either relax the muscles of the urogenital triangle (mula bandha) or hold them firmly if you have that conscious intention.

Figures 4.35-4.36. The second you swivel the hips and come forward in the revolving triangle, you can no longer hold ashwini mudra, but mula bandha feels very natural.

Figures 4.37-4.38. The slightest bending of the knees and hips in the eagle makes it impossible to hold ashwini mudra. For men, with the genitals tucked to the rear (behind the tightly clasped thighs), mula bandha comes very naturally, and with the genitals left forward (in front of the clasped thighs), mula bandha becomes optional but largely redundant.

Figures 4.39-4.40. Tree postures are neutral with respect to favoring ashwini mudra in relation to mula bandha, much as in the case of figures 4.15-4.18.

Figures 5.1, 5.3-5.4, and 5.7. All forward bends make it difficult to hold ashwini mudra, and make it inadvisable to try.

Figures 5.2 and 5.6. All backward bends make it easy to hold ashwini mudra and make it awkward and unnecessary to hold mula bandha.

Figure 5.8. Heels together strongly defines ashwini mudra, and dropping the heels to the sides releases ashwini mudra.

Figures 5.9-5.23. All cobras, upward-facing dogs, locusts, prone boats, and bow poses strongly favor ashwini mudra and make mula bandha irrelevant and unnecessary. The diaphragmatic rear lift and the cobra with relaxed lower extremities are of course exceptions, and require that one concentrate intently not to hold ashwini mudra in order to create these two poses. This is not easy.

Figure 5.26-5.27. There is so much concentration on postural adjustments necessary for lifting the lumbar region in the lumbar lift and for pressing the lumbar region to the floor in the lumbar press that ashwini mudra and mula bandha are irrelevant and unnecessary in both cases.

Figure 5.28. Fish postures are neutral with respect to ashwini mudra and mula bandha.

Figure 5.29. Wheel postures strongly activate ashwini mudra in isolation.

Figure 5.30-5.32. Lying on a playground ball is neutral as far as ashwini mudra is concerned. Mula bandha is unnatural and irrelevant.

Figures 5.34-5.35. Camel poses all strongly activate ashwini mudra, the more so the more you thrust your hips forward. Mula bandha is irrelevant and unnecessary.