To practice Uddiyana Bandha, suck your abdominal wall in and up after you exhale. Continue to hold this position while restraining your breath. The abdominal organs will be swept up to a higher than normal position.
On an empty stomach, Uddiyana Bandha is pleasurable and invigorating. It is also the safest form of breath retention as it creates a vacuum in the chest. Other forms of breath retention rely on additional pressure.
Uddiyana Bandha is also called Upward Flying Lock.
It is an essential exercise for one’s health, wellbeing, and energy flow.
This exercise helps the digestive organs, massages the solar plexus and abdominal muscles, and releases tension and toxins. It also stimulates blood flow and strengthens the abdominal muscles.
If you’re looking to activate your energy flow, Uddiyana Bandha is the perfect practice for you.
How to do Uddiyana Bandha
For Beginner Yogis
Start by standing with your feet a little bit wider than hips-width. You may stand against a wall for additional support should you need some. Inhale deeply through your nose and reach your arms up overhead. Bring your hands to your thighs and bend your knees.
As you press your hands on your thighs, curve your back as in Cat Pose. Exhale quickly and completely to stretch the diaphragm to its most expanded position. At the end of your exhale, straighten your arms. Suck in your belly and pull it up into your spine.
Once you have pulled your belly in as much as possible, start pulling it up into the ribcage. Do a “mock inhalation” by expanding the rib cage as if you are inhaling. But do not actually inhale.
This action pulls up the abdominal muscles and viscera into the thorax. It hollows the belly and slowly lifts the abdominal organs.
Hold this for as long as you can without breathing further. When you can hold no further, inhale through your nose, stand up, and extend your arms up overhead. Exhale to bring your arms back down and abdominals back to their neutral position.
As a beginner, it may be difficult to maintain the proper contraction of the abdominal muscles. But with practice, you can extend your hold for up to 2 minutes or more. To slowly progress your practice with Uddiyana Bandha, try straightening your back.
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