Bandhas in Bite-Sized Chunks: A Three-Step Method to Learn Yogic Internal Locks

A systematic approach to learn and master the four yoga bandhas.

By PRANA EDITORS | Last Updated: March 10, 2025

First Read: 10 Essential Guidelines for Practicing Yoga Bandhas

In earlier articles in this series, we covered what are bandhas in yoga, why they matter, and their multi-layered effects on our body, mind, and energy. But let’s be honest–bandhas are deeply internal and steeped in yoga philosophy, so they can feel quite mysterious or esoteric. It’s is no surprise many yoga practitioners find them confusing, frustrating, or downright inaccessible at first.

But here’s the silver lining: you don’t have to figure it all out at once.

We believe the best way to learn bandhas is through a three-step approach–building muscular awareness, breath control, and mental focus progressively. This layered method not only allows your to progress at your own pace but also ensures you never feel overwhelmed. In the sections that follow, we’ll guide you through this process, sharing tips and insights that’ll help you learn bandhas better.

Step 1: Mastering the Physical Aspects

Before getting into the subtler elements of bandhas, you need to get the basics right. Think of it like learning a piano: you wouldn’t start with Mozart–you would begin by mapping the black and white keys and figuring out where your fingers go. The same principle applies here. Your first priority is to understand the technique, identify the right muscles, and learn to engage them precisely.

This phase can be divided into two parts:

Theory: Study the bandha and map out the specific muscles involved. If you’re using our how-to guides, they offer clear explanations along with diagrams to visualize the anatomy.
Practice: Once the theory is clear, take it to the mat. Sit in a meditation posture, locate the correct muscles, and try to engage them without involuntarily contracting the neighboring ones (i.e., avoid tensing your anus, glutes, thighs, or abs while performing Mula Bandha).

To help you understand this better, let’s breakdown how to approach Mula Bandha:

Perfect your sitting posture: Mula Bandha is practiced in meditation postures like Sukhasana, Padmasana, or Siddhasana. Hence, your first task is learning to sit tall in your chosen posture, keeping the body relaxed, and maintaining steady breathing.
Locate the right muscles: The bandha involves the same muscular contraction that occurs while trying to stop your urine midstream. Perform this action a few times, trying to pinpoint the exact muscles. You can also stimulate the area by tapping or massaging it with your fingertips. Tactile stimulation heightens awareness, making it easier to sense and control muscular contractions.
Engage the muscles: When you’ve identified the correct muscles, practice activating them consciously. Try to hold the contraction for a few seconds and release it with maximum control, but don't bother with breath coordination at this stage. Start with 3-5 second contractions, and gradually increase to 10-15 seconds. Repeat as needed but take breaks to avoid overexertion.
Refining the contraction: In the final stage, aim to contract your perineum as gently as possible, without over-clenching or engaging any unnecessary muscles. Instead of focusing on the muscular squeeze in the pelvic floor, imagine pulling energy up from the base of the spine.

Why start with the physical aspects of bandhas first?

Most beginners lack the muscular awareness and control required to contract the perineum, hollow the abdominal cavity, or touch their chin to their chest. And that’s completely normal– these movements aren’t a part of our daily routine. However, these actions are what actually create the “internal locks” of bandhas, so you can’t experience their effects without mastering them.

Additionally, practicing the physical aspects on their own ensures that you are not overwhelmed by the overall technique. It can be much harder to concentrate on the contraction if you also had to worry about holding your breath, counting the duration, and trying to focus your mind – all at once.

At what point in your daily yoga routine should you attempt this?

The best time to work on bandhas is after asana and pranayamas. By then, your body is warm, your breath is steady, and your mind is focused – three helpful ingredients, indeed.

When are you ready to progress to the next step?

Put simply, you’re ready to move to the next step when the physical practice feels natural. In more actionable terms, progress when the following milestones are met:

You’ve memorized the sequence and can engage the correct muscles.
You can hold the bandha for 5 or more seconds with minimal strain or effort.
Your posture remains stable and aligned throughout your practice.

Editor’s Note: These tips don’t apply to Uddiyana Bandha as it involves lifting the diaphragm into the chest. This can only be done while holding the breath after exhaling, as it requires negative pressure in the abdominal cavity that only happens when the lungs are completely empty.

