Tim Miller II: Bandhas, Pranayama, Practice

Now that I’ve covered the weird and mystical and fabulous bit, more breakdown and more specific pointers and mods and methods. Hah! AS IF bandhas and pranayama aren’t esoteric, weird and mystical

Bandhas per Tim: the moola bandha CAN be taught as a muscular action, although it is also energetic. PC muscle (your “Kegeler” if you’re a chick). Imagine drawing the bottommost tip of the tailbone, to the pubic bone. Back/bottom to front. That’s the MB. It’s also, base chakra to the one directly above it (and we know from before, that chakras are “intersections” of the sushumna/ida/pingala nadis).

Uddiyana? Imagine drawing the pubic bone to the navel. Just think about it and it happens. Put four fingers on that space while it’s lightly contracted. Feel the “bow chicka bow” energy? Sorry, that’s me taking a detour (hah!) for a second. But seriously, the spongy muscle that’s involved in the physical practice of MB and the low sort of medulla-reptile abs that are involved in the UB? Don’t doubt that there is some SERIOUS serpent power to be had there, my friends.

ANYWAY….

Tim led us into uddiyana kriya (that’s the famous photo you see where the slightly spine-flexed super-thin Indian guy has his belly sucked up into his rib cage), and then into agni sara (which is basically rolling the belly up and down while doing uddiyana kriya, and which built CRAZY heat in my insides, just like it’s supposed to) and then finally into an attempt at nauli, which right now doesn’t behave for me at all, so it’s all visualization. Eventually, the rectus abdominis will roll side to side (and both, if you will, right to left and left to right).

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Pranayama

After the Friday 12:30 Nadi Shodana class, Tim led us into nadi shodanda pranayama (alternate nostril breathing) which went badly for me since I was overheated and feeling some defeat in numerous poses; too much mind, too little calm. So I also didn’t grok how to do it, but if I’m going to be retaining breath, I want some freakin’ bandhas involved, and NS doesn’t seem to call for that. I don’t know, maybe it does. I’ll have to catch it next time.

In the pranayama class which began at 6, however, after much talk about the pranamaya kosha and the energetic version of the bandhas (which goes back to chakras and to nadis and thence to kundalini and thence to Shiva/Shakti and thence right into mythology), Tim showed us the first two ashtanga pranayamas. For some reason I INSTANTLY thought of Owl’s ashtanga bio, where she says that Rolf showed her the first two pranayamas…”pucky!”

Anyway: pranayama one is retention on the exhale. Then retention on the inhale. Not of the same breath. It’s in-out-ret, do as many as you do, and then it’s in-ret-out, do as many as you do.

Pranayama TWO is combining. In-ret-out-ret, repeat.

Jalandhara bandha when retaining inhale; unnecessary when retaining exhale.
I don’t feel like giving away the ratios here (because you should learn this from a teacher, not from a blog), but hold the inhale retentions longer than you do the exhale retentions. Don’t make yourself freak out, unless it’s purely mind panic (that’s fine, you get a chance to overcome it).

Tim also, as a demo prior to the pranayamas, had us do what is essentially viloma pranayama with chakra meditation. Exhale all the way, breath goes to muladhara at the base of the tailbone. Inhale TO the next chakra (pubic bone), pause; then TO the next (navel), pause; to the heart, pause; to the throat, pause; to between the eyebrows, pause; to the top of the head. Then we did a whole set moving “down” as well. It ROCKED. Got me suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper chilled out.

I loved doing the actual retentions, in large part because I’ve wanted to learn the official ashtanga pranayamas (any of them) for about two freakin years. Tim said we’d hold them long enough to maybe get some mind panic, but no physical damage could occur. I got no mind panic. Bandhas in retention just SUCK my mind down into my belly. That feels freakin AWESOME.

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Practice

The Intermediate led half practice kicked my butt. Too hot, no relaxing-between pauses like the ones I take at home, and so I was feeling defeat in Laghu, in Kapo, in EPS right side, in Pincha, in the Urdhva Dhanurasanas (although my mid-spine on Sunday was telling me they were big wheels). Still, from the heat and the human energy, I had good flexibility and good power (when I had it).

Heat turns me (and most of us, I think) into cooked spaghetti. Cook it just a LITTLE and you get wonderful bendiness with still good strength, muscle tension. But cook it past al dente and you just get a floppy uber-flexible mess. And right now, I’m used to YMCA practices at 70 degrees. None of this 90 and humid nonsense; that’s silly talk.

Nonetheless I had jumps back and through everywhere I needed them, but no straight-arm pressups in Kapo, and way-too-burning thighs in the long Laghu hold. Too hot, too fast, to keep breath. By the twists, I was panting to get cooler, calmer, to reassert ujjayi. Same with the wheels, although I did all six that Tim led (two sets of three). I seem to still need to find the line between shradda (strength/faith) and bravado. So be it.

The Primary was cooler and earlier, although the room was more full. 9:30-noon, and we probably started practice around 10:15. Wonderful sacred text intro about ishtadevata (personal deity) and dedication, and the bhakti to be had in action. “God doing” and all that. Marvelous stuff.

No soreness at ALL in the shoulder; full jumps back and through, every pose. Lotus jumpbacks, big ones, both here and in the Intermediate. Eight wrist binds in the Marichyasanas; hadn’t done THAT since April. Quick Navasana counts, for which I was grateful. I was parked in a corner near two plants, so poses like Kurmasana and Upavistha Konasana were a bit of a guess as to angle of thighs, but it all worked. No “traffic accidents” with neighbors or any of that

Tried the Intermediate entry to Supta K and lost it twice; too slippery, too much overcooked spaghetti in my muscles, from the heat. Fell apart literally like a pile of well-cooked semolina noodles. Got on my belly, swept the hands under and clasped, crossed the ankles and took the remaining three breaths there.

Again, too hot by the wheels. Lost the Urdhva Mukha Paschimo and couldn’t achieve Setu Bandhasana. Did, nonetheless, all six wheels. No standing up, either here or in the Intermediate. Will have to work on that.

So in short, it rocked. I don’t know how or where I will see Tim again, but I officially intend on it.