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What is Mudra?

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Mudra – Origin

Mudra means seal, mark, or gesture. Mudras are certain positions of the body, hands, or muscles which evoke certain moods or emotions.

If you observe closely then you will see that people sit in one way when they are happy and in another way when they are angry. A sad or fearful person (introvert) might have their shoulders hunched or rounded. An overconfident person might have their chest completely out like a military posture. Similarly, you can observe that we position our hands in some way when we are thinking or in some other positions depending on our mood or emotions. We keep on doing these unconsciously. In one way you can say that this position of the hands and body are representing the psyche of the person.

A person in a certain state of mind might be doing some mudras unconsciously, so similarly we can evoke particular moods, emotions, and energetics by consciously doing the mudras. These mudras have been researched, experimented and documented by various Yogi’s and practitioners. Some of the old Sanskrit texts/scriptures which discuss mudras are Shiva Samhita, Gheranda Samhita, Hatha yoga pradipika, etc.

Mudra is a subtle science of arranging your body in certain ways, the functioning of your system can be altered by holding the mudras. By holding the mudras the energies tend to move in certain ways. (You can only feel the mudras once your body gets purified and you have more body awareness)

Categories of Mudra

Mudras can be categorized into various types on the basis of which part of the body we are using. Mentioned below are some of the categories.

  • Hasta mudra– Hasta means hands. These are mudras made by different combinations of fingers. Each of the fingers is associated with one of the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and ether). These mudras can increase, decrease or balance particular elements or different life energies. These are further divided into Tattva (elemental) mudras, Panch vayu mudra, chakra mudra, and some other mudras that especially work on specific problems.
  • Kaya mudra– Kaya means the body. These mudras are formed with the help of the whole body and they look like some asana from the outside. They can help to remove granthis (knots), and blockages from the body and help to direct the energy to certain parts of the body.
  • Mano mudra– Man (manas) means the sensory mind. These mudras involve the sense organs eyes, ears, nose, and tongue. These mudras are mostly used to direct the energy towards the head region which has many energetic points.
  • Bandh mudra– Bandh means locks. These mudras are a combination of different bandhas (mula bandha, uddiyana, and jalandhar). These mudras can be used to decrease mental activity.
  • Aadhara mudra– Adhara means the base. These mudras are done in the lower part of the body in the pelvis region which is the base and the kundalini resides there. These are used to send the kundalini energy up the spine.

Benefits of mudra

Different mudras can have different benefits, here is a list of the overall benefits of practicing mudras

  • Calms the mind.
  • Prepares the mind and energy for meditation.
  • Can balance the five elements.
  • Can balance different forms of life energies within us (panchvayu- prana, apana, vyana, samana, and udana)
  • Activation of kundalini.
  • Changes the mood.
  • Removes knots and blockages from the body.

Where/ When to use mudras?

  • Increase, decrease or balance the tattvas (five elements)– Our body is made up of five elements Earth, water, fire, air, and ether. Different problems can arise in the body due to an imbalance of these elements. Eg. an increase in air and ether element (vata) can make the muscles and the joints painful; it can also make it hard to fall asleep along with keeping the mind very active. To decrease these elements a mudra can help.
  • Shift the energy from different energetic centers (chakra)– The type of thoughts you are having also depends on the chakra where your energy is at a particular time. Fear-related thoughts could be because of the energetic imbalance in muladhara chakra, or anger, hate, or jealousy-related thoughts could be because of an imbalance in the manipura chakra, etc. You can use mudras to shift the energy to other chakras (usually the third eye) from where you can have a better perspective of the issue and resolve it easily.
  • Preparing the body for meditation– Mudras can direct and send the energy in a particular direction/point which can make the meditation of that point easy. Eg. If you have chosen to do third eye meditation then you can first do some mudras which concentrate the energy to the third eye, when more energy is present there then more sensation will be present, this can make your third eye meditation easier, and deeper.
  • Awaken the kundalini– Kundalini is the dormant energy present in every human. This energy can be activated with the help of mudras.

Proper methods to practice mudras

  • Hasta mudras can be done at any time.
  • Kaya mudras should be done along with your asana practice, or after following a proper warmup routine for the same.
  • Mano mudra can be done at any time.
  • Adhara mudra gives more benefits on an empty stomach.
  • Bandha mudra should be done during asana or pranayama practice after following a proper warmup routine.

When not to practice mudras?

Mudras should be practiced under the supervision of a qualified teacher. It takes time to understand the body and energies. Mudras can change these subtle energies and elements which can have an effect on you and you would never know if it was from the mudra. If you are practicing any mudra then experiment on the ones that you understand and the ones which are considered relatively safe. Purify your body first by practicing asana, and pranayama and by following good habits then start practicing mudras.