Mudras in Yoga

You buy the DVDs, you take the weekly classes and you notice your body is starting to look leaner and more like Madonna's, but have you ever stopped to actually think about the parts of your body you are leaving out? This is where Mudras come in.

Long before man was given the gift of speech, the language of the hands was developed and was prime source of communication. These gestures could express moods, temperaments and correspond ideas.

Mudras (Sanskrit for 'seal') are generally a gesture or mystic position of the hand during Yoga practice, but they can also be eye positions, postures and even breathing techniques. In this article, I will be focusing on the hand gestures. There are twenty-five mudras in Hatha Yoga and in both Hatha and Kundalini Yoga; the mudras deepen the body posture movement and even help shift certain states of consciousness.

The most popular and publicly best-known hand mudra of yoga is the Chin Mudra. This pose is created when the yoga student touches the index finger (symbolizing human consciousness) to the thumb (symbolizing the cosmic divine) of the same hand, leaving the other three fingers gently relaxing in a concave position. With this motion, you are expressing the longing for oneness of humanity with the cosmic or divine consciousness.

While the exact origin of mudras remains a mystery, they can be found widely throughout the world, not only in the Asian culture. When Pagans raise their arms to invoke a deity, they are practicing a form of a mudra; much in the same way Catholic priests perform a Mass.

Mudras are an extremely important part of all religious actions in India and most iconography of Hindu gods can be seen posing in various yoga and mudra positions. Mudras are even a huge component to Indian dance where an entire narrative is played out through the movement of the eyes, hands and body without any words being spoken.

In Buddhism, Buddhas and Bodisattvas and repeatedly other deities are shown with their hands forming a number of dissimilar poses.

When practicing Mudras, your hands should be relaxed and pressure giving on fingers very soft and fine. They can be done seated, standing, lying down or even walking. Mudras create high-energy fields and can be used in various healing methods and can be mixed with visualizations, mantras and affirmations for a greater result.

Mudras can be practiced at anytime or at any place, but they should be done when you are in a place far from modern distractions of television and radio, in a pleasant atmosphere and meditative mood; doing them in traffic probably wouldn't be too good of an idea as you can be stressed and rather annoyed. The best time to start incorporating mudras into your daily life would be a couple of minutes when you first wake up and a few minutes before you lie down at night to sleep. You might also try them when taking a walk, before and after meals and during breaks at work.

Select one or two mudras that mean something to you or an aspect that you'd like to bring into your life and focus on those instead of picking at random and constantly changing the routine. Healing time varies person to person, so the effects of using mudras may not be immediate and in some cases it might. The main thing is to be fervent in your practice and remain calm and positive while doing so. Healing ourselves allows us to heal the world.