Skip to content

Secrets of advanced breath-control (pranayama) with internal locks (bandha), energy-control gestures (mudra) and internal cleansing (kriya)

In this video I am demonstrating a type of shakti chalani mudra while sitting in a cold river. This is a quite advanced mudra that incorporates several types of pranayamas, bandhas, kriyas and mudras while holding the breath in and out. If done correctly by an experienced practitioner it is very effective in enhancing internal energy and health. If done incorrectly it can causes minor problems such as headaches, but if done badly by an unprepared person it can cause stroke or death. Therefore it should not be attempted until each element of the mudra is mastered individually and there is the guidance of an experienced teacher.

For people who are newer to breath-control (pranayama) it is a good idea to practice each of the techniques described here separately. Each of the individual elements of this mudra have tremendous benefits when practiced alone. For example there are benefits to be gained by separately practicing the following. Again please be cautious and make sure you have the guidance of an experienced teacher for each step you make:

  • inhalation through the mouth,
  • lengthening the neck,
  • lengthening the tongue,
  • lengthening the spine,
  • holding the breath in,
  • compressing the trunk while holding the breath in,
  • tensioning nerves and acupuncture meridians,
  • breathing through alternate nostrils,
  • holding the breath out, and
  • expanding the chest while holding the breath out.

This breath-control exercise begins with a complete yogic breath using the diaphragm. The diaphragmatic inhalation first expands the perineum, then lower back, then the abdomen (the diaphragm stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and the relaxation response). Then with the diaphragm still active and the air held in the lower trunk the inhalation continues using the breathing muscles of chest into the upper back (which is kept lengthened throughout the pranayama to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system). The breath then continues into the chest while keeping the breath in the abdomen as well (it is generally very hard for most people to inhale into the chest with the abdomen relaxed and expanded due to the diaphragm being still active, hence the complete yogic inhalation done in the proper way is very challenging).

The inhalation is through the rolled tongue (sitali) which cools the body (the water in this river is actually quite cold but tremendous heat can be generated with this pranayama so a cooling breath is warranted). At the end of the inhalation  the breath is held in. The throat is then moved forward and chin moved upward (tha-jalandhara bandha) to create a negative pressure that brings energy up the spine and blood to the brain. At this point the tongue is stretched towards the chin, which stretches the front of the tongue. Then the tongue is curled backwards towards the throat and gently sucked backwards into the throat (talabulam mudra), which stretches the back of the tongue. The tongue is a very ‘connected ‘organ, so stretching it in this way has a very powerful effect. The tip of the tongue is the tip of the kidney meridian. The tongue connects via various tissues to the skull, the chest and the spine. Therefore stretching the tongue has a powerful effect on the internal organs as well as the musculoskeletal system.

The head is then brought downwards and the chin is brought into the throat (ha-jalandhara bandha). The breath is held in and then compressed with the muscles that normally use to exhale from the chest and from the abdomen. In other words the chest and abdomen are compressed with a type of Valsalva manoeuvre (ha-uddiyana bandha and ha-mula bandha) that increases intra-abdominal and intra-thoracic pressure to give a type of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a means of increasing the partial pressure of oxygen to bring it deeper into the body tissues. This type of therapy which is done medically in a hyperbaric chamber has been shown to increase cellular oxygen and promote healing.

While holding the breath in I am moving my arms and trunk in specific ways to stimulate various subtle channels (nadis) and acupuncture meridians. The changes in physical pressure increase the flow of oxygen (prana) to all the cells in the body but particularly into the spine with is kept lengthened throughout.

After holding the breath in for some time the tongue is released from the back of the throat and a swallowing action is made that inhibits the urge to breathe. The tip of the tongue is then placed at the back of the upper teeth. The right hand is used to block the left nostril and the air is released through the right nostril. The exhalation is initially passive from the chest and when the passive exhale is complete, the rest of the air is expelled by actively drawing in the perineum and then bringing then navel to the spine without making the abdomen hard. One the air is fully expelled the breath is retained out and the abdomen is relaxed so that the navel moves away from the spine.

