Muscle Contractions Used in Yoga

Yoga isn't just about stretching, relaxing or twisting your body into a pretzel; it also can challenge your muscular strength and endurance in less obvious ways. You can improve your yoga practice by integrating these subtle muscle contractions into your poses, which will enable your body to become stronger and perform more efficiently over time.

  1. Ujayii Breathing

    • The sound of your Ujayii can remind you to continue breathing slowly and deeply during your yoga practice.

      By voluntarily constricting the muscles of your voice box as though whispering, you create a sound as you breathe called "ujayii breathing" or The Victorious Breath. This sound has been described as similar to the ocean as heard in a shell, but many folks think it sounds a bit like Darth Vader from Star Wars. Ujayii breathing helps to keep you focused on your breath, and some practitioners claim that it helps to heat the body.

    Mula Bandha

    • The muscles of your pelvic floor control both urination and defecation. In certain forms of yoga, it is thought that by contracting these muscles in Mula Bandha, or "root lock," you are able to keep the flow of "prana," or energy, from leaking out of the body. From an exercise physiology perspective, tensing these muscles seems to assist in core exercises. Like all skeletal muscles, exercising the muscles of your pelvic floor strengthens them, thereby improving both bowel and bladder control. Practice contracting the levator ani muscle of your pelvic floor by thinking about the action you take to stop urinating midstream or prevent yourself from passing gas. Hold each contraction for two seconds, and repeat 15 times or until you feel the muscles beginning to fatigue. You can gradually increase the amount of time that you maintain Mula Bandha and integrate it into various asanas. It is especially useful during vigorous vinyasa "flow" classes when transitioning quickly from one posture to another.

    Uddiyana Bandha

    • Hollowing out the abdominal muscles can also help you to maintain this asana, known as Boat Pose.

      Translated as "flying-up lock," Uddiyana Bandha is a sustained elevation of the diaphragm, the main muscle which powers your breath, combined with a contraction of all your abdominal muscles. To perform this exercise, exhale as much air as possible from your lungs, then suck your stomach in as strongly as you can. Without actually inhaling, lift your rib cage and breastbone as though you are trying to take a deep breath. This results in a powerful hollowing out of the abdominal cavity, and can be used in combination with Mula Bandha to assist in lifting into arm-balancing asanas.

    Iyengar Isometric Contraction

    • Isometrically contracting the muscles of your legs can power up your Warrior poses.

      Lyengar yoga emphasizes proper alignment and long, static holds of poses. Once in an asana, focus on the different muscles being used to support your body and intensely squeeze those muscles while remaining still. These isometric contractions quickly build a sense of heat and exertion in your body while promoting muscular endurance.