Moola Bandha is the engagement of the pelvic floor which is a very subtle lifting that can be reached through different muscular actions. Moola means “Root”, and as the root of the trees gives stability to them, Moola Bandha gives us stability when practicing. Moola Bandha is the floor that supports the rest of the body when breathing and moving and keeps our energy grounded during practice. When we practice without activating this Bandha the weight of our inner organs is subject of the gravity dropping the organs forward and as a consequence of this our hips tilt forward and the arch of our lower back is increased. This chain of reactions impact our whole posture and can lead to pain or injuries specially in our back when practicing deep asanas. Moola Bandha is activated when you lift the pelvic floor up. This lifting might be difficult to achieve sometimes. Two ways of accessing this deeply located inner muscle are: 1. Sit on a cross leg position with your spine straight. Slide your sit bones towards each other as if you wanted to bring them together (this is a virtual action, an intention as it is anatomically impossible to bring the sit bones together). When you practice this, use subtle internal actions so you don’t contract your gluteus. You will fill a slight lifting inside. That is your pelvic floor. Release the action of the sit bones and keep that lifting as you keep breathing. 2. Sit on a cross leg position with your spine straight. While you inhale contract your anus and your sphincter’s control muscles (as if your were peeing and you cut the pee off). When performing both contractions at the same time you will fill an inner lifting. That is your pelvic floor. Release the contraction of the anus and sphincter’s control and keep that lifting as you keep breathing. When standing in your feet you will feel a connection between the sole of your feet and the lifting of the pelvic floor. When you lift the center of the arch of the foot up, it facilitates the activation of Moola Bandha. Never practice Moola Bandha when pregnant or with the menses period. Photo by @lopezcastroronny #bandha #moolabandha #yogapractice #luanafarayoga