Once the breath has been out, a type of Mueller manoeuvre is applied that allows chest to be expanded (tha-uddiyana bandha) like inhaling to the chest. The abdominal muscles are then progressively activated then relaxed in a way that gives an observer the impression the abdominal muscles are rolling from left to right. This is an illusion (named lauliki) that is an internal cleansing process (kriya) generated because there is a sequential activation of:

  • right rectus abdomini muscle,
  • both rectus abdomini muscles (nauli  = ha-mula bandha),
  • the left rectus abdominis and then
  • a positive pressure compression of the abdomen (which actives the external oblique muscles) (ha-mula bandha)

After holding the breath out for some time the chest is brought downwards (compressed), the tongue released from the back of the upper teeth and a swallowing gesture is made. Then a new cycle can begin.

Each cycle of this pranayama (which is generally about 2 minutes long ideally) leads to rapid buildup of carbon dioxide which causes an increase in blood flow to the brain and heart (via vasodilation) and cells (via the Bohr effect), calmness to the nervous system, deep clarity to the mind and a very reduced need for food. This gives tremendous benefits to your circulation, your energy levels and your internal health in general.

To learn more about breath-control, internal locks, energy control gestures, and internal cleansing processes you can enrol in our online course on the Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga  at http://anatomy.yogasynergy.com .

To learn more about these techniques you can get the Yoga Synergy DVD entitled ‘Stilling Calming Cleansing Body Breath and Mind in Dynamic Meditation’ from http://yogasynergy.com .

This video was filmed by Zac Human in the river near Ubud, Bali while i was teaching at Daniel Aarons Radiantly Alive Teacher Training course in 2008. The energy in and around this river was amazing. I must say this was one of the most nourishing yoga practices I ever done in my life because of where I was.

Posted in Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga, Hatha Yoga Postures, Health through Yoga, Pranayama (Breath-control), Yoga Synergy Style.

No comments

By Simon Borg-Olivier – 2 September, 2010

Underwater Yoga: Fish pose (lotus) swimming

This is a short video of underwater yoga freediving of two types of fish pose (lotus) swimming by me (Simon Borg-Olivier in the black Stingray suit) and Christopher Morey (in the blue Orca Suit).
The video was shot at William Truebridge’s Freediving Master Class (brilliant) at the Blue Hole Long Island Bahamas, September 2009.
Thanks to Freediver Photographer Alfredo Romo for filming us and for allowing use to show his video here.

Underwater yoga has been a favourite pastime of mine since I was a kid. My father (George Borg-Olivier) was a freediver in the Mediterranean Sea and he taught me how to swim a lap of an olympic pool underwater before I swim on the surface. In my late teens my Tibetan Lama told me that traditionally (in the system he learnt) that postures where help for a long as one breath retention. So progressively I developed my underwater yoga practice know finding it the easiest place to hold the breath and be in a pose. In this practice I take a breath in, hold my breath, go underwater and get into a posture, hold for some time floating just under the surface, then exhale fully and sink down underwater (to the bottom if it is not far!) and hold my breath out and perform uddiyana bandha, mula bandha, nauli and lauliki (rolling my abdomen with my chest expanded etc). Then, I swim to the surface (often still in pose such as the lotus as in the video above) and when I break the surface I inhale to begin the next posture. I regularly practice a 30 minute sequence of up to 30 posture in this manner.

In the photographs below, photographed by Freediver Photographer Mads Becker Jørgensen (thank you Mads) at Deans Blue Hole on Long Island in the Bahamas, I have no air in my lungs and I sinking to the bottom in Supta Bhekasana in the first photo and Padmasana in the second photo. I am only about 5 metres from the surface but you can see the blackness of the 250 metre deep Blue Hole on the left hand side of the first photo and the right hand side of the second photo. On one such breath retention I was in Baddha Padmasana (the bound lotus) with no air in my lungs sinking down and waiting to touch the bottom…but the bottom didnt come …  and it was getting dark… then realised I missed the floor and gone into the Blue hole … with no air … still bound in lotus … I felt briefly like Houdini before mildly panicking and undoing my legs and swimming to the surface which was much further up than I imagined. This experience gave me a lot of respect to William Truebridge who goes down 95 metres into this hole in one breath, and to all the freedivers who dive in the Blue Hole.

In this third photo I am doing an inhalation retention and floating in Padma Ardha Matsyendrasana. No chance of sinking in this one! Also very stimulating on the spine and internal organs to be so twisted with lungs full of air.

Many years ago I realised that I liked the effects of not breathing so much (please see my last post on not breathing much and how to slow the heart ) that I decided to incorporate this into my land practice as my Tibetan Lama had suggested. Hence although I teach most of my students to breath naturally in a posture (until it is mastered, as suggested in the Sutras of Patanjali, and as B.K.S Iyengar had told me when I was lucky enough to train with him) in my own practice i regularly hold my breath in and out for extended periods of time while holding posture and while moving between them.

The essence of pranayama comes from learning how not to breathe (see my post on the reasons for breathing in yoga ). But often people use the muscles of breathing for reasons other than to get more air. With an understanding of breath-control you can use the muscles of breathing for benefit wihtout actually breathing. For example, expanding the chest (like inhaling to the chest but not inhaling) can pull energy and information up the spine; contracting the abdomen (like making a full exhalation from the abdomen but not exhaling) can give some stability and strength to the lower trunk as well as massage the internal organs; and learning how to use the diaphragm (like inhaling with the diaphragm into the abdomen but not inhaling) can relieve lower back pain, increase trunk strength, calm the nerves and enhance blood flow without the heart beating faster.

The nice thing about the lotus swimming I do in this video is the effect on the spine. The hips and the arms move in opposite directions to move through the water. This uses the side spine muscles in a way that creates spinal side bending. The spine is mobilised and manipulated because to move in this way you need to relax the muscles of exhalation that can stiffen the spine by gentle activating the diaphragm (the main muscle of inhalation) and alternately use the side spine muscles. As the muscles on one side of spine are activated by bringing the same side hip and shoulder closer the opposite side muscles reflexly relaxed. Hence, the spine is massaged and blood flow is increased by the alternate on-off pumping of the spinal muscles without the need for the heart to beat faster. This principle is easily adapted to yoga done in a room or even in natural walking.

As an aside, and just for fun, it is interesting to relate my experience with my kids Amaliah who was at the time just 6 and Eric who was just 3. In May 2010 I was with the kids in a pool and Eric who could not really swim on top of the water much yet was sitting on the edge of the pool and put his legs into the lotus posture and dropped himself head first into the water then to my surprise swam for a while in lotus. When he surfaced I asked him how he learnt this trick. His reply ‘I saw Amaliah doing it!’ So I questioned my daughter ‘How did you learn this?’and she replied ‘I saw a video of you doing it Papa!’. Hmmm so it seems one doesnt really teach kids anything – they just copy!

You can see more of Amaliah and Eric doing their munchkin yoga for kids at Yoga Synergy at http://munchkinkids.com

You can learn more about breath-control and the applied anatomy and physiology of yoga on our online course

Posted in Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga, Hatha Yoga Postures, Health through Yoga, Pranayama (Breath-control), Uncategorized, Yoga Synergy Style.

4 comments

By Simon Borg-Olivier – 18 August, 2010

How to slow the heart from 88 beats to 32 beat per minute in 45 seconds

This video was shot in the Bahamas in October 2009 at William Truebridge’s Freediving Masterclass where I had the honour of being invited to teach these amazing elite athletes yogic techniques of how to be relaxed in stressful situations. The video shows me using breath-control techniques (pranayama) to slow my heart beat from 88 to 32 beats per minute in 45 seconds.

