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tamasaburo
USA
136 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 26 2010 : 10:47:45 PM
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Hi guys, I was wondering if people could give me some insight on some of the various muscles that can be flexed, lifted, relaxed, tensed, etc. in the lower chakra region. I understand that as Yogani teaches it, mulabandha is just a light flex of the anal sphincter and a kind of lifting up (presumably of the bottom of the intestines?), but I've also read mulabandha described as pulling up the perineum or in other ways, like maybe lifting of anus and squeezing of perineum/prostate area...is AYP intending for us to keep everything else relaxed and just flex the anal sphincter or is the anal sphincter just the locus of attention which naturally involves other areas?
Swami Satyananda Saraswati also describes a version of vajroli mudra which involves focusing on the urethra and sucking in (sort of like clenching the muscles to stop the flow of urine--in men it will cause a visible pulling up and in of the penis). He says to keep this as separate as possible from movements of the anus and/or perineum. Does this exercise even exist in AYP or is it considered not really necessary as the regular mulabandha has that region covered?
So I guess I've just gotten a little confused by all the different things that could be potentially moving in this area. We've got the standard anal flex+lift, maybe a lifting or tensing of the perineum and or genital area if you're trying vajroli mudra, maybe a sucking in and/or up of the navel area slightly higher if you're trying to do uddiyana and/or navi kriya... do all thesse things eventually combine smoothly into one big tensing and lifting followed by one big release? Or maybe it's more subtle than that? Or maybe I should focus on relaxing everything but what I'm specifically trying to tense--like for AYP mulabandha focusing on just the anal sphincter and nothing else? Maybe some time could be profitably spent just working on one for a few weeks and then just working on another in order to get things separate? Or maybe it doesn't really matter and they'll all synch up eventually?
Sorry if this post seems a little unfocused or rambling. It's just that I feel like I've been fooling with these various ways of manipulating my nether regions for years now and I never quite get so solid a handle on them as I feel I have with some of the higher up ones, like sambhavi.
Thanks for any insight or ideas. |
Edited by - tamasaburo on Dec 26 2010 10:50:09 PM |
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Christi
United Kingdom
4514 Posts |
Posted - Dec 27 2010 : 01:18:57 AM
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Hi Tamasaburo,
If you are practicing AYP then yes, mulabandha is simply the gentle flexing of the anal sphincter muscle and the gentle lifting of the muscles just above that. It does not involve any deliberate relaxing of any other muscles. Gradually , as you practice it, other muscles will automatically become involved, such as those at the perineum and the pelvic floor muscles. But in the beginning, best to keep it simple and concentrate on the main controls.
Udyanabandha in AYP is just as you describe.
Vajroli mudra, I believe is left as an automatic yoga in AYP, so we don't deliberately do anything with it. Personally I am not sure that flexing the urethra would add much, if anything. It is a process which happens automatically with mulabandha and udyanabandha as kundalini goes into full swing.
Christi |
Edited by - Christi on Dec 27 2010 01:22:15 AM |
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Mulabandha, perineum, PC muscles...
