TERMS · GLOSSARY OF THE FRAMEWORK

Mula bandha

The "root lock" — a sustained gentle engagement of the perineum and pelvic floor that seals the lowest gateway of the central channel and prevents the downward escape of vital essence. Distinct male and female versions are documented in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika with Muktibodhananda's commentary.

Mula bandha (मूल बन्ध, "root lock") is one of the three principal bandhas (energetic locks) in Hatha Yoga, sustained during pranayama and seated meditation. It engages the muscles of the perineum and pelvic floor in a gentle, continuous contraction that — in the classical description — seals the lowest gateway of the Sushumna and prevents the downward escape of bindu and the descent of apana vayu (the downward-moving vital current).

The other two locks complete the system:

  • Uddiyana bandha — the abdominal lock; draws the abdominal wall up and in against the spine
  • Jalandhara bandha — the throat lock; presses the chin gently toward the chest

Engaged together — maha bandha, "the great lock" — the three create the pressure conditions for the upward redirection of energy through Sushumna.

Male and female versions

Swami Muktibodhananda's commentary on the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Bihar School of Yoga) is unusually explicit that mula bandha has a different anatomical point of engagement for men and women:

  • Male — the perineum proper (the point between anus and scrotum); the contraction draws upward and slightly forward
  • Female — the cervical region internally; the contraction is finer and engages a higher and more interior point

The two versions produce the same energetic effect — sealing the downward gateway — through different muscular substrates. The female version is, in the classical literature, paired with the ashwini mudra (rhythmic pelvic-floor contractions during breath retention) and integrated with the practice of siddhasana in its female variant.

Primary sources

  • Hatha Yoga Pradipika, chapter III, with Swami Muktibodhananda's commentary (Bihar School of Yoga edition) — the male/female distinction
  • Gheranda Samhita — the female-specific practices
  • Mantak Chia, Healing Love Through the Tao — the Taoist parallel ("orgasmic upward draw")

In motion