The ability to do this comes from years of yoga training certainly but that it can happens at all is related to the ‘diving reflex’. The mammalian diving reflex optimises respiration which allows mammals to stay underwater for a long time. It is seen most in aquatic mammals, but exists in a weaker version in other mammals, including humans. The slowing of heart beat (bradycardia) is the first response from the diving reflex. Immediately upon facial contact with cold water, the human heart rate slows down ten to twenty-five percent. Some sea animals such as seals can go from about 125 beats per minute to as low as 10 when they are diving. Making the heart rate slow down lessens the need for bloodstream oxygen, and leaves more to be used by the brain and the heart.The reflex is triggered specifically by cold water contacting the face, which in this video demonstration I am obviously not doing. The diving reflex is also triggered by sudden increases in carbon dioxide levels. So in this video I spent about 3 minutes doing natural minimal diaphragmatic breathing very similar to what essentially approaches kevala kumbhaka (spontaneous cessation of breath, in this case still with about 2 litres of air in my lungs, yet without any conscious effort). Then I simply and suddenly exhale fully and held my breath out and did a gentle (not forced) uddiyana bandha (a thoracic Mueller manoeuvre). The most important thing was I did not do any deep fast breathing first as this would have significantly dropped the carbon dioxide levels. The sudden change from normal levels of carbon dioxide to increased levels of carbon dioxide seems to trigger the diving reflex even though there was no cold water applied to my face. I was also holding jalandhara bandha (having my head moved forward and my neck moved backwards) and a type of jiva bandha (tip of my tongue gently pressed against the back of my upper teeth and the roof of the mouth. I believe these two things also had a role in the slowing of the heart. The best thing of course is the feeling after. The exercise causes an increase in blood flow to the brain so I was left with a sense of immense peace and clarity, and focused alert energy.

Another benefit of this type of reduced breathing practice is that it reduces your appetite. I used the technique daily about 18 months ago to undergo a 55 day juice fast while travelling internationally and teaching with no problems at all.

Another interesting phenomenon was that just before I completed the exercise the relative values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure switched. So instead of blood pressure being about 140 over 70 (about normal) just before I inhaled at the end the blood pressure went to about 90 over 120. This is very strange but on the day we actually reproduced this result in 3 people including William Truebridge (who was remarkable in his attempt). We presume this shift of blood pressure (an apparent reversal) is due to peripheral circulation being reduced due to the the diving reflex.

Thanks to Freediving world record holder William Truebridge for teaching the technique (he can do it better than I can), and thanks to static apneoa national record holder Glenn Venghaus for use of his heart monitoring equipment and his learned advice. Also thanks to other inspirational members of Williams Masterclass all of whom can hold their breaths far longer than my ‘modest’ 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I would like to add that that even though I have been holding my breath in for underwater swimming since my father (George Borg-Olivier) taught me in 1966 and have practiced uddiyana bandha since i was taught it by Basil Brown in 1968 I can in no way compare my abilities to these freedivers who in my opinion are master hatha yogis

Posted in Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga, Diet, Health through Yoga, Pranayama (Breath-control).

Tagged with , , , , , , , , .

3 comments

By Simon Borg-Olivier – 10 August, 2010

Ancient secrets of the breath

In this short video I am talking about pranayama and what I learnt from traditional yoga teachings and also from western medical science. If you are interested you may consider coming to my one day workshop on Sunday July 11 2010 – you can find out more at www.enlightenedevents.com.au

Posted in Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga, Diet, Hatha Yoga Postures, Health through Yoga, Pranayama (Breath-control).

1 comment

By Simon Borg-Olivier – 5 July, 2010

Regulate your breath to control body and mind

Simon Borg-Olivier doing Pranayama in Kandasana

The ultimate state of pranayama (yogic breath-control) and meditation is a state where breathing is reduced as much as possible without force. However this is a process that can for most people take a life time. In order to work towards the mastery of yoga it is sometimes useful to breathe more than normal (hyperventilation) but eventually the aim to be able to comfortable live and practice while breathing less than normal (hypoventilation).

