11/01/2026
Today we experimented with practices from the book “Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā with notes from Krishnamacharya”
Today was a quite fundamental special class to set a good foundation for your practice. The theme was ‘Purposeful Vinyāsa’.
There are 5 things happening in every single vinyāsa:
- Movement
- Breath
- Bandhas
- Drsti
- Asana / the body as a whole, placed strongly and purposefully and skillfully in a state of relaxed lengthening-tension and activity. Sthira and sukha.
We started by finding the three bandhas: mula bandha, uddiyana bandha, and jalandhara bandha.
Uddiyana bandha kriya – upward flying lock
The kriya version is a relaxed vacuum version where the belly lifts up towards the diaphragm. This is done by exhailing fully, relaxing the belly 100%, and expand the chest as if you would inhale, but you don’t inhale (use your rib muscles). When you try to expand the lungs with no air in them, it was instead create vacuum, negative pressure, that lifts your digestive organs up.
This vacuum is what you see in the pictures above.
In the led Ashtanga Yoga flow, we experimented on finding vacuum this in certain chosen asanas. When folding forward, or in the adho mukhva śvanāsana (downward facing dog), it can be found quite effortlessly, as long as you can relax (may take time to build up such stamina so that you actually can relax).
On Sundays we will be exploring these kind of hatha yoga practices, alongside the led ashtanga class. I call it a special class, because it is quite special.
When we reached Janu Sirsasana today in the led class, we explored the bandhas again, as we did mahāmudrā (the great mudra).
The Sunday classes is where I explain weird things. In the weekly led classes is where we practice to the rhythm of the vinyāsa of the group.
All of these classes are open for drop-in visits. This is where you want to be on your Sunday evenings! ✨
We will be talking about some energies and energy pathways also during these 10 weeks (Ida, Pingala, Shushumna).