Step 2: Coordinate with Breath Retention

Once the physical engagement of a bandha feels natural, it’s time to introduce the next layer: breath retention (kumbhaka). In yoga, kumbhaka comes in two forms:

Antara Kumbhaka: Internal retention —holding the breath after inhaling.
Bahya Kumbhaka: External retention —holding the breath after exhaling.

Jalandhara and Mula Bandha can be engaged during both, whereas Uddiyana and Maha Bandha can only be combined with external retention. The table below summarizes this information:

Type	Engaged During:
Jalandhara Bandha (Throat Lock)	Internal or external retention
Mula Bandha (Root Lock)	Internal or external breath retention
Uddiyana Bandha (Core Lock)	External breath retention only
Maha Bandha (Great Lock)	External breath retention only

Which variation should you start with?

For bandhas that can be practiced with both types of retention, always start with internal retention (antara kumbhaka). Holding your breath after inhaling is generally more accessible, whereas external retention requires greater breath control and focus. Once you’ve mastered internal retention, transitioning to external retention might feel more manageable.

How long should you hold your breath?

The ideal duration of breath retention depends on experience and comfort:

While learning: Aim for shorter breath holds of 5 to 10 seconds.
While practicing: Hold your breath for 10 to 20 seconds.
Advanced Practice: There’s no fixed upper limit. You can hold a bandha as long as you can hold your breath comfortably. Some yogis can do this for 30+ seconds.

If you struggle to hold your breath for even 5 seconds, it’s a sign to pause bandha practice and go back to pranayama training. Techniques like Kumbhaka Pranayama and Sama Vriti Pranayama (Box Breathing) are excellent for building your breath-holding capacity.

Why is a 10 to 15-second breath hold important?

Bandhas are meant to be performed with intense focus on some aspect of the practice, such as the breath, physical sensations, or energy flow. If only hold your breath for 3 to 5 seconds, that’s barely enough time to engage the muscles, let alone sense energy flow or movements.

However, when you can sustain a bandha and breath retention for 15 seconds, you have space to focus on subtler aspects. This means you can tune into the energy shifts, chant mantras, explore visualizations, or simply observe the movement of prana within the body.

When are you ready to move to the next step?

Move on the third step when you can comfortably sustain the bandha and hold your breath for at least 10 seconds. A few other indicators are: your posture remains stable, you can focus fully on the practice, and your breathing feels natural (no strain or discomfort).

Editor’s Note: The breath is delicate and pushing it past its natural limits can result in dizziness, headaches, and labored breathing, among other things. If you unintentionally strain yourself at any point, stop immediately and rest in Savasana (Corpse Pose) until your feel better.

Step 3: Add Energetic Awareness

Now it’s time to introduce the third and final element of awareness to your bandha practice. When all three elements come into force, they create a powerful synergy, which is the key to experiencing the transformative effects a bandha can have on the mind and body.

But before we proceed, what exactly do we mean by awareness?

When we say “direct your awareness,” we’re talking about a deep, intentional focus on some aspect of your yoga practice – whether it’s physical sensations, breath, or energy flow. Instead of performing a bandha mechanically, you consciously feel the act, observe its effects, and immerse your mind into it.

Incorporating this element of awareness is the difference between “going through the motions” and truly experiencing the spiritual essence of bandhas. It deepens your connection to the self and the present moment, creating the ideal state for spiritual growth and development.

What should I focus on while practicing bandhas?

Here are a few ideas to channel awareness during bandha practice:

Physical sensations

The simplest, and most beginner-friendly way, is tuning into physical sensations or movements, such as specific muscular actions or tactile feedback. For instance, you can practice Mula Bandha in Siddhasana (Adept Pose). As you may know, this yoga pose involves pressing your heel against the pelvic floor. So, you can focus your awareness on this point of contact, sensing the pressure, warmth, or subtle pulsations where the foot meets the body. A few other examples include:

Noticing the stretch at the base of your neck in Jalandhara
Focusing on the hollowing of your abdomen in Uddiyana
Sensing the lifting in the pelvic floor in Mula Bandha

Alternatively, you can focus on your alignment, ensuring that you maintain a straight spine and don’t involuntarily tense areas like the jaw, shoulders, abs, or glutes. This also helps you monitor your technique and build the most basic mind-body connection.

