IYTA teachers Alana Smith and Gyan Morrison are sharing their knowledge in our online yoga workshop. Here Alana explains why it is important to combine both practices…

Q: What benefits can you gain from combining pranayama with the bandhas?

A: When you add the bandhas to pranayama practices it compounds the effects of pranayama, making it more potent which can enhance your state of calmness and clarity. Combining the two will also make your practice more efficient.

In addition, It also creates psychic and energetic environment whereby suspension of breath can develop naturally and effortlessly, leading to enhanced meditative states. This can also help with enhancement and containment of subtle energies, shifting stuck energies.

Q: What do you need to be aware of as a teacher when working with both bandhas and pranayama?

You need to know how to do bandhas proficiently before combining them together otherwise it becomes very confusing and potentially damaging.

You need to be able to do them fairly effortlessly as distinct practices before combining them.

We need to learn the signs that students aren’t doing them correctly, such as getting light-headed, hot or more angry or hyperactive, and then how to amend them.

A lot of abdominal awareness, activation and co-ordination needed to perform the vitalising practices in particular.

Q: Will this workshop incorporate postures as well?

Minimal asana, we might do a few warm up practices just to prepare the body.

This workshop is recommended for people with a little bit of experience with pranayama.

You’ll explore a simple 3-step framework for practising Pranayama incorporating Bandhas. You’ll experience a set of vitalising, balancing and cooling tranquillising techniques and have the opportunity to get some feedback on your practice.

You’ll also receive notes of these techniques for your reference.

It will be structured so that participants are able to perform the various practices and given the time to experience the effects of the individual practices both as discrete practices and in combination with pranayama and it will be as interactive as possible.

This workshop has ended – stay tuned for more pranayama workshops in the future – visit our events page

Learn more about our ongoing Pranayama and Meditation online course HERE

Visit Alana Smith’s Stag Hill Yoga Classes and Yoga Resources