Domagoj Orlic - Sama-vrtti-ujjayi-pranayama with jalandhara and mula-bandha in padmasana

Domagoj Orlic, yoga teacher from Zagreb, Croatia, a student of Mark Whitwell's, demonstrates 9 breaths of sama-vrtti-ujjayi-pranayama with jalandhara and mula-bandha. In the first three preparatory breaths both jalandhara and mula-bandha are applied, but jalandhara is done only dynamically; in the three peak breaths jalandhara is done statically and mula-bandha dynamically; and in the last three relaxing breaths both jalandhara and mula-bandha are again done dynamically. Although mula-bandha can be held throughout almost any pranayama, in this case it is done at the beginning of each exhale and released at the beginning of each inhale. The hands hold jnana-mudra and the position is padmasana, a sitting posture that is traditionally most often used for practicing pranayama.
Sama-vrtti means all the phases of breathing are of the same length: the inhale and exhale of all 9 breaths are approximately 6 seconds long.
Ujjayi-pranayama is a type of pranayama that is invariably used in the practice of asana because the hissing sound a practitioner produces in the throat (by contracting his/her vocal cords during both inhalation and exhalation) facilities the coordination of breathing and moving. In this exercise sama-vrtti-ujjayi-pranayama is used as a stationary pranayama serving as a good basis for introducing jalandhara and mula-bandha into the practice of pranayama.
Bandha is a type of hatha-yoga-mudra which involves different muscle contractions in the torso to make pranayama as efficient as possible in each particular case. The three most important bandhas are jalandhara, uddiyana and mula-bandha. In this exercise only jalandhara (applied both dynamically and statically) and mula-bandha (applied only dynamically) are demonstrated. Jalandhara-bandha involves the contraction of the neck in such a way as to lower the chin at the end of inhale towards the lifted sternum. It maximizes the inhale since it stretches the spine and opens the rib-cage. Mula-bandha is a complete exhale or contraction of all the muscles in the pelvic floor including the lower abdominal muscles. It maximizes the exhale since it contracts the base of the body. In time, both jalandhara and mula-bandha can be (statically) applied throughout most of the pranayama exercises depending on the purpose for which it is used. Generally speaking, bandha makes pranayama more effective, but the bandhas are introduced very carefully, first into some asanas and only later (and only under the supervision of a competent teacher!) into pranayama. This is an example of how this might be done safely and effectively at the appropriate point of one's progress in applying more subtle hatha-yoga practices such as bandhas.