Mulabandha

[ak33]

Hey guys

I'm 3 months into AYP and I have been steadily practicing with little to no overloading symptoms. My current practice includes 6 min sbp and 20 min DM. My question was do I need to feel ecstatic conductivity in order to add practices like Mulabandha, or can I proceed. My main concern is I don't want to force something I'm not ready for ( read too many kundalini horror stories). Any advice?

[bewell]

quote:Originally posted by ak33

Hey guys

I'm 3 months into AYP and I have been steadily practicing with little to no overloading symptoms. My current practice includes 6 min sbp and 20 min DM. My question was do I need to feel ecstatic conductivity in order to add practices like Mulabandha, or can I proceed. My main concern is I don't want to force something I'm not ready for ( read too many kundalini horror stories). Any advice?

Hi,

I assume you've read the lesson on Mulabandha:
http://www.aypsite.com/plus/55.html

Ecstatic conductivity is not a prerequisite for adding Mulabandha to SBP. If you are inclined to give it a try, that is an indication of readiness. Go gently, gradually, and back off as inclined.

Enjoy!

[mathurs]

Hi!
I think in fact adding mulabandha to your spinal breathing may encourage ecstatic conductivity. So go for it!

[ak33]

Thanks guys, I did my first SPB with mulabandha today. Talk about clunky . There is a part I am slightly confused about:

With mulabandha, we sit in pranayama like we always do. As we do, we lightly flex our anal sphincter muscle and hold it. That is, lightly. It is barely beyond the intention into the physical sensation. What we want to do is develop the habit of holding this light flex of the anal sphincter throughout our pranayama session. At the same time, while we do this, we lightly flex and pull up above the flexed anal sphincter, through the pelvis, and into our lower belly. There will be little physical movement, just a little beyond the intention, just enough to create a physical habit with.

I'm not really sure what this step is telling me to do. Can someone clarify?

[BillinL.A.]

Ak33 this has some forum threads about it at the bottom too, good luck:

http://www.aypsite.com/plus-forum/index.php?topic=2157&SearchTerms=mulabandha

[bewell]

Hi,

My suggestion at this phase is to give it time. Don't stress over micro-managing based on the written instructions. Rather, notice how it feels, thus cultivating inner sensuality. Later, when you have a sense of how it feels, the written instructions will make more sense.

Enjoy

[whippoorwill]

I found asvini mudra a bit easier to do in the beginning.  The technique is explained in the same lesson as the mulabandha lesson.

I found it easier to lift the pelvic floor in the in-breath as I let the attention travel up the spine, and then relax the pelvic floor on the out-breath as I let the attention travel back down the spine.  I could feel the energy moving in the body, so it became a game of "catch" for me.  I'd "boost" the energy with the pelvic floor lift, "catch" it at the third eye, and then let it flow back down the spine to the pelvic floor, where I'd "boost" it again on the in-breath.

I started out with a whole pelvic floor lift instead of an anal sphincter contraction because that's what I was familiar with.  I started with what I could do, and went from there.  Now that the technique is more or less natural, I can say that I feel a distinct difference between the two.  Flexing the anal sphincter sends the energy in a straight shot up the spine, whereas a whole pelvic floor lift sends the energy upward more generally.  Also, flexing just the anal sphincter makes it possible for me to take a full belly breath, which is something I can't do when I lift the whole pelvic floor.  So the technique as described in the lessons is absolutely the way to go, but it took me a while to get there.

Anyway, I hope this helps.  Don't stress about it and do what you can.

All the best!

[rabar]

Hello friends! Just checking in after some months elsewhere and, as always, so happy for this resource. Thanks so much, Yogani, and everyone!
For some time I've been reminding myself to 'breathe from the asshole,' excuse the terminology, but what I really mean is to be aware of the
anal sphincter's naturally subtle movements on every breath: out on the inhale, in and up on the exhale. This then can lead to other types of
focus such as the breathing that occurs through all the pores of the skin.
The types of anal flexing described here I believe suggests the opposite of the natural anal movement, that is turning it around so that the
sphincter is gently squeezed on the inhale, drawing the energy up the spine to the crown, and then release on the exhale, which is a relaxation
at the end of which the 'normal' in-and-up exhale occurs. Am I describing this correctly?
Regarding  'body-centered' practices, I've been reading an overview of the Embodiment movement edited by Don Hanlon Johnson titled 'Bone,
Breath and Gesture' that might be of interest to some.

Thanks again to all! I'll try to check in more often, and also update some of my previous postings regarding 'tracheal resonance' (ujjayi pranayama)
with which I'm still seriously involved, as demonstrated here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvyW3-2QSeQ
I'm always looking around for people who might be interested in tracheal resonance stuff. The best person I've found is Will Johnson who has The
Institute for Embodiment Training in Vancouver, Canada area. I only know him as a virtual friend on line, but like him a lot.
http://www.embodiment.net/
His books include two on Rumi, "The Spiritual Practices of Rumi" and "Rumi's Four Essential Practices: Ecstatic Body, Awakened Soul" in which he discusses
his theory that Rumi and his heart friend Shams practiced locking gazes for hours on end, 'tratakam a deux,' so to speak, something we also used to do
in the Sixties (and no doubt discussed here somewhere). Beams and Blessings,
Ramon (also still enthused with Candice's Great Freedom/Balanced View teachings, although I tend to replace the phrase 'Open Intelligence' with 'Solar Presence.'
(This is encouraging me to write an article on 'Sun Yoga' over the next months)