mudras

Sat Nam,
dear readers and friends of Kundalini Yoga. This issue is about Mudras – the little gestures with great power.

It is said that our hands guard many secrets. In them, the experience of every touch and the wisdom of give and take is united. They tell us what nobody can see.

Did you know that in your hands there is a special potential in every moment? Hands are more than just functional. They are an energy map of our consciousness and our health. Each hand area corresponds to a specific body area and different emotions and behaviors. By crossing, stretching and touching the fingers and palms, you can effectively communicate with the body and mind.
A potential that is accessible to you in principle at any time, and which can connect you to your innermost being. We are talking about the great power of the mudras.
The position that the hand takes is called the mudra, and is a technique used to convey clear messages to the mind-body energy system.
Just as letters are combined into different words in a variety of ways, so too can the fingers form a series of mudras.

The gestures of wisdom

Each Buddha statue speaks to us through her hands, sharing in the perfect wisdom and infinite compassion. “I teach you,” says Buddha’s left, raised hand as the thumb and forefinger form a circle. If he extends his right hand with his palm in our direction, the silent words of this gesture are: “Do not be afraid”. Deep penetrate into our minds while looking at the Buddha’s hands; Just as the sight of a meditating Buddha with his hands clasped, resting loosely in his lap, intensifies our meditation. If we form these mudras – “the asanas of the hands” – for a few minutes, the attention turns inwards. When we put the thumb-tips on our index fingers, we become calm and receptive. Thumbs on the middle fingers strengthens the patience, thumb on the ring fingers gives self-confidence and thumb on the little fingers encourages the intuition.

But what are mudras at all??

Mudras are gestures that can direct energy. The best known are mudras shaped with hands and fingers.
Translated, Mudra means “that which gives joy” – “Mud” means to give joy, “ra”. Despite this promising name, mudras are rarely practiced in the West and have not (yet) arrived in the yoga mainstream. In India, on the other hand, mudras are more widespread than the so-popular asanas (yoga poses).
In our culture we know today especially hand-Mudras (hasta-mudra) – but certain postures of the eyes, tongue, or whole body are also called mudras. They are gestures or attitudes in which an energetic and spiritual power lies hidden. Often they are charged with a symbolic meaning.

However, in this amount we want to concentrate more on the hands.

You can actively use mudras as a little mindfulness anchor – in a moment when you consciously form your hands into a particular mudra, you’re in Here and now. With the meaning behind a certain hand attitude, you can also focus on a very specific topic.

For example, let’s take a look at Gyan or Chin-Mudra, which you have probably already seen or taken in a yoga class. Here, the crests of the thumb and forefinger are merged while the remaining three fingers remain stretched. This gesture symbolizes the union of the cosmic / divine (thumb) with the individual (forefinger) consciousness – which is ultimately the goal of all yoga practices. The extended fingers represent the three Gunas, the main characteristics of primordial nature: Rajas (activity, movement, restlessness), Tamas (lethargy, inertia) and Sattva (purity, harmony, light). As you take in the Gyan Mudra, you can focus on merging your essence with the Divine.

Effect of mudras

So if you take mudras, it’s not just a physical act. It affects your whole being – your body, your thinking and your feeling! With every Mudra you send a certain message to yourself.
Its effect unfolds on the physical, the mental-emotional as well as the energetic level. Mudras are so powerful that they are sometimes used specifically to help heal physical, mental and emotional imbalances.

In Ayurveda, the Indian doctrine of healthy life, the individual fingers are assigned to the elements and associated basic principles:

• Thumb: fire
• index finger: air
• Middle finger: space / ether
• Ring finger: earth
• Little finger: water

Do you lead, for example, middle finger and thumb together and exert slight pressure on the fingertip of the middle finger, thus you act on the etheric element and create space and width in the body. If you bring ring finger and thumb together and exert slight pressure on the fingertip of the ring finger, you will find yourself and find inner stability. In addition, the hand can also be divided into certain zones, which are connected to specific organs and body parts.
Hand mudras are very subtle. The more you train your mindfulness, the more sensitively you will be able to sense its effects. The need, however, a lot of practice and patience.

Mudras in practice

You can practice mudras almost anywhere, anytime you have some practice. Whether you are at home or on the road, in a queue at the supermarket checkout or just before a presentation. Of course, you should have practiced and trained your mudras in a quiet place before, and then simply retrieve those experiences
When you have a comfortable posture, with good contact with the ground, and your body is relaxed and alert, you take the position of the Mudra and begin to breathe properly:

• conscious inhalation
• hold your breath for 2 seconds
• conscious exhalation
• short break (feel the impulse to get air and live)
• then consciously inhale again

Feel inside yourself. How does it feel?

The pressure on the fingers should never be too strong and cause neither tension nor pain. Just imagine that your fingers are magnets that adhere to each other.
Mudras can be kept between 1 to 15 minutes. It is important that you feel comfortable and that it is not cramped.
But be aware that their power can only develop if you focus your mindfulness in them. It does not matter how long you take a mudra, but how quiet you are in the mind and how to hold the focus.
It is in your hands to take advantage of the potential of the mudras!

Now for the most common Mudars in Yoga

Gyan or Chin Mudra (Seal of Knowledge)

How: Make the tip of the (first) index finger and the thumb tip together.
The other three fingers are straight.
Effect: Stimulates knowledge, wisdom, receptivity and calm.
Planet: Jupiter; extension.

Shuni Mudra (Seal of Patience)

How: Merge the tip of the middle (second) finger and the tip of the thumb. The other three fingers are straight.
Effect: Promotes patience, judgment and commitment.
Planet: Saturn; taskmaster, sense of responsibility and courage to duty.

Surya or Ravi Mudra (seal of the sun, of life)

How: Make the tip of the ring finger and the thumb tip together. The other three fingers are straight.
Effect: invigorating energy, strong nerves and good health.
Planet: sun; Energy, health and sexuality. Uranus; Nerve strength, intuition and change.

Buddhi Mudra (Seal of Spiritual Clarity)

How: Make the tip of the small (fourth) finger and thumb tip together. The other three fingers are straight.
Effect: Creates the ability to communicate clearly and intuitively, stimulates mental development.
Planet: Mercury; Speed, mental communication power.

Prayer (Pranam or Anjali Mudra)

How: The palms of both hands and fingers touch completely. The outer edge of the thumb hillock is pressed into the breastbone.
Effect: Neutralises the positive side of the body (right, sun, male) with the negative side (left, moon, female).

Lotus Mudra – open the heart

How: Keep your hands at the level of your heart. The wrists touch each other. Spread all fingers and then only tip of thumb on thumb tip and little finger on little finger.
Effect: The Mudra acts specifically on the heart chakra, it opens you to the divine power in you and for universal love. The lotus flower is a symbol of abundance. The lotus always finds its way through the mud to the surface.

The favorite mudras of our yoga teacher Gabi are;

Courage Mudra = Fearlessness & protection

Self recognition Mudra = The recognition of the true self, the understanding of one’s own feelings and motives.

Gift-Mudra Perhaps the greatest gift is that mudras are our deepest & innermost reasons for that, are we ever go to the mat, worthy.

You can integrate Mudras into your yoga program in a variety of ways and enrich any meditation with their help.
Choose a Mudra whose meaning fits the purpose of your meditation and off you go.

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