Uddiyana Bandha Kriya: How to Do the Upward Abdominal Lock Step by Step
Uddiyana Bandha (the upward abdominal lock) is a yoga practice where you breathe all the air out, hold the breath out and lift the belly in and up under the ribs. The lift comes from a fake inhale: the ribs widen, no air comes in, and the diaphragm and belly are drawn upward. Done in repeated rounds, it is called Uddiyana Bandha Kriya, and it is the classic first step towards Nauli.
Practice type: pranayama and kriya (breath-out hold) · Level: 1-2 · Props: none, a mat or a cushion · When: on an empty stomach
What does Uddiyana Bandha mean?
The name is two Sanskrit words:
- Uddiyana (उड्डीयान): flying up, rising. It comes from the root di, to fly, with ud, up.
- Bandha (बन्ध): a lock, a bond, something that holds.
So Uddiyana Bandha is the "upward flying lock". The name describes what you see: the belly rises and hollows under the ribcage. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the 15th century manual of hatha yoga, describes it as drawing the belly above and below the navel back towards the spine, and gives it the same image of a bird taking flight.
Kriya means action. In the old hatha texts the kriyas, or shatkarma, are six purification practices, and Nauli, the churning of the belly, is one of them. Uddiyana Bandha Kriya is the name many teachers give to the repeated lock: you lift, release, breathe, and do it again. It is the groundwork for Nauli.
What happens in the body
The lock is easier to learn once you know the mechanism. After a full exhale you close your throat, the way you would to hold your breath. Then you expand the ribcage as if to inhale. No air can come in, so the pressure inside the chest drops, and the diaphragm, the dome-shaped muscle under the lungs, is pulled high up into the chest. The relaxed belly wall and the organs behind it follow it up and in. That is the hollow.
This is why the belly muscles have to stay soft. If you squeeze your abs to pull the belly in, you get a flat belly, and the hollow under the ribs does not appear. The work is in the ribs and the throat. The belly is passive.
How to do Uddiyana Bandha, step by step
Learn it standing. It is easier to see and feel there, and you can move to a seated position later.
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees a little bent.
- Hinge forward from the hips with a long back and rest your hands on your thighs, a little above the knees. Keep your arms straight and let some of your weight rest in them.
- Breathe in through the nose. Then breathe out through the mouth, slowly and completely, until your lungs feel empty.
- Close your throat and hold the breath out.
- Without letting any air in, widen your ribs as if you were taking a big inhale. Keep your belly soft. Feel it draw in and up under the ribcage.
- Many teachers add a light chin lock here: lower the chin towards the chest. This is Jalandhara Bandha, and it helps keep the throat closed.
- Hold for as long as it stays comfortable, 5-10 seconds to start. Stop well before you need to gasp.
- Release in order: relax the ribs, let the belly drop, lift the chin. Only then breathe in, slowly, through the nose.
- Stand up and take a few normal breaths. Do 3-5 rounds.
In the video, Guy Powiecki teaches the lock and the stages towards Nauli. The full version is our Uddiyana Bandha and Nauli tutorial, 10 minutes, level 1-2.
Uddiyana Bandha Kriya: the repeated version
Once the single lock feels familiar, the kriya adds rhythm. On one breath-out hold you lift the belly, let it drop, lift it again, several times, before you release and breathe in. Some traditions call this pumping version Agnisara. Start with 3-5 pumps on one hold and rest between rounds.
From there you can sit. In Padmasana (Lotus Pose) or Sukhasana (Easy Pose), place your hands on your knees, press lightly into them and do the same steps. Seated, it is often combined with a breath-out hold in pranayama, the practice our guide to Kumbhaka, breath retention, goes through.
Benefits of Uddiyana Bandha
What you can say with confidence:
- You learn to feel the diaphragm. Few other exercises let you feel the breathing muscle move on its own, separate from the belly wall.
- It moves the belly and the organs behind it. The organs are drawn up and back, then drop again. Many practitioners feel this as a massage of the belly.
- It trains control of the breath-out hold. You practise staying calm with empty lungs, which is useful in pranayama.
- It prepares you for Nauli. You cannot isolate the belly muscles in Nauli until the hollow of Uddiyana comes easily.
In the yoga tradition, Uddiyana is said to stimulate agni, the digestive fire, and to lead prana upward. Those are traditional explanations. Research on the practice is thin: a handful of small studies, most without a control group. Claims that it improves digestion or blood flow to the brain have not been shown.
