Each yoga posture has its own unique form and function. Muscles that engage in one posture may be stretching in another. For this reason it helps to have a road map for navigating your way to the optimal pose. Better still is the ability to create your own road map. The Bandha Yoga Codex shows you how to do this.
There are five elements to every asana. These are the joint positions, the muscles that engage to produce these positions, the muscles that stretch, the breath, and the bandhas. Understanding the joint positions enables you to determine the muscles that produce the posture. Engage the prime movers to sculpt the pose, and polish it with the synergists. Once you know the prime movers, you can identify the muscles that are stretching. Apply physiological techniques to lengthen these muscles and create mobility to deepen the pose.
Then there is the breath. In virtually every posture we can benefit from expanding the chest. Combine the accessory muscles of breathing with the action of the diaphragm to increase the volume of the thorax. This improves oxygenation of the blood and removes energetic blockages in the subtle body.
The bandhas are the finishing touch. Co-activate the muscle groups that produce the joint positions and you will create bandhas throughout the body. Then connect these peripheral locks to the core bandhas. This produces stability in the pose and accentuates the sensory imprint of the asana on the mind.
The Bandha Yoga Codex is a five-step process that teaches how to identify these elements and decode any pose. This is your guide to creating a road map for combining science and yoga. I use Janu Sirsasana to illustrate the Codex on the following pages.
STEP 1 Define the position of each joint in the pose. This will guide you to the muscles to engage. Look at the major joints, including the shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and trunk.
For example, in Janu Sirsasana, the straight-leg hip flexes and the knee extends. The bent-leg hip flexes, abducts, and externally rotates. The trunk flexes. The shoulders flex and externally rotate . . . and so on throughout the body in the pose.
STEP 2 Identify the prime mover muscles that act on the joints to create the pose. Contract these muscles to align and stabilize the skeleton.
For example, contract the quadriceps to extend the knee and the psoas to flex the hip.
STEP 3 Identify the antagonist muscles of the prime movers. Stretch these muscles to create flexibility. Use facilitated stretching and reciprocal inhibition to relax these muscles and increase their length.
For example, contracting the quadriceps and psoas muscles of the straight leg signals the hamstrings and gluteus maximus of that same leg to relax into the stretch.
STEP 4 Expand the chest. Use the cues in this book to train yourself to isolate and engage the accessory muscles of breathing.
For example, draw the shoulder blades toward the midline and the shoulders away from the ears by engaging the rhomboids and lower trapezius. Then lift and expand the chest by contracting the pectoralis minor and serratus anterior muscles.
STEP 5 Create a bandha. This “locks” or stabilizes the pose, strengthens the muscles, and stimulates the nervous system.
For example, engage the straight-leg psoas by squeezing the torso against the thigh. At the same time, activate the bent-leg gluteus maximus by contracting the buttocks. Hold this action for a breath or two and feel how it stabilizes the pelvis in Janu Sirsasana.