500 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Part 2 Notes
Bandhas
Bandhas are muscular contractions used to direct prana (subtle energy) within the body.
They lift and lock subtle energy, preventing dissipation and facilitating safe and effective prana transportation.
Jalandhara Bandha (“Throat Lock”)
Function: Allows free flow of prana and stimulates the throat Chakra.
Effect: Purifies thoughts and actions; inspires the mind to reside in the heart.
Teaching:
Lift chest bone.
Tuck shoulder blades together.
Tuck chin and bend head slightly down.
Ensure no tension in neck muscles.
Relax throat and root of tongue.
Possible benefits:
Stabilizes blood pressure in the head.
Presses Ida and Pingala, allowing Kundalini to flow in Sushumna.
Clears nasal passages.
Regulates blood and prana flow to head and heart.
Relaxes the brain, humbles the ego.
Necessary preparation for Ujjayi breath.
Uddiyana Bandha (“Abdominal Grip”)
Function: Moves energy from the lower abdomen upwards, from the root Chakra to the heart Chakra.
Uddiyana translates to “upward-flying”.
Teaching:
Begin standing or sitting in Easy Pose.
If standing, bend knees and flex at hips, supporting upper body with hands on thighs.
With a light Jalandhara Bandha, inhale deeply, then exhale strongly and fully.
Holding bahya kumbhaka (breath retention after exhalation), draw navel to spine and up toward ribcage.
Maintain this drawing-in action as you inhale; breath expands predominantly in chest and upper back.
Important Considerations:
Often used during asana and pranayama.
Can be practiced on its own.
Should always be done on an empty stomach.
Never practice during menstruation or pregnancy.
Possible benefits:
Prana flows from low abdominals up to head.
Massages internal organs.
Increases gastric fire power to eliminate toxins.
Promotes youthful, long life.
Mula Bandha (“Root Lock”)
Function: Blending of prana, creating Tapas (internal heat).
Increases stability in the pelvis.
Teaching:
Contract anal sphincter (Ashwini Mudra).
Contract muscles of the pelvic floor as if to stop the flow of urine.
The navel will naturally draw in and up.
The contraction may be felt more in the vaginal walls than in the anal sphincter depending on reproductive organs and other features of the pelvis that are different from one sex to the other.
Possible benefits:
Downward flow of apana is reversed, uniting with prana at the navel center, creating a neutral mind.
Encourages energy flow in Sushumna.
Provides vigor and luster.
Maha Bandha (“Great Lock”)
Maha means “great” in Sanskrit.
Involves applying Jalandhara, Uddiyana, and Mula Bandhas simultaneously.
May influence the endocrine system due to muscle contraction and its relationship to endocrine functioning.
Hasta Bandha (the “Hand”) | Pada Bandha (the “Foot”)
Created by the Chakras in the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet in dynamic, energetic contact with the living earth.
Example In Downward Facing Dog:
Awareness of Hasta and Pada Bandha can help draw fresh energy from the earth up through the hands and feet into your core on the inhalation.
Exhaling, you can send any tension in the body out through the hands and feet into the earth.
Mudras
Yoga Mudras are understood as a healing modality.
The Sanskrit word Mudra translates as gesture, mark, or seal.
Generally hand positions, but can also involve shapes made with the whole body or specific areas.
Mudras affect the movement of Prana (life force energy).
In Western terms, they may stimulate the nervous system, creating beneficial physical and mental shifts.
Mudras may also affect our energy body and emotions.
The best way to understand the effects of mudras is to use them in your practice and discover, experientially, how they make you feel.
Lotus Mudra
Symbol of purity that opens the heart.
Cultivates love and affection, eases loneliness.
Technique: Bring hands together at the heart, palms together, fingertips touching. Blossom fingers away from each other but keep little fingers and thumbs together. The lower portion of the palms touch as well as the pads of the little fingers and thumbs. If the hands are closed, they resemble the buds of a lotus flower, when open and fingers wide, it is the lotus opening.
Namaste | Anjali Mudra
Often referred to as prayer position, it connects the left and right sides of the brain enabling communication between the two sides.
Customary gesture of greeting in India, expressing “suchness” (tahata).
Meaning “two handfuls,” this is the Mudra of offering and devotion.
Technique: Place the hands in the position for prayer, but instead of pressing the hands together completely, the fingers form the shape of a bud, leaving a small space in between the palms as a symbol of opening our heart to a greater understanding.
Jnana or Dhyana Mudra
The gesture of consciousness and knowledge; it modifies pranic flow in the fingers, redirecting it inwards to calm the mind.
It is said that, using this Mudra, one can sit in meditation for a long duration, as it reduces the number of distractions arising in the mind.
Technique: Join together the tips of the index finger and the thumb, pressing them lightly into one another. Straighten the other three fingers gently. Relax the palms.
Dhyani Mudra
The gesture of meditation and contemplation.
The right hand resting on top symbolizes the state of enlightenment; the other, below, the world of appearance.
Expresses overcoming the world of appearance through enlightenment.
Technique: Back of the right-hand rests in the palm of the other with tips of the thumbs lightly touching.
Ksepana Mudra
The gesture of pouring out and letting go, stimulating elimination through the large intestine, skin, and lungs, helping to release tensions of all kinds.
Technique: Place the index fingers flat against each other; clasp the rest of the fingers allowing the fingers to rest onto the backs of the hands. Cross the thumbs.
Asana Assisting & Adjusting
Assists: Verbal
Verbal assists can be empowering when clear and effective.
Cues can significantly change a student's experience of the asana and their own bodies.
Stating/cueing assists so the entire class can hear it contributes to others’ practices, as they will often assess themselves and make a self-adjustment.
How to Observe:
Assess: read the space and student's attitude/energy, facial cues, and their energy level.
What looks beneficial for them in the asana so far?
Many times, a misalignment in the upper body begins in the foundation.
Is how they are expressing the asana working for their body?
Can you see areas where the student may be at risk?
Steps to Provide a Verbal Assist:
Move towards the student, soften your voice, and give your cues as an action command.
Observe to see that they have understood and acknowledged them.
It is not helpful to state a generic instruction. For example, if someone has most of their weight in the heels of their feet, you want to include additional information so only those that need to adjust will do so. You might say, “If your weight is residing in your heels, find the balance by shifting some of the weight into the front of your feet."
When verbally cueing, many students will automatically assume you are talking to them, therefore it is important to provide enough information so all students can determine if the verbal cue applies to them.
Choose 1 Element to Offer as an Assist:
Start slowly by giving one cue at a time and allowing the student to fully integrate that into their body; too much, too quickly, will not work.
Ask Yourself: What is my INTENTION in offering this Assist?
Before you offer the assist, understand the intention behind it.
When you provide a verbal assist, be clear about the intended result before speaking.
Think carefully about what you are going to say so that you can transmit the information clearly and concisely.
What if a student does NOT understand or does NOT react to my cues?
Try again with different language and wording.
Offer a variation.
Show them by demonstrating on/with your own body.
Offer a hands-on assist.
Assists: Hands-On
Human touch can be a strong teaching tool.
Each teacher will develop their individual style as their teaching and intuition develop.
As with verbal assists, the purpose of hands-on assists is to modify the experience of the posture, not to