Yoga Glossary · Breath & Energy
Bandha (energy locks)
Internal 'locks' — coordinated muscle engagements that direct breath and pressure in the body.
Bandha means lock or seal. In practice a bandha is a specific, coordinated muscular engagement — at the pelvic floor, the abdomen, or the throat — that contains and directs the pressure and energy of the breath rather than letting it dissipate. The three classic locks are Mula (root), Uddiyana (abdominal) and Jalandhara (throat).
Modern training teaches the bandhas as pressure management, not mystique: engaging the pelvic floor and deep core while breathing hard keeps the trunk stable and the low back safe. Teachers cue soft versions inside active poses — a lifted pelvic floor, a drawn-in navel — and reserve the full, formal locks for dedicated breath practice, usually on an empty stomach and under guidance.
In practice
- Think 25 percent effort — a bandha is a valve, not a clamp.
- The three locks map to three storeys of the trunk: pelvic floor, abdomen, throat.
- Formal bandha practice with breath retention belongs in supervised settings, not in a first week of yoga.
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The Yoga Glossary is an educational study reference. Definitions are standard yoga and anatomy knowledge in plain language; nothing here is medical advice.