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tamasaburo
USA
136 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 28 2009 : 12:02:04 PM
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Forgive me if this is a very basic question, but I don't think I've seen it mentioned explicitly in the basic lessons, so I'll go ahead and ask.
Are the mudras and bandhas (I'm thinking particularly of sambhavi, mulabhanda and uddiyana) supposed to be partially or fully released on the exhales during spinal breathing pranayama? I seem to recall Yogani describing them as if they are simply held throughout (though he does mention a certain up-and-down that may occur naturally as with say mulabhanda becoming aswini mudra), but I seem to have a tendency to want to drop them as I exhale and then sort of "suck" them back up on inhale.
This may be a bias I have as a result of learning some similar but not identical qigong exercises years ago. In that system of breathing exercises I was told that the lower abdomen sucked in and a bit up on the inhale while the lungs filled with air and then the lower abdomen sort of relaxed and pushed out and a bit down on the exhale, essentially sinking the energy or breath back down. Of course, this was a little different than spinal breathing pranayama as described in AYP, particularly in that the prescribed mental path down was not straight back down the way up, but rather a bit more in front. Still, it seemed similar enough at first to kind of meld the two.
Now I've mostly switched over to the AYP version because of good results I'm having but I still have this tendency to want to suck things in and up on the inhale but to then release them back down and out on the exhale. Sambhavi also has a tendency to be undone in that I find my eyes wanting to look down as my attention goes to the root. Also, it seems hard to get a nice full exhale while holding things like uddiyana and mulabhanda in place.
Of course, AYP spinal breathing also has an up-down/inhale-exhale correspondence, but I wonder if the up-down isn't meant to be a little more subtle than what I'm doing? Or is having the mudras pull up and release in time with inhale and exhale normal for AYP or are they intended to be more constant?
Thanks for any advice or input. |
Edited by - tamasaburo on Jul 29 2009 11:24:22 AM |
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yogani
USA
5196 Posts |
Posted - Jul 29 2009 : 11:51:25 AM
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Hi Tamasaburo:
The mudras and bandhas are intended to be very faint and gentle. They may not start out that way ("clunky stage"), but will naturally evolve to that with the rise of ecstatic conductivity. They are not necessarily tied to the breath, though they may be incidentally at times. We don't make a thing of it.
Mulabandha might be an exception. See this lesson: http://www.aypsite.org/119.html
This instruction on mulabandha/asvini does not apply to all the mudras and bandhas.
The internal integration and refinement of mudras and bandhas evolves to naturally become "whole body mudra." http://www.aypsite.org/212.html
We avoid building too much structure into the practice of mudras and bandhas so this natural evolution can occur without undue interference. Ultimately, it is driven by bhakti and the resulting flow of ecstatic bliss through the neurobiology. This is the underlying dynamic of outpouring divine love, which is stillness in action, the rise of unity.
All the best!
The guru is in you.
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tamasaburo
USA
136 Posts |
Posted - Jul 30 2009 : 11:48:47 AM
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| Hi Yogani, thanks for the advice and thank you so much as always for making this kind of information so much more widely available and accessible. I'll try making it more subtle and see how things go. |
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Mudras and bandhas coming down on exhale?
