There were only three of us in a clean, polished cement room—and him. It was our first lesson with this world-renowned yoga master. He struggled to express himself in English, but what he could not express in words came through in his touch, a touch that expressed his years of devoted yoga practice.
Sweating profusely, we had come to the end of our asanas for that day. In Full Lotus, we planted our palms alongside our thighs and pushed down, lifting our seats off the floor in mock levitation. Suddenly, as we strained to stay aloft, this imposing man began shouting, “Contact Uranus!”
Contact Uranus? What the heck is this guy talking about? I wondered. I had visions of little green people and orbiting space stations. I don’t know how long it took me to realize that what my teacher was really saying was “Contract your anus, contract your anus.” He was trying to tell us to apply mula bandha, the energetic lock which allows a yogi to perform the most challenging tasks with little or no effort.
Now, more than 10 years later, I realize that “contacting Uranus” is not a bad metaphor for what the spiritual master was really telling me to do. Though it might seem to be a simple physical movement, contracting your anus with awareness can be the first step on a trip toward contacting your cosmic identity.
Ground Control to Major Tom
Have you ever heard the instruction “Apply mula bandha” or “Apply the locks” in a yoga class? Did you suspect that most of the students—perhaps including you—didn’t have the foggiest idea how they should go about this? Often a teacher mentions mula bandha but never really explains what it means or how to do it.
In Sanskrit, “mula” means root; “bandha” means a lock or binding. Not only physically but also in more subtle ways, mula bandha is a technique for containing and channeling the energy associated with the mula-dhara (”root place”) chakra. Located at the tip of the spine, muladhara chakra represents the stage of consciousness where basic survival needs dominate.
“Mula” also refers to the root of all action, and the root of any action is a thought. As we begin to refine our thoughts—restricting and binding the intentions behind our actions—the actions themselves become refined. In yoga practice we bind our body and mind, restricting our impulses into the orderly channels of ethics, individual responsibility, and right action.
It’s possible that teachers shy away from explaining mula bandha because they find talking about the anatomy of the pelvic floor embarrassing. But the advantages to a full understanding of mula bandha far outweigh any embarrassment suffered. The reason one practices yoga is to have experiences which transcend the banal, and the bandhas—along with asanas, kriyas (purifying actions), laya (meditative absorption), yamas (ethical restraints), and dharana (concentration)—are yogic techniques that can lead to transcendence
Mula Bandha Payload
Mula bandha is said to cut through brahma granthi, the energetic knot of our resistance to change, which lies in mula-dhara chakra. On the physical level, practicing mula bandha creates attentiveness in the supportive musculature of the pelvis. This increases the stability of the pelvis, and, since the pelvis is the seat of the spine, its stability creates a safe environment for spinal movement. Thus, mula bandha strengthens—and teaches the importance of—the solid foundation that should underlie any movement.