In yoga and life breathing may guided or controlled for five main reasons. These are:

  1. Physical
  2. Neurological
  3. Mental
  4. Emotional
  5. Physiological

Pranayama (yogic breath-control) is the art of learning how to breathe less than normal (hypoventilation). Although sometimes fast, deep and/or complete breaths have benefits,  the less you breathe overall the better your mental capacity is and the greater is the blood flow to nourish the brain and the heart. The haemoglobin also transfers oxygen more efficiently to all the cells of the body (the Bohr effect). Many studies on meditation have shown that focus and concentration are better when you breathe less! Additionally, the nervous system is much calmer when you breathe less and this is reflected in a reduced desire to eat.

Breath-control is also useful on a mental level. Any type of focus on your breathing can help you concentrate but the nervous system works best if you breathe less than normal.

Breath-control works on the cardiovascular and circulatory system. You can enhance the movement of energy and information through your subtle channels and enhance the movement of blood and heat through your blood vessels by breathing differentially from your abdomen (diaphragmatic breathing) or from your chest (thoracic breathing). You can also bring more blood and oxygen to the brain and heart and less blood and oxygen to the arms and legs by breathing less than normal (hypoventilation). Conversely, you can bring less blood and oxygen to brain and heart and more blood and oxygen to the arms and legs by breathing more than normal (hyperventilation).

A brief summary of the the different possible effects of breathing is shown below.

1. Physical

  • Mobilising the spine
    • deep inhalation tends to cause spinal flexion (bends your spine more forward) while deep exhalation tends to cause spinal extension (bends your spine more backwards)
  • Stabilising the spine
    • the muscles of breathing out (especially from the chest) can make your spine more stable
  • Strengthening the spine and body
    • the diaphragm (the main muscle of inhalation) can be used as powerful strength muscle

2. Neurological

  • Control of the autonomic (automatic) nervous system via the diaphragm which can be controlled either by the conscious mind (somatic) or unconscious mind (autonomic)
  • Reciprocal relaxation of the muscles of abdominal exhalation (which include many of the muscles that can tend to over-tense and contribute to lower back pain) by the main muscle of inhalation (the diaphragm)

3. Mental

  • Focus on any type of breathing can help with concentration
  • Reduced breathing (hypoventilation) leaves the body slightly more acidic (with carbonic acid), which gives the physiological effect of calming the nervous system and the mind in general

4. Emotional

  • Slow abdominal (diaphragmatic) breathing tends to enhance parasympathetic control of relaxation response with ahimsa (non-violence) and/or love and peace and happiness as dominant emotions
  • Faster chest (thoracic) breathing tends to enhance sympathetic control of ‘flight or fight’ response with tapas (passion to do your best) and/or fear anger and aggression as dominant emotions

5. Physiological

  • Type of breathing:
    • Chest inhalation and/or active abdominal exhalation:
      • Increases heart rate
      • Stimulates ‘flight or fight’ response (sympathetic nervous system)
    • Abdominal (diaphragmatic) inhalation and/or passive chest exhalation:
      • Decreases heart rate
      • Stimulates ‘relaxation’ response (parasympathetic nervous system
  • Amount of breathing:
    • Reduced breathing (hypoventilation) for
      • Calmer nerves
      • Increased oxygenation and blood flow to brain and heart
      • Reduced hunger
    • Increased breathing (hyperventilation) for
      • Stimulation of nerves
      • Decreased oxygenation and blood flow to brain and heart
      • Increased hunger

You can learn much about the breathing and its relation to yoga and exercise by joining our online course on the ‘Applied anatomy and physiology of yoga’ by going to

http://anatomy.yogasynergy.com

Our Online course goes for 12 weeks and begins at various times throughout the year.

If you would like to learn more about breath control then please consider coming to my one day workshop on ‘The ancient secrets of the breath’ on Sunday 11th July 2010. For details go to

http://enlightenedevents.com.au/_webapp_486160/The_Ancient_Secrets_of_the_Breath_Workshop

Posted in Uncategorized.

No comments

By Simon Borg-Olivier – 5 July, 2010