Yoga mudras are emotional, devotional, and psychic gestures, usually done with the hands. While seemingly simple, these gestures help your body in restore it's physical, mental, and spiritual health. These benefits can be accessed by using yoga mudras on their own, or while performing yoga asanas (poses). Here is everything you need to know about what yoga mudras are, what they symbolize, and why they are powerful.
Mudra comes from the combination of two words: “Mud” and “Dravay”. “Mud” means pleasure, and "Dravay” means to draw forth. Mudras can also mean 'to seal'. Thus, performing mudras is like creating a closed circuitry within the body.
Mudras are simple hand gestures of arranging and touching fingertips in specific ways, to stimulate different parts of your brain and body. Mudras alter the flow of energy in your body and mind, and tap into energy on an astral level.
Our hands are the control panels to everything and the strongest exchangers of electromagnetic energy in your body. We mostly use our hands for performing yoga mudras but can also perform yoga mudras using the tongue and eyes. Believe it or not, martial arts are also a form of mudra.
Yoga mudras work when you are attentive towards the flow of energy while performing them. When you pay attention and are intentional about what you are doing, you can use the power of your focus in miraculous ways.
Let us move into the mysterious science behind how yoga mudras work.
The human body holds all five elements, Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space. Each of the five fingers represent one of the five elements:
Thumb - Fire Index Finger - Air Middle Finger - Space Ring Finger - Earth Little Finger - Water
From an Ayurvedic perspective, any imbalance in our body or any disease is due to a lack of any one element. Even a weaker immune system can be a consequence.
Yoga mudras, are performed for balance in our body and the betterment of our well-being. Yoga mudras can help in keeping us healthy and stress free. Practicing yoga mudras daily gives a balance to our body and boosts our immune system.
Here are some simple yoga mudras, what they represent, and how they can benefit you.
The Gyan mudra increases concentration, sharpens the brain and builds positive mental power.
The Vayu mudra helps maintain healthy digestion.
The Surya mudra boosts immunity.
The Shunya mudra strengthens the bones and reduces heart diseases.
The Apan mudra detoxifies the body.
Sit in Sukhasana (Simple cross legged posture), Padmasana (Lotus posture), or Vajrasana (Thunderbolt Pose), then choose the right yoga mudra, to hold in meditation.
Energy flow is thus, affected by holding each mudra. You can even utilize some mudras within a yoga pose.
So, we can say that mudras are somewhat of a neural science, because they focus on how a body's nerves function and carry signals throughout the body.
Yoga mudras help in controlling subconscious actions originating from the brain. Done with intention, these mudras can help your body remove bad habits and refine consciousness.
By Seema Bedi
Seema Bedi is a certified yoga teacher and entrepreneur. She teaches yoga and meditation in India across various health clubs, fitness centers, corporate and Yoga Teacher training programs. She loves to share her insights, stories, and educate people about the importance of yoga in lifestyle.
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