How Jalandhara Bandha Fits into Yoga Practice
- Aug 18, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 19, 2025
Practical guidance on how to incorporate the Throat Lock into your yoga routine.
By PRANA EDITORS | Updated: August 20, 2025
Learning how to do Jalandhara Bandha is important–no doubt about it. But equally important is knowing how and when to use it in your practice. Most learning resources brilliantly explain the technique yet rarely offer practical advice on how to weave it into a broader yoga routine.
In our day-to-day interactions, we often meet students who assume that Jalandhara Bandha is strictly a component of advanced pranayama. While that’s certainly one valid use, it’s far from the whole picture. The truth is, Jalandhara is multifaceted and can serve many purposes in yoga. It can be practiced on its own or combined with mudras, mantras, visualizations, and other spiritual practices.
That’s exactly what we’ll explore in this article–how Jalandhara Bandha fits into your yoga practice, and the many ways it can enhance different stages of your journey to good health and self-realization.
10 Practical Ways to Use Jalandhara Bandha
Here’s how to use Jalandhara Bandha for yoga practitioners at different levels:
1. Use It in Asanas (Yoga Poses)
Unlike Mula Bandha, which can be engaged in dynamic asana sequences, Jalandhara doesn’t lend itself to most yoga poses. But it can still occur naturally in variations of Viparita Karni (Legs Up the Wall), Sarvangasana (Shoulderstand), and Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose), among others.
Of course, these aren’t your standard Hatha yoga versions–they’re usually supported variations that use props under the head, lower back, or hips. Their unique setup encourages a gentle tucking of the chin towards the chest, allowing Jalandhara to arise organically from the posture itself.
The image above depicts yogis in Viparita Karni and Sarvangasana variations. As you can see, the practitioner's chins press into their chests. This allows them to experience the essence of Jalandhara Banda in asana sequences, although it's a slightly different version of the bandha.
While these variations are not commonly taught in general yoga classes, some traditions still teach them as a preparatory step for seated Jalandhara Bandha practice. In traditional Iyengar Yoga, students learn Jalandhara bandha in Sarvangasana, and it is often combined with Ashwini Mudra (Anal Lock).
2. Practice It on Its Own
Yoga practitioners always begin by practicing bandhas independently to develop proficiency. In this phase, they focus on the physical aspects, such as posture, alignment, and internalizing the sequence.
Practicing any bandha on its own creates space to adjust the steps as per capacity and progress at a comfortable pace. We won't elaborate on this as we've discussed it in a previous article of this series called Bandha in Bite-Sized Chunks: A Three-Step Approach to Mastering Internal Locks.
3. Combine It with Pranayama (Breathwork)
When you start exploring pranayama beyond simple breathing techniques, you quickly realize bandhas are not optional but central to the practice. In fact, Jalandhara Bandha is most commonly used this way - typically done during the breath retention phase of pranayamas, including Ujjayi (Ocean Breath), Bhramari (Bee Breathing), Sama Vritti (Box Breathing), and Chandra Bhedana (Left Nostril Breathing).
Jalandhara Bandha pairs well with most yoga breathing techniques because it creates a seal at the throat, preventing air from escaping through the glottis," explains Geert. "But more than that, it stabilizes internal chest pressure, which helps you hold your breath more comfortably."
But since Jalandhara induces relaxation (parasympathetic activation), it’s best suited to calming breathwork, rather than energizing practices like Surya Bhedana (Right Nostril Breathing) or Bhastrika (Bellow’s Breathing), which stimulate the sympathetic nervous system are make you more alert.
4. Combine It with Other Bandhas
Jalandhara can be practiced during both internal and external retention, so it can be combined with all other bandhas: Mula, Uddiyana, and Maha Bandha. In fact, because the Throat Lock helps you hold your breath more comfortably, it’s actually makes it easier to engage other internal locks. This is why you learn Jalandhara first-because you can use it effectively while learning other bandhas.
Here's another example: You can practice Box Breathing, engaging Jalandhara during internal retention, followed immediately by Mula Bandha. Hold both locks for a few seconds, first releasing Jalandhara before exhaling and then gradually release Mula Bandha as you exhale.
In this scenario, Jalandhara prevents prana from escaping through the glottis, while Mula Bandha seals it at the pelvic floor. Essentially, you’re creating a lock at the top and bottom the spine, which concentrates prana in the torso, allowing it penetrate deeper into the subtle body.
Now, this is an advanced-level practice, and we’ve included it here to simply illustrate how bandhas work in harmony. If you’re interested in a structured approach to the subject, BKS Iyengar’s Light on Pranayama offers detailed guidance on combining pranayama and bandhas.
5. Use It for Pratyahara (Sense Withdrawal)
Traditionally, yoga aspirants follow a specific practice progression. They begin with moral and ethical observances (Yama and Niyama), moving on to major yoga poses (Asana), and then learn to regulate the breath through Pranayama. The next step in this progression is Pratyahara.
“In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Pratyahara is the fifth of the Eight Limbs of Yoga. In this stage, yogis learn several techniques to disengage from external stimuli and distractions,’ says Vineet Kaul, Prana Sutra’s Editor in Chief. “Put simply, Pratyahara involves learning to control your five senses, uniting them to focus on inner awareness rather than engage with external events.”
Jalandhara is an important Pratyahara practice because it reduces the flow of sensory inputs to the brain and supports the internalization of attention. It also activates the Throat Chakra, an energy center associated with mental clarity, authenticity, and self-expression.
6. Practice Before Meditation
Other than combining it with pranayamas, Jalandhara Bandha is most commonly used to prepare the mind and body for meditation. Many people find that performing 3 to 5 rounds of the bandha significantly enhances their ability to stay present in the moment during meditation sessions.
“Meditators–no matter how experienced–always have off days, especially when mental chatter constantly disrupts their flow,” says Geert Meijer. “If you have trouble focusing, practicing a few rounds of Jalandhara might help you settle in and resume your meditation more effectively.”
In real-world practice sequence, you would place bandha work after asanas and pranayama but before meditation. This means, once you’ve concluded your pranayama practice, you can either do a few rounds of Jalandhara + Nadi Shodhana or practice the bandha on its own. In both cases, it naturally draws your awareness inward and quiets the senses—preparing you for meditation.
The combination of Jalandhara, Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing), and Kechari Mudra is considered to be one of the best ways to cultivate meditative introversion. For those curious to learn more such combinations, we recommend Swami Nirjananda’s book – Dharana Darshan – which described numerous yogic practices and kriyas to develop concentration.
7. Activate and Balance Chakras (Energy Centers)
Yoga bandhas influence our energy systems in unique and profound ways. Jalandhara Bandha, in particular, has a transformative effect on the Vishuddhi (Throat) Chakra, and to a lesser extent, the Ajna (Third-eye) Chakra. Because of this, it is considered an integral part of kriyas and meditations designed to activate and balance the energy flow through the throat center.
Chakra meditation practices typically involve a combination of meditation, hand gestures (mudras), mantra chanting, internal locks, and visualizations. Their benefits include to purifying the nadis, harmonizing masculine and feminine energy, and promoting spiritual growth.
“Jalandhara is generally accompanied by silently chanting HUM (हूँ). This single-syllable mantra is the bija (seed) mantra of the Throat Chakra,” explains Vineet. “You can also visualize a blue lotus at the throat, a vast infinite sky, or a cleansing blue light–each representing the ether/space element Akasha.”
That said, it’s best to explore such practices under the guidance of experienced instructors, especially those who understand the symbolic aspects of yoga. If you are teaching yourself, you might want to consider grabbing a copy of Swami Satyananda Saraswati's Kundalini Tantra.
8. Explore Therapeutic Applications
In recent times, clinical research has explored how each yoga bandha uniquely affects the body’s nervous and endocrine systems. These two systems regulate various bodily functions, including mood, hormonal balance, cognition, and even circadian rhythms.
Jalandhara Bandha has shown a promising effect on the thyroid gland, which plays a key role in metabolic regulation. The bandha also activates the parasympathetic nervous system–the body’s built-in relaxation response–and may offer relief from anxiety, stress, and even insomnia.
Because of these potential benefits, Jalandhara is increasingly being used in yoga therapy protocols to support thyroid health, restore metabolic balance, and manage chronic stress. That said, anyone looking to use it for therapeutic purposes should do so under expert guidance.
9. Combine with Kundalini or Tantra Practices
In Tantra and Kundalini, Jalandhara Bandha is one of the key practices to manipulate a dormant energy force known as Kundalini Shakti. This potent energy resides at the base of the spine, and through bandha work, a yogi can awaken it and channel it through the seven chakras.
“One common kriya to activate Vishuddhi Chakra involves Viparita Karni (Legs Up the Wall), Ujjayi Breathing, Jalandhara Bandha and Kechari Mudra,” says Vineet. “There are many such combinations to activate vital energies and strengthen the ether element (Akasha).”
According to Swami Satyananda Saraswati, the founder of Bihar School of Yoga, Jalandhara Bandha also helps to unblock a psychic knots called Rudra Granthi (Knot of Rudra). You can learn more about this concept in our article discussing the Three Granthis in Yoga Philosophy.
10. Prepare for Maha Bandha (Great Lock)
Yoga texts describe four bandhas: Mula, Uddiyana, Jalandhara, and Maha Bandha. The first three are primary, and applying them simultaneously results in Maha Bandha. So, anyone who wishes to practice Maha Bandha has to first master the three primary bandhas independently.
Hence, one could consider Jalandhara as a preparatory step before learning Maha Bandha.
Final Thoughts + What to Read Next
As you’ve seen, Jalandhara Bandha is a remarkably versatile practice with a wide range of uses. While it may sound bold, but we believe it's an indispensable part of pranayama and a holistic yoga practice. We hope this article clears up confusion leading to their use, helping your fit them in your routine.
Read Next: Jalandhara Bandha’s Purpose and Spiritual Significance (Coming Soon)
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