Body and Breath - Yoga Shop Talk

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Yoga shoptalk, October, 2002

Comment: I am confused by inconsistencies among various teachers in their presentations of ashwini mudra and mula bandha. And apart from being generally vague and unclear with respect to distinctions between the two practices, a teacher will often present only one of the two in any detail and gloss over the other (if they mention it at all). My question: What is the difference between ashwini mudra and mula bandha, and do the two practices overlap in some way?

Answer: These are indeed confusing issues unless you have some understanding of the anatomy of the pelvis and anatomical perineum, which you will find outlined on pages 145 and 177-187 of Anatomy of Hatha Yoga. Once you grasp the anatomy, the details of the anatomical correlates of ashwini mudra and mula bandha are clear and relatively simple. In addition to outlining the main issues in this short essay, we'll treat this important topic over a period of several months in the questions and answers section of this web site.

Picture first the pelvic diaphragm. It is a conical or hammock-shaped sheet of muscle located at the base of the body that supports the internal pelvic organs. The anus is at the apex of the cone and the genitals are located externally on the forward- and down-facing surface, hanging from that surface in the case of the male, and overlaid unobtrusively on it in the case of the female. If you stand up with the feet about a foot apart, heels in and toes out, and squeeze your hips together, you will find yourself lifting this cone and reinforcing its lift with the contraction of the gluteal muscles. In this standing position there will be little or no contraction of the muscles associated with the genitals. Squeeze in and up vigorously for a few seconds, relax, and squeeze in and up again. This is the practice of ashwini mudra. If you want to do it in concert with breathing it is most natural to exhale while squeezing and inhale while relaxing.

Any practice or posture that encourages the pulling in and up of the pelvic diaphragm supports the practice of ashwini mudra. The upward-facing dog posture while keeping the pelvis lifted slightly away from the floor is a superb example. The practice is also often taught in prone postures such as the crocodile, but these are not ideal for instructional purposes since the contact of the genitals with the floor, especially in the case of the male, may in itself stimulate the muscles of the genitals, which we want to avoid at least on the start for introducing and experimenting with ashwini mudra.

Next, come on all fours (hands and knees). Then drop the elbows to the floor, overlap the hands, lower the chest (at the same time accentuating the lumbar curve), and rest the forehead against the overlapped hands or wrists. Feel two things in this position, first how the anus has an exposed character, and second how it is awkward if not impossible in this position to practice ashwini mudra. What you can do, however, is repetitively twitch the muscles of the genitals. And if instead of twitching them you hold them in a state of mild isometric contraction, you will be doing the purest form of mula bandha, or the root lock. The rule: any posture that favors contraction of the muscles of the genitals over lifting of the pelvic diaphragm favors mula bandha. For example, if you stand with the big toes together and heels apart, you can easily contract the muscles of the genitals without recruiting the pelvic diaphragm. The same thing happens in the down-facing dog.

The practices of ashwini mudra and mula bandha do indeed frequently overlap. For example, in mula bandha there will often be a very gentle contraction of the pelvic diaphragm in concert with more marked contraction of the muscles surrounding the genitals. Also, overlap occurs anytime there is confusion, such as in the crocodile, mentioned earlier. And meditative sitting postures are a constant trial. If you sit up perfectly, the posture tips the pelvis anteriorly, which favors contact of your seat with the genitals, thus encouraging mula bandha, but if you slump, the pelvis is tipped posteriorly so that the plane of the anus and coccyx contacts your seat, thus favoring ashwini mudra. The pelvic geometric that dictates these results is illustrated on page 145.