Body and Breath - Yoga Shop Talk

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Yoga shoptalk, November, 2003

I practice the stomach lift (uddiyana bandha) regularly, but I don’t know how to explain precisely what I am doing to new students. They often get confused about what to do after exhaling, and they make a gasping noise as they release the lock.

Answer: How exactly to accomplish uddiyana bandha is a common source of confusion among both yoga students and teachers. It is one of the most important locks in hatha yoga, however, and because of that it is treated exhaustively in Anatomy of Hatha Yoga. The comments below explain uddiyana bandha in brief.

To start the practice you must exhale fully, lock the chin tightly down against the hollow of the neck, and hold your breath by closing the glottis. Then immediately create a mock inhalation with the chest (that is, try to inhale without inhaling), while at the same time relaxing the abdominal muscles and respiratory diaphragm. The abdominal wall and internal organs below the diaphragm are sucked in and up underneath the ribcage by the combination of 1) holding the breath after exhalation, 2) creating a mock inhalation with the chest, and 3) relaxing the abdominal muscles and diaphragm. After holding the lock to your capacity, tighten the abdominal and chest muscles as though you are trying to exhale more fully. This re-pressurizes the chest, which in turn allows you to open the glottis and inhale (thus releasing the lock) without creating a gasp. For more details, hints, descriptions of the commonest difficulties, remedies, and associated practices see pages 195-203 in Anatomy of Hatha Yoga