Uddiyana Bhanda
or Diaphragm Lock
Uddiyana Bhanda it’s located
at the diaphragm level. The element at the solar plexus is fire.
The heat opens up the higher center, the heart chakra, the center of true love,
kindness, and compassion. It separates the lover triangle where instinct and
reaction takes places, with the upper triangle of the body, where more
conscious acts come from.
To apply Uddiyana Bhanda one
must breathe in, breathe out completely, and while maintaining the breath out
hook the abdomen in and up. Hold it around a minute more or less depending on your
endurance. At the contrary with Mula Bhanda, Uddiyana Bhanda can be seen by the
naked eye very easily. Ones you breathe in again the diaphragm moves and the
lock it’s release. Never apply this lock on a full stomach.
In Asthanga Yoga you will
always heard to maintain Mula Bhanda and Uddiyana Bhanda through all the
sequence, which can be confusing because breathing in unlocks the diaphragm.
What it really means its t o maintain a sense of hold at the diaphragm.