Moola Bandha [antikvár]

The Three BandhasIn the Yogataravali Sutras it is said: '^^alandhara bandha, uddiyana bandha and moola bandha are situated in the throat, abdomen and perineum respectively. If their duration can be increased then where is the fear of death? By the practice of these three bandhas the dormant kundalini awakens and enters into the sushumna. The breath becomes still {kumbhaka). With the performance of these three bandhas the rechaka (exhalation) and pooraka (inhalation) ceases to function. With this the senses become purified and kevala (enlightenment) takes place. I pray for xh-dividya (knowledge) residing in kevala kumbhaka." (YS, 5,6,8)The word bandha (which should not to be confused with the words bandh, baddha and bandhana, which have similar meanings) may be defined in several ways. A Sanskrit dictionary definition runs as follows: 'binding, tying a bond, tie, chain, fetter, a ligature, to catch, hold captive, arrest, imprison, fix, fasten, hold back, restrain, stop, shut, close, to redirect, check, obstruct, clot and lock.'Bandha may also be defined analogously and is likened to the 'damming of a river', 'building a bridge' or 'building over the sea'. This can be interpreted as meaning that a bandha is a vehicle to traverse the ocean of samsara, worldly existence, and to reach the other shore of enlightenment.The bandha group consists of moola, uddiyana and jalandhara bandhas. The fourth, maha bandha, is a