Hi and welcome.
The following practice is one of the most essential of the yogic practices.
It's the gentle contraction of mula bandha or what we refer to as the root lock at the base of your pelvis in the first energy center.
The importance in practicing mula bandha is to do it gently without causing any excessive strain or constriction in the pelvic floor.
And rather than a single contraction,
It involves a series of contractions deep inside the space of the pelvic floor.
So begin with just finding a comfortable cross-legged seat,
Relaxing your hips,
Coming up right onto your sitting bones,
And keeping a gentle lift and length in the lower back to preserve its natural arch.
Starting with a few steady long breaths,
Just extending the breath from the nose right through the chest,
Expanding into the abdomen,
And letting it move down deep into the space of the pelvis,
Creating a sense of ease and softness around the pelvic floor,
Relaxing your buttocks.
Just at your own pace,
At your own rhythm,
Allowing a steady stream of breath to move down into the lower part of your body,
Around the lower back,
Into your hips,
Into the pelvis,
And settling into your seat.
Align the center of your skull right over the center of your pelvis.
Release your jaw and your tongue.
Because any constriction in the jaw is often related to strain in the pelvic floor.
So just softening here for a moment.
Relax the tissues in and around your pelvic floor,
Taking a few more long,
Easy breaths,
Letting the breath move down in and underneath your navel.
Let the breath soften the belly on the exhale,
Completely at your own pace.
Then exhale deeply,
And at the end of your exhalation,
Gently contract your perineum,
Your pelvic floor,
As if you're gently squeezing your sitting bones towards each other,
Without clenching your buttocks or moving the hips.
And on an inhale,
Softly release and relax the pelvic floor.
Again,
On your exhalation,
Gently contracting the pelvic floor,
Pulling it in and up from the base towards your navel.
And inhale,
Soften and release,
Creating a rhythmic pulse or a catch and release action inside the pelvic floor,
At your own pace,
Repeating a few more times.
Take your time with every repetition,
And exhale,
Let the lungs empty,
Gently drawing the pelvic floor up from your base to the navel,
And inhale,
Soften and releasing the belly,
So that the contraction feels more like a hollowness or emptiness deep inside the pelvis,
Rather than a forced or hardened action within the tissue.
And taking a long inhalation,
Brushing your breath up against your spine,
Exhale,
Just let everything soften.
Another long,
Just deep inhale,
Imagine brushing the breath up against your spine,
Exhale,
Let everything soften and release.
And any gripping or clenching around the tissues of your tailbone,
And then one more time attempting contraction in the inside space of your perineum,
Inside space of your pelvis,
Creating a little bit more of a rhythmic pump or pulse,
Squeezing into the musculature at your root of your genitals,
Creating the sense of deep hollowness or emptiness inside the pelvic bowl,
And inhale,
Release,
Exhale,
Gently pulling in and up through the pelvic floor,
And let the lower belly squeeze,
Inhale and soften,
Just a few more times at your own pace,
Creating a little bit of a rhythmic pulse,
Pumping energy up your spine from the base of your pelvis up towards your brain,
And feel how the pulsing actions aid in suffusing blood flow in your pelvic floor,
Noticing any corresponding release that may take place around your jaw,
Ears and skull,
And then release everything,
Release any technique,
Any contraction,
Sit quietly,
And just breathing normally in and out of your nose,
Maybe noticing a feeling of levity and expansion in your spine,
As if your spine is gently lifting,
Rising through your crown,
And just paying attention to any subtle sensations inside the pelvic bowl,
Along the spine,
Inside your head,
Noticing the effect of your practice,
Just feeling into this gentle yet powerful experience connecting you to your core,
To your root,
And allowing a sense of centeredness,
Groundedness,
And power to rest inside of you,
Just soft,
Easy,
Natural breaths,
And taking a moment to close your practice,
Feeling yourself rooted in your power,
In your personal sense of home and connectedness,
And when you're ready,
Moving out into the rest of your hours of your day,
With a sense of ease and stability.
Namaste.
