Uddiyana bandha, a hatha yoga technique, involves sucking your abdomen upward in an abdominal lock. The uddiyana bandha lock shifts and massages your internal organs when they move up. Uddiyana lock is often used specifically to target and massage your pancreas, the oblong gland between your stomach and spine.
About the Pancreas
Your pancreas plays an important role in maintaining a healthy digestive system by producing pancreatic fluids. Once food moves into the small intestine, the pancreatic fluids enter the process along with bile and aid in thorough digestion. Pancreatic cancer and tumors often go undetected until issues with digestion arise, as its location prevents palpation, or feeling the gland through the abdomen.
Benefits of Uddiyana Bandha
The uddiyana bandha not only massages the pancreas, it tones and hardens the gland as well, keeping it healthy and functional. When the internal organs are sucked upward, beneath the ribcage, blood rushes into the heart and returns freshly oxygenated to each organ. Apart from pancreatic benefits, the uddiyana helps tone the diaphragm and alleviate a clogged liver.
Starting Position
Start standing straight with your feet positioned hip-width apart, toes pointing outward slightly. Hinge at your waist, hips and knees, placing your hands on your thighs. Point your fingers toward each other and slide your hands down, just above your knees. Support your weight on your hands. Relax your neck and look down at your feet. This is the starting position for the uddiyana bandha.
Performing the Uddiyana Bandha
From the starting position, take a deep breath in and exhale it quickly as you flex your abdominals. Close your airway so air does not get sucked into your lungs as you expand your ribcage in a mock inhalation. While you expand your ribcage with empty lungs, your diaphragm gets sucked upward. As a result, your abdomen and stomach shift up, filling the negative space left by your diaphragm. Hold this position for as long as you can comfortably without inhaling, or for about 10 seconds.
Ending the Uddiyana Bandha
Before refilling your lungs, slowly release the contraction that holds your ribcage open in the mock inhalation. After the ribcage is released and your abdomen is back in a normal position, take a slow, deep breath to refill your lungs. Breathe steadily for one or two seconds before repeating the uddiyana bandha. When you no longer wish to continue the uddiyana bandha, breathe normally and remove your hands from your thighs. Slowly stand up straight.
Warning
Never attempt to self-treat a medical condition. If you believe you have a pancreatic problem, consult a health care professional. She can assess proper treatment and give you clearance that you are healthy enough to perform the uddiyana bandha. Consult a certified hatha yoga instructor to learn proper uddiyana bandha form. He can recommend how often to perform the uddiyana bandha and give suggestions about other bandhas that might benefit you.
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