Who should skip or modify it
Uddiyana changes the pressure in your chest and belly quickly. Skip it, or ask a teacher and your doctor first, if any of these apply:
- you are pregnant
- you have high blood pressure or heart disease
- you have a hernia, a stomach ulcer or recent surgery in the belly or chest
- you have glaucoma or a detached retina
- you have eaten recently: wait 3-4 hours after a meal
Many teachers also advise leaving it out during menstruation. That is a traditional caution rather than a medical finding, so let your own body decide. If you feel dizzy or your heart races, stop and breathe normally.
Common mistakes
- Squeezing the abs. A hard belly will not hollow. Keep it soft and let the rib expansion do the lifting.
- Holding with air in the lungs. Uddiyana is done after the exhale. With air in, nothing lifts.
- An open throat. If air leaks in, the vacuum disappears. Close the throat, as if you were about to swallow.
- Holding too long. Old instructions say "as long as you can". Stay well inside your limit so the next breath is slow.
- Gasping in. Inhaling before the belly has dropped pulls air in with a jolt. Release first, then breathe.
Where teachers disagree
Two practices share the name. In hatha yoga and pranayama, Uddiyana Bandha is the full lift described above, done on a breath-out hold. In Ashtanga Vinyasa and many flow classes, teachers use the same name for a light drawing in of the lower belly, held while you breathe through the whole practice. The two are different actions. A full Uddiyana with the breath going in and out is impossible, so when a teacher asks you to "keep Uddiyana" in a flow class, they mean the lighter version.
The old claim that Uddiyana "strengthens the abdominal muscles" also needs care. In the full lock the belly muscles are relaxed. The effort is in the ribs and the throat. If you want to train your core, our guide to core and yoga is the better place to start.
The bandhas and the kriyas around it
The hatha texts name three main bandhas:
- Mula Bandha, the root lock at the pelvic floor. Our guide to Mula Bandha, the root lock, goes through it.
- Uddiyana Bandha, the upward abdominal lock.
- Jalandhara Bandha, the chin lock at the throat.
Done together, they are called Maha Bandha, the great lock, which makes four names in all. Modern teachers sometimes add Pada Bandha (the feet) and Hasta Bandha (the hands) for rooting in standing poses and arm balances. Those are modern teaching terms and are not in the old texts. Our bandhas tutorial works on Mula and Uddiyana together in 15 minutes.
The six kriyas of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika are Dhauti (the stomach), Basti (the colon), Neti (the nose), Trataka (gazing at a point or a candle flame), Nauli (churning the belly) and Kapalabhati, skull shining breath. Nauli grows out of Uddiyana: with the hollow in place you learn to push the two long belly muscles forward in the centre, then to one side, then the other, and finally to roll them.
To practise it with a teacher, try the 15-minute Uddiyana Bandha Kriya class, which builds the lock up in stages, or the eight-week Pranayama Program Level 1 with Guy Powiecki.
Frequently asked questions
What does Uddiyana Bandha do?
It draws the diaphragm high into the chest and the belly in and up under the ribs, while you hold the breath out. You learn to feel and control the diaphragm, and it prepares you for Nauli. In the yoga tradition it is said to lift prana and stoke the digestive fire.
What are the four bandhas in yoga?
Mula Bandha (root lock), Uddiyana Bandha (upward abdominal lock), Jalandhara Bandha (chin lock) and Maha Bandha, the great lock, which is the first three done together.
What are the three types of bandha in yoga?
The three main bandhas are Mula Bandha at the pelvic floor, Uddiyana Bandha at the belly and Jalandhara Bandha at the throat. Maha Bandha combines all three.
Is Uddiyana Bandha the same as Nauli?
No. Uddiyana is the hollowing of the whole belly on a breath-out hold. Nauli starts from that hollow and adds the isolation and rolling of the two long belly muscles. Learn Uddiyana first.
Should I do Uddiyana Bandha on an empty stomach?
Yes. Wait 3-4 hours after a meal. Most people practise it in the morning, before breakfast, after a few rounds of gentle breathing.
How long should I hold Uddiyana Bandha?
Start with 5-10 seconds and 3-5 rounds. Stop while the next inhale can still be slow. Longer holds come with practice, and there is no need to push them.
Can I do Uddiyana Bandha with breath in the lungs?
Not the full lock. The lift depends on empty lungs and a closed throat. What flow teachers call Uddiyana while you breathe is a light drawing in of the lower belly, a different action with the same name.