Breath

For a subtler experience, you can observe your breath during bandha practice. For instance, you can notice how air flows during inhalation and exhalation and the feeling of stillness during breath retention. How can also notice how the breath shifts as you engage or release a bandha.

The breath and bandhas are deeply interconnected, and yogis view the breath as a bridge between the physical and subtle body. Plus, observing your breath cultivates mindfulness and helps block out external distractions, both of which can enhance your bandha experience.

3. Energy flow

In the two previous options, your awareness centers on physical or tangible aspects. As you advance, you can link awareness to subtler elements like energy. This involves observing how prana flows and is retained or redistributed in specific areas of the body during bandha work.

For instance, while practicing Mula Bandha, you can imagine energy swirling in the pelvic floor and slowly rising up into the stomach. Likewise, you can visualize prana being drawn into the central energy channel (Sushumna) in Uddiyana, creating a sensation of lightness. In Jalandhara, you can imagine energy pooling in your upper chest and heart region.

3. Chakras

Each bandha activates specific chakras – the energy centers along the spine. If you don’t know what chakras are, check out our article on it. If you already understand them, our article on the chakra-bandha synergy explains the relationship between them. Here’s a quick reference:

Type of Bandha	Associated Chakra	Location
Jalandhara (Throat Lock)	Vishuddhi, Throat Chakra	Throat
Mula (Root Lock)	Muladhara, Root Chakra	Base of the spine
Uddiyana (Core Lock)	Manipura, Solar Plexus Chakra	Above the navel
Maha (Great Lock)	All of the above	All of the above

There are several ways to cultivate chakra awareness during bandha work, including visualizing the chakra’s location, chanting chakra-specific mantras, or imagining energy flowing into the chakra. Don’t stress about the details at this stage. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of this in our how-to guides, which include recommendations for mantras and visualizations.

4. Creative Visualizations

Frankly, chakra work may feel too abstract for some people. Plus, it is deeply rooted in yoga philosophy, which takes times to fully understand. If you aren’t well-versed in it, feel free to come up with creative visualizations to engage your mind. Here are some ideas:

Flame or Light Visualization: Picture a pulsating light or glowing flame at the location of the bandha. Image the flame intensifying with each tick, burning away energetic blockages.
Flower Visualization: The lotus flower is classic imagery in yoga. It represents spiritual growth (blooming lotus) amidst life’s challenges (mud). In fact, in yoga philosophy, all chakras are depicted as lotus flowers with a specific number of petals and colors, such as:

Mula: The root chakra is depicted as a red four-petal lotus
Uddiyana: The solar plexus chakra as a yellow ten-petal lotus
Jalandhara: The throat chakra is depicted as a blue sixteen-petal lotus.

Based on this, yogis often picture a lotus blooming in the area influenced by the bandhas.

Color and Elemental Visualization

Type of Bandha	Element	Color
Jalandhara (Throat Lock)	Ether / Space	Blue
Mula (Root Lock)	Earth	Deep red
Uddiyana (Core Lock)	Fire	Orange-yellow
Maha (Great Lock)	All of the above	All of the above

Each bandha corresponds to a specific chakra, and each chakra is associated with an element and color. During practice, you visualize the color of the chakra influenced by the bandha. This involves imagining a glowing light in the target area. Here are the three possibilities:

Jalandhara Bandha: A radiant blue light glowing at the base of your throat.
Mula Bandha: A deep red light shining at the base of your spine.
Uddiyana Bandha: A vibrant yellow light radiating in the navel region.

Alternatively, you can also visualize imagery that invokes the essence of the element associated with a bandha. For instance, you can visualize a sunrise (fire) in Uddiyana, forests and mountains (earth) in Mula Bandha, and celestial galaxies or clear skies (ether) in Jalandhara.

Before You Go

With that, we’ve laid out a systematic approach to mastering bandhas. But before signing off, we’d like to remind you yoga is not about rushing—it’s about depth. Your bandha experience won’t be measured by how quickly you move through these steps but by how mindfully you engage with each layer of practice. So, take all time you need to evolve your practice naturally and meaningfully.

If you’ve followed our Yoga Bandha series up to this point, you should feel confident enough to begin learning your first yogic internal lock: Jalandhara Bandha.