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How To Breathe & Use The Bandhas In Ashtanga Yoga

June 23, 2014 By Monica Stone 13 Comments

Ashtanga Yoga sometimes gets a bad reputation for being so physical, but if you’re practicing Ashtanga Yoga with the correct foundations and intentions, the practice becomes a completely internal experience. Just because someone can put their leg behind their head, or float up into a handstand doesn’t mean that one is further along in the practice. From a completely physical and surface level approach, it looks that way, but the practice isn’t about the posture at all. 

If It’s Not About The Posture, Why do we do a set series of postures? 

I’m SO glad you asked! The purpose of doing these postures over and over again is to observe. To breathe through each posture everyday, no matter how difficult or easy, you start to understand sensations, feelings, and patterns in the mind. You might tell yourself to skip or add postures, and the reason you don’t do that is because then you just give into your own ego. When you skip or add, you just end up enhancing your preferences. The practice becomes a mirror. As you continue this daily, you become stronger and more disciplined in concentration, and you start to allow rather than force. Even though you do the same practice everyday, there is incredible internal change that comes with it. Does that answer your question?

Why am I working towards all of these advanced postures if that doesn’t mean I am getting further in the practice? 

Another GREAT question! All of these postures exist to accommodate the skill level of the practitioner. The real work happens when a posture challenges you, whether it’s an advanced posture or not.. You will learn a lot about how you react in these situations. Do you become humble during difficult postures? Do you become frustrated, angry, jealous? If I was easily working through each posture, and then I get to fourth series and hit a wall with a posture, that’s where the work is. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all work. It’s all meditation. It’s all practice. However, if I struggle in the primary series, and your struggles begin in fourth series, it makes no difference. All that means is your skill level is in a difference spot, but internally, it’s all relative. 

There are a few foundations that work together to create this moving meditation in the practice:

Breath: Deep Breathing in and out through the nose with sound. The sound comes from the back of the throat. The breath is moving from within the pelvic floor all the way up through the chest into the crown chakra. The nose is a vessel to move the breath back and forth. Every breath should be counted, and never be held. 

Bandhas: Energy locks in the body. These are engaged to help move the prana and heat that you’re creating with your breath through the body to cleanse and detox the nadis (nerve endings) and clear the chakras.  

I talk about Mula Bandha, Uddiyana Bandha, and Jaladhara Bandha in the video. Jalandhara is naturally done if you’re breathing correctly by slightly constricting the throat muscles. Mula Bandha (read my fun post about it here) is the root lock, and grasped on the exhale. It actually happens naturally at the end of the exhale. Put your awareness at the perineum (between the public bone & base of the spine), grasp Mula Bandha, and then inhale utilizing Uddiyana Bandha by pulling the naval to the spine and bringing the breath upward. Always keep the belly pulled in, and create space by elongating the spine as you breathe. It’s tricky, but you’ll get the hang of it. Be patient. 

Drishti : I don’t get into this in the video, but the drishti is the gaze for each posture. It’s the asana of the eyes. Having a set place to look for each posture is another way to create a one pointed concentration, which will lead to meditation. We’ll discuss more soon!

Watch the video & Breathe with me! Contact me for any questions!

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Filed Under: Instruction

Monica Stone

About Monica Stone

Monica is a lover of all things yoga, a vegetarian, an avid tea drinker, and never gets sick of soup and noodle dishes. She teaches yoga, practices daily, and runs a Spiritual Book Club in Orlando, FL. She likes to challenge the strict rules of yoga, and makes it accessible for everyone - especially people who suffer from daily life and work stress.

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Hi! I’m Monica

Monica StoneWell hello there! I'm Monica. I'm a yoga & meditation teacher (and junkie). I teach yoga practices that are quick and effective for the busy person who just needs a few minutes of quiet time in their day. Click around and you'll find quick meditation tips for calming the mind to simple stretches to relieve stress and tension. If you are sick of being intimidated by yoga or just confused by all of the different styles out there - then this page is for you. Yoga helps me daily & I know it will help you too! I'll show you how! Welcome to The Yogi Movement :)

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Testimonials

  • Jaime ShearerJaime ShearerYoga Student Since 2012

    Monica is dedicated to her own practice and the true path of yoga - the one of personal experience - which makes her an outstanding teacher. She is warm and easy to talk with, and she allows the student to have their own experience on the mat. She explains postures and breath in ways that are understandable so that the student "gets it." She makes yoga real and tangible in ways that truly serve the student. Work with Monica. You'll be glad you did.

  • Jacob AbercrombieJacob AbercrombieYoga Student Since 2011

    have always wanted to try yoga, but was always nervous. Monica took that fear away and made me feel like i was the only one in class with a room full of strangers. She is able to work with multiple students during the same move and still make it a personalized class for one.

  • Serena JonesSerena JonesYoga Student Since 2010

    Monica has been a highly influential teacher to me. She creates a safe environment for learning and practice. I have always felt grounded in her classes, and she pushes me beyond my own expectations. She inspires and motivates! I can't imagine my life without sharing a path with her!

  • Angela OrofinoAngela OrofinoYoga Student Since 2011

    Monica is a caring, wise, thoughtful, and talented yoga instructor. She has an in-depth knowledge of the philosophy and spirituality of Ashtanga yoga. My previous yoga experience had mostly just been at my local gym. Luckily, last year I found Monica. She has been guiding my practice at least once a week since then. As a newcomer to Ashtanga yoga, Monica made me feel comfortable and had the patience to teach me the basics. She also encouraged me to start an at home practice so that I was able to obtain a deeper understanding of Ashtanga. Monica is always encouraging and lets me know in subtle ways when she feels that I am ready to move deeper into my practice. I feel that the growth in my practice over the last year has been tremendous. Not only do I notice the change in me but others around me do as well. I am so grateful to have found Monica!

  • Sasha TamarSasha TamarYoga Student Since 2012

    I’ve come across many a yoga instructor over the years, but Monica stands out as genuinely amiable, as she glows with an infectious inner light, and highly devoted to and passionate about her practice. Her dedication to Ashtanga as a lifestyle is very clear, and creates for a contagious motivating force. Every time I’ve practiced with her, she eagerly transmits her devotion and passion of Ashtanga and meditation to everyone in class; she makes the most fledgling beginner feel at home, and simultaneously challenges the more advanced students. While I only practice Ashtanga with her, I know she provides therapeutic yoga sessions as well as meditation. And, if her methods of guiding students out of the Ashtanga vigor into the more meditative savasana are indicative of her meditational techniques, I’d recommend her to anyone

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