Author: Randeep Singh / go to all Techniques of Yoga articles
The practice of Vajroli mudra
in present world seems a bit of anachronism,
as the likes of patience, consistence,
and perseverance required to master this mudra,
seem to be starkly absent from
the modern culture of learning yoga.
Today, we have, and actually want instant yoga,
or some yoga practice which can conjure up the benefits in a matter of seconds,
for the practitioner. Vajroli mudra falls under yoga cleansing, or hygiene practices which was developed by the yogi’s of yore to help keep human genitals clean and healthy from inside. Here it is achieved by irrigating the innards of the reproductive organs with the water sucked in at will.
To be able to suck in water directly from the genitals one needs a certain strength in the related muscles, as these particular muscles are hardly used in today’s living style, the seeker must work in a graded manner in order to impart the required nervous control and strength to the targeted muscles. This graded workout of the muscles involved is called as different stages of Vajroli mudra. The root of the word Vajroli is “ vajra” which means thunderbolt or lightening when translated to English, thus another of the translations of Vajroli mudra is Thunderbolt attitude. Vajra is also considered as the weapon of lord Indra in Hindu mythology.
The actual meaning of the tem Vajra in context to this mudra gestures to the Vajra nadi, or one of the many prana energy channels which pass through and governs the urogential area of the body. It is the energy flow within this energy channel which governs the reproductive systems as it pushes the prana energy through the spine with the force and speed of the lightening, the Vajra.
As per Tantrixc sadhana rules the sexual energy must not be suppressed but awakened and redirected, or sublimated for spiritual gains. Vajroli, and Sahajoli mudra ( name for Vajroli mudra for women) help the practitioner sublimate sexual energy into vitality. This becomes possible in the last stage of the practice when the nervous control over the muscles of the sexual organs reaches a level where the practitioner can control the ejaculation of the semen at will – in case of men – or can even suck the semen back into the urethra from the vagina in case ejaculation has taken place.
Thus, the sexual energy preserved so in the form of semen can be reabsorbed in the lymphatic system and redirected for the spiritual growth of the practitioner. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika mentions Vajroli Mudra as one of the 10 major mudras elaborated upon within it.
Practice note for Vajroli Mudra
Vajroli mudra is basically of two types; one involving sexual intercourse done under specific guidelines, and the other, the simple version involves contraction of the muscles which control the activity of the urethra, are located at the root of the male sexual organ, the penis. Vajroli with sexual intercourse was never recommended for general public as it requires a passionless state of mind. Only serious yoga practitioners who have experienced the state of Samadhi actually know what is passionless mind. The yogi who reach the stage of Samadhi have purified their Citta to the level where it has been completely purged of kleshas ( negative tendencies) of human personality. Anyone with any degree of lesser purified Citta in case attempts to practice Vajroli mudra with the sexual act can incur catastrophic results on himself.
The liberation of energy to move upwards within the spine is only possible when the practitioner has moved beyond the limitations of the Self or the Ego. Not all practitioners reach this stage of dissolved Ahamkara, or Ego. Since the practice of Vajroli mudra involves handling subtle universal energies it must compulsorily be only practiced under the guidance of an experienced yoga teacher. A real guru will know how to select the right candidate for teaching Vajroli mudra, a lot of self claimed yoga experts diffuse the half baked information regarding this mudra across the internet, or verbally, practicing by reading from the same can be highly dangerous for the laity. Thus, never practice Vajroli beyond its inital stages just by reading books or related information on internet.
All yoga, particularly Vajroli mudra, never benefits the selfish ones, this is clearly stated in the first two stages of the Eight Fold path of yoga – Yamas and Niyamas stages – which are meant to cleanse the personality of all negativities. For the purpose of this article I would be elaborating on the procedure of this mudra in three consequent stages.
The Technique of Vajroli Mudra
We do not find the details of practicing Vajroli, or Sahajoli mudra in any of the ancient yoga texts. What ever is detailed out here is the information which has descended from the gurus over the period of time and can be taken as authority on it. The first stage of Vajroli mudras as it is called for men is about gaining the control of the urogenital muscles by repetitive contraction and relaxation of the same. It is similar to the kaegal exercises of the Western system which are used to strengthen the muscles which control the activites of the urethra.
The same gesture is known as Sahajoli mudra for women which involves the contraction of the entire vaginal passage. The term Sahajoli comes from the root “ sahaj” which means spontaneous, sahajoli mudra is the gesture of the spontaneous arousing.
Stage 1
Vajroli mudra is best practiced in Sidhasana or Sidha yoni asana.
- Sit on a mat in Sidhasana, or Sidha yoni asana , or in any other comfortable sitting meditative posture like Padmasana, Vajrasana, or Sukhasana where the spine, neck and the head can be held erect effortlessly
- Place the hands on the knees in Chin or Gyan mudra
- Close the eyes and take a few normal breaths, take the awareness to the urethra, inhale, hold the breath inside and pull the muscles at the root of the urethra , by contracting them, upwards as much as possible
- These are the same muscles which one contracts to prevent the flow of urine, so one can even imagine trying to stop the flow of urine while attempting to contract these muscles
- A successful contraction will slightly move the testes in men and labia in women upward, make sure that the contraction is only limited to the urethra
- Hold the contraction for as along as comfortable, starting with a few second to begin with, release the contraction while exhaling and relax
Practicing the same exercise in Naukasana, or Namaskarasana helps intensify the contraction on the associated muscles. As the control on the urethral muscles is slowly gained, it may take several months for this to happen, the yogi can move to the next stage of the practice of Vajroli mudra known as the preliminary stage of the practice of actual Vajroli.
Stage 2
- Sit in Sidhasana, Sidh yoni asana or Padmasana on a mat with the spine vertically erect and the knees touching the floor
- Place the palms flat on the respective knees , close the eyes and take some normal breaths to relax the body
- Take a deep inhalation, start exhaling slowly till the lungs are completely empty, constrict the abdomen to further push any remnant air within the lungs
- Push the abdominal muscles inwards and upwards towards the spine as in Uddiyana bandha ( read details of Uddiyan abandha in a separate post on it )
- Apply Jalandhara bandha ( Chin Lock ) in order to keep the breath suspended outside for longer
- Take the awareness to the muscles surrounding the root of the urethra, contract them and pull them upward as was done in stage 1 of the practice
- Keep the urethral muscles contracted up till comfortable, first release Jalandhara bandha, and then release Uddiyana bandha by slowly filling up the lungs with a prolonged inhalation, breath normal
Once a fair amount of control on the urethral muscles is attained with the practice of Uddhiyana bandha , which can be held for a minimum of one and a half minutes ( which may take a few months) learn the practice of Nauli and gain proficiency in it as well.
Only when the two stages as mentioned above are mastered should one attempt the third stage of Vajroli mudra where the actual irrigation of the genitals takes place. Practice of the first two stages is enough for keeping the reproductive organs toned and healthy. Seekers of serious, higher goals of yoga must only move on to the third stage.
Stage 3
Here a catheter is inserted into the genital passage very tactfully. A catheter with am average length of 14 – 18 inches would suffice for the beginners. The catheter must be inserted in the urethral opening in the pen for men and inside the vagina for women. The entire length of the catheter should not be inserted in one go but one should proceed very slowly by not inserting more than a quarter of a inch length of the catheter each day for for atleast 2 weeks. The complete length of the cather must be only inserted after a consistent practice of the same for about six months.
The catheter must be fully sterilized with water and immersed in Lysol solutions for a minimum of three hours prior to attempting its insertion inside the genital passage to avoid any infection, urethra of the penis for men and vaginal passage for women. Before insertion the catheter must be properly lubricated with boiled ghee.
Next, practice drawing in air into the genital passages, sitting in the same pose as in stage 1 – Sidhasana) through the inserted catheter by applying the vacum suction technique of Uddiyana bandha. Uddiyana bandha if practiced properly generates a suction pressure which reverses the flow of sub-pranas , apana ( which normally flows downwards and is responsible for the ejaculation of the urine and semen discharge ) and prana uniting them with samana, hold the air in, aided by the urethral muscles up till comfortable and then gently release the sucked in air via the same passage by releasing Uddiyana bandha.
This technique of air-bath, ventilation, or oxygenation as it is called helps prevent any purification , decomposition of internal secretions adhering to the inner walls of the genital passages and cavities after discharge.
Next, the practitioner must attempt sucking in water with catheter by generating the vacuum suction pressure of Uddiyana Bandha. Men can do this by dipping the part of the catheter which remians out of the urethra into a vessel containing water, and women can do the same by sitting on bucket full of water or sitting in a water tub. In case one is not able to suck water into the genital passages by applying uddiyana bandha one must practice Nauli with it to help suck the water in. The water used for this practice must be boiled and cooled prior to the practice.
After this one can proceed with sucking in liquids of higher specific gravity like ghee, milk, honey, and sometimes even mercury. As honey and mercury have specific gravities higher than the specific gravities of semen and other sexual discharges in women practicing with these liquids will help habituate the accessory muscles to gain enough strength to be able to suck back or retain the sexual discharges during intercourse or sexual excitement.
Ones a certain degree of proficiency is achieved in doing so the practitioner must discard the catheter and learn to suck in liquids directly through the opening of the urethra at the edge of the penis in men, and from the vagina in women.
With consistent practice one gains enough strength of the accessory muscles and the associated nervous system that one gains the ability to stop ejaculation of the sexual discharge at will while experiencing orgasm, or even suck them back into the penis from the vagina in case the discharge has taken place.
Where Should be the Awareness – Vajroli Mudra
The attention during the practice of Vajroli mudra must be kept on the exact point of isolated, contracted muscles at the root of the penis and not the general contraction of the pelvic floor. The spiritual awareness is kept on the Swadhisthana chakra.
Duration of Practicing Vajroli Mudra
Vajroli mudra must be practiced in the early morning on an empty stomach.
In the initial stages one can begin with 3 contractions of the urethral muscles and try to reach up to 10 in a single session
When To avoid doing it
Practice of Vajroli mudra is contraindicated for the persons suffering from urethritis as the irritation and pain may increase in such a case
Benefits of Practicing Vajroli Mudra
- Practicing Vajroli mudra improves the health of the urogenital system, Its an effective induction into yoga techniques for improving urogenital health
- It help rejuvenate the digestive system, include it is generally included in yoga techniques which enhance digestive health
- A the sublimated sexual energy, with the practice of Vajroli mudra, rises up in the Vajra nadi ( the outer channel comprising the Sushumna nadi) it brings clarity, vigour, and vitality to the mind. This improves the creativity and intellectual abilities of the practitioner
- As the ability to conserve, preserve the sexual fluid is enhanced with practicing Vajroli mudra it imparts never diminishing youth to the practitioner, It can help in birth control and by granting the power to stop the ejaculation of semen at will or even suck it back in case ejaculated, this also helps maintain the sexual potency of the practitioner till late in life
- The energy, sexual, as redirected by this mudra practice imparts great spiritual and physical benefits, it helps in the spiritual progress as it has the power to help the yogi reach the state of Samadhi, and awakening the kundilini shakti
- It can help cure problems of premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction in men of all age
- As per Hathayogapradipika preserving semen can help arrest age and even death
- Can help cure urinary malfunctions and problems related to the prostate gland
- It helps intensify the experience of orgasm
- It removes any mental blocks most men can have related to handling the sexual energy, psychosexual conflicts and unwanted sexual thoughts. this in turn uplifts the practitioner spiritually
- Vajroli mudra has a balancing effect on all the chakras,
- It also has a balancing effect on all doshas, lower vayu ( apana vayu), as it helps conserve semen which is a kapha tissue it helps balance kapha, and since it also benefits digestion it balances pitta too
Relation of Sahjoli mudra to Chinese Meridians
As per Chinese meridians the emerging end of the conception meridian is located in the center of the perinium inside the pelvic cavity. The first acupressure point – CV 1 – on it is also located here itself. From here it runs forwards and upward to the middle of the superior border of the pubic bone, its second acupoint CV2 is located here.
Swadhishtana Chakra is also located at this particular point itself. CV2 point on the conception meridian – energy channel – is located very close to the point at which the muscles associated with the urethra are contracted in Vajroli mudra. The contraction of the muscles associated with urethral activity helps stimulate acupoint CV2 which also stimulates the conception meridian.
The flow of energy upwards into the spine within the conception meridian receives a push. Since the contraction in Vajroli mudra also stimulates the governing meridian lying nearby contributes to the overall increase in physical and mental energy. The conception meridian is so named as it influences the conception of new life via the reproductive, sexual organs, It also governs the mental and emotional aspects along with the physical aspects of the reproductive system.
As Vajroli mudra helps save and redirect the sexual energy into conception meridian it helps improve the mental, emotion, and psychological aspects related to human sexuality.