A bandha (Sanskrit बंध) is a kriyā [simple action] in Hatha Yoga, being a kind of internal mudra [disposition or pose] described as a "body lock" [1][2].
It is done to seal or lock the vital energy (prana) into a particular part of the body, such as the area of one of the spinal chakras or energy wheel centers. Bandha literally means bond, fetter, or "catching hold of" [3][4][5]. More
Mindfulness of breathing is letting go of control
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| Mindfulness in Plain English |
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| Uddiyana bandha in a Western yoga class (wiki) |
Breath work, on the other hand, is manipulation of the breath (retention, expulsion, tightening, speeding up, bellowing, etc.) for some other purpose, such as wrestling it, forcing it, extending it, and so on in the play/work of yoga (union with spirit or spiritus, the "holy spirit" that is the subtle breath sometimes called pneuma or prana).
When it is time to practice mindfulness (satipatthana) of it, just watch. But keep watching no matter how fine it gets, even when it seems to disappear for stretches. Remain at the tip of the nostrils waiting for it, like a shepherd who has no need of going out to find wandering livestock, knowing that simply waiting by the waterhole, such livestock will surely return of their own accord. This sort of watching of the breath is then broadened to other parts of the
- body
- feelings
- mind
- phenomena (dhammas, not the Dhamma or Dharma).
All of this is spelled out in detail in the "Discourse on the Fourfold Setting Up of Mindfulness," popularly known as the "Four Foundations of Mindfulness Sutra" (Satipatthana Sutta), of which there are two, one a little longer than the other.
- The School of Breath, YouTube; Yogi Dhr. Seven and Yogini Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly
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