Working with Mudras in
your practice
I love
long slow practices...moving into the deeper places in my body at a leisurely pace. The asanas, gestures of the body,
speak to me in a rich and textured way. I also love meditation and using mudras,
gestures of the hands, to enhance movement toward stillness and balance as I sit. These gestures speak to me, in a whisper
mostly, asking me to listen closely, to lean in. I find it lovely to have this
other vocabulary with which to speak with my body/mind.
It’s not such unfamiliar territory as you might think at first. If you clench your fist it sends a message to you and to anyone around you. Waving a greeting, placing your hands together in prayer, we use our hands to communicate
all the time. I think there’s probably some science behind some of the effects claimed for certain mudras. Different parts of the brain light up when different fingers come together.
I think that there is also some intention that comes into play as well. But
this isn’t meant to be a scholarly piece, but a personal tale of the yoga I’ve found in my hands.
I was
first introduced to the use of mudras in my yoga asana and meditation practice through Kundalini Yoga (a la Yogi Bhajan). While I liked them and could feel how their energy added to the practice, it was kind
of hard, at the time, to find any back story on mudras. Lately several books
have been written describing a variety of mudras and a search of the internet will bring up other resources as well.
Sometimes
I’ll use a mudra for calming, concentrating, or energizing my mind when I first begin to sit in meditation. Probably you’re familiar with bringing your thumb and index fingers together and resting them palms up
on your knees Jnana Mudra) or palms down on your knees (Chin Mudra). It feels
to me that the first one has a receptive feel to it while the second version is more grounding. Here’s one you may not have seen before that I like quite a lot.
Bring your index fingers and thumbs together then turn the back of your hands together and rest them against your body
just below the sternum.
Since
the hands rest near the attachment of the diaphragm to the front of the ribs, there’s an instant connection to the breath,
which is both calming and re-enforces a breath focus for meditation…at least as a point of departure.
If I’m
only going to sit a few minutes, I might hold a mudra like this for the whole time.
But if I’m going to sit for a longer time, I use mudra for my mind like I might use simple stretches to prepare for
asana practice. I’ll sit with a mudra for 3 to 5 minutes and then let my hands
find their own natural gesture for the rest of the time.
There
are mudras that are said to work on physical functions in the body. I may use
them if I’m having some particular issue or, if I’m teaching a class, I might use a mudra like that to set the tone or re-enforce
the theme of the class. For instance, when the seasons change, I’ll often do
a practice that focuses on the belly…twisting, stretching, and strengthening. I’ll
use Pushan Mudra to support the organs of digestion. It’s also a gesture that
symbolizes receiving, transforming and letting go which is the process of digesting whatever it is we take in…food, ideas,
images, emotions.
In this
mudra the left hand is thumb touching the middle and ring fingers (other fingers gently extended) and the right hand is thumb
touching index and middle fingers. According to Gertrud Hirschi, author of Mudras:
Yoga in Your Hands, this mudra influences energy currents responsible for absorbing and utilizing food and has a relaxing
effect on the solar plexus. It’s said to be good for nausea and seasickness as
well. I’ve never tested it out for seasickness, but I have used it for mild nausea
and it works!
If I’m
feeling like some grounding is in order, I’ll use a mudra I learned from a wonderful Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine
practitioner, Sonam Targee. You
rest your thumbs against the mound at the base of your ring fingers and then fold your other fingers over the thumbs. Rest this mudra palms down on your knees.
I find
this especially nice in the summer when I can get a little overheated. Here’s
a bonus…I discovered that this also cures hiccups. One day I had the hiccups
and I thought, “If hiccups are kind of up energy (at least that’s how it felt to me) then what would happen if I grounded
my energy?” So I tried it. Who knew? See if it works for you.
That
discovery highlights my approach to working with mudras. I have resources that
describe many mudras. However, I probably use a half dozen on a regular basis. When I am attracted to a particular mudra I will use it often so that I get to “know”
it. I suppose it’s similar to approaching a yoga asana for the first time. There’s the information I am taught about how to create the form. Then it’s up to me to inhabit it, to feel my way around it. There
are times when I’ll begin to sit with a mudra I know and for some reason, it doesn’t seem right for my current situation,
and I’ll let it go and just let my hands find their own way into a gesture that simply arises from within.
I work
with mudras most often while meditating. I
find that I can feel their energy better that way. You might like to experiment
with them sometimes in asana practice. There are probably times where you might
spontaneously feel a mudra arise. Or you might like using a mudra to direct energy
up or down or out or in…in service of enhancing the energy of a particular asana. I
love the big gestures, the yoga asanas that stretch and strengthen and get my energy flowing.
But I’m also drawn to feel the more subtle movement of energy in the body/mind.
Mudras have been a way into that world for me. Who knows what you
will discover when you lean in and listen closely.
Resources:
Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands by Gertrud Hirschi
Healing Mudras: Yoga for Your Hands by Sabrina Mesko
Power Mudras: Yoga Hand Postures for Women by Sabrina Mesko
