Uddiyana Bandha Kriya - Pre Nauli

Posted on 2018-11-29

Step by step to Nauli Kriya

Uddiyana Bandha, Upward flying lock, or Pre nauli is an essential exercise for health, well-being, and energy flow. This exercise will help your digestive organs, improve digestion, massage your solar plexus and abdominal organs, release tension and toxicity, stimulate blood flow, and strengthen your abdominal muscles—this a perfect practice to help and activate your energy flow in your hatha yoga practice.

Before our uddiyana bandha practice, there are a few things to remember. This practice should be done with an empty stomach to activate your abdominal muscles. At the same time, you should always do your uddiyana bandha after an exhale. Now that we have remembered these two things let’s continue our practice.

What is ‘Bandha’?

Bandha are “locks” or “bonds” essential to yoga and to pranayama practice (breathing exercises) which can help you stimulate your energy and cleanse your energy channels. Usually, we talk about four key locks or bandhas:

Mula bandha: the root lock
Jalandhara bandha: the throat lock
Uddiyana bandha: the abdominal lock
Maha bandha: Great lock - to do all three locks at the same time

Uddiyana' means to fly or rise up. thereof "Upward flying lock"

The reason behind bandhas is to gain control and lock your energy to use and stimulate your energy as you want. Bandha practice helps you with your flow, to maintain it, and engage it!

How to do uddiyana bandha Kriya / Pre Nauli:

9-step guide for a better energy flow

This step-by-step guide is from a standing position but can be practiced in Padmasana, as in the picture above.

Stand up with your feet shoulder distance apart and your knees slightly bent.
Bend your back straight forward and place your palms on your thighs close to your knees.
Keep your arms straight and slightly and little weight into them.
Exhale slowly until your lungs are empty.
Draw the abdominal wall in and up as if you would try to make your waist smaller. Like you are doing a mock inhalation holding the breath (breath retention), and expanding the rib cage.
Hold your breath (breath inhalation) for as long as you can.
Release your abdominal muscles slowly.
Inhale as your abdominal muscles are entirely released.
Repeat a couple of times. Uddiyana Nauli Kriya helps release energy and move your energy from your belly and up your body. This is also a great way to work your lower abdomen and to focus on that contact with your muscles that can be hard to activate. Uddiyana Bandha creates a massage for your abdominal muscles and lower back.

Uddiyana Bandha Kriya Video Tutorial

Massage for your abdominal and soul

Nauli Kriya helps release energy and move your energy from your belly and up your body. This is also a great way to work your lower abdominal and to focus on that contact with your muscles that can be hard to activate. Uddiyana Bandha creates massage for your abdominal muscles and the lower back.

This is a practice that suits new and old yogis, and will benefit you and your practice! It can be practiced as standing or in a seated yoga poses as Padmasana (lotus posture) or Sukhasana (easy pose.)

Bandhas are activated during Pranayama, but you will find that this practice these days in more in dynamic types of yoga like vinyasa yoga and hatha yoga, sometimes even are seen in restorative yoga.

Uddiyana bandha contraindications

Pregnancy
Menstruation
High Blood pressure

Online courses were to learn Uddiyana Bandha Kriya

Yogateket's Eight-week Pranayama program with Guy Powicki is suited for beginners to start their Pranayama journey.

Home practice

Benefits of Uddiyana Bandha Kriya

Strengthens the abdominal muscles
Massages The Solar plexus, Abdominal organs, Heart, and Lungs.
Improves circulation in the abdomen and the flow of blood to the brain.

When to do Pre Nauli?

It is typically performed after warming the body with other yoga poses and breathing exercises.

Practicing Nauli on an empty stomach after you have had a chance to digest your food and eliminate any waste is generally recommended. Some people prefer to practice Nauli in the morning, while others find it more comfortable to do it later in the day.

Are there any other Bandhas?

Jalandhara Bandha (throat lock): This bandha involves contracting the muscles of the throat to create a feeling of lifting the sternum and drawing the chin towards the chest.
Uddiyana Bandha (upward-flying lock): This bandha involves contracting the lower abdomen muscles to create a feeling of drawing the belly in and up towards the spine.
Mula Bandha (root lock): This bandha involves contracting the pelvic floor muscles to create a feeling of lifting and drawing the energy upwards.
Maha Bandha (great lock): This bandha simultaneously activates all three of the above bandhas (Jalandhara, Uddiyana, and Mula).
Pada Bandha, also known as "foot lock," is a term that is sometimes used to refer to the practice of grounding and to root the feet in standing poses in yoga.
Hasta Bandha, also known as "hand lock," is a term that is sometimes used to refer to the practice of grounding and to root the hands in yoga poses.

Pada Bandha, Hasta Bandha is not typically thought of as one of the traditional bandhas (yogic locks) in yoga, which are typically focused on the abdomen, throat, and pelvic floor muscles.

Did you know?

Uddiyana bandha is the only practice in the hatha yoga tradition that massages and stretches the respiratory diaphragm. The diaphragm in the respiratory system is the dome-shaped muscle layer separating the chest from the abdomen.