A Yogi’s Growth with Mudra
Mudras are techniques yogis use for working with flows of subtle energy, or prana, in the body. “Mudra” is a Sanskrit word that is often translated as “gesture.” Mudras are often practiced with the hands and fingers, although this is not the only way to practice them. There are yogic schools that teach mudras using other parts of the body, the whole body, or even just the subtle body, without use of any part of the physical body at all.
My very first mudra was Anjali Mudra. I learned it as a child in a Christian church, where it was used for prayer. This church didn’t name the mudra; they mostly called it "Put your hands together." One day, I noticed that a few people did this by clasping their hands together, with interlaced fingers and crossed thumbs. This seemed to happen when the prayer was more intense. I tried it, and found it produced a distinctly different effect compared to what my church’s version, with palms and fingers touching, did. It felt more emotionally satisfying. Instead of petitioning upward, it brought me into my heart.
I kept this opinion to myself. That particular church was quite dogmatic, a characteristic also shared by some yoga schools. Thankfully, yoga schools seldom correct lapses by whacking you with a ruler! But I wondered which version was “right”.
It took me decades to understand that this is an unfruitful line of inquiry. It is seldom useful to ask, “Is it true that Anjali Mudra is a centering technique?” The relevant question may be, “Is it true for me?” Like all practices of yoga and meditation, mudra is a deeply individual experience. Through practice, for example, I have found Anjali Mudra useful to me for centering, and also as a projecting technique, for opening the heart center, stimulating the forehead center (“Third Eye”), keeping focus, and other effects.
The only yoga mudra I recall learning as a teen was Gyan Mudra. This may be yoga's most commonly used mudra (see photo above). Typically you are asked to place the padded part of your thumb and forefinger together, on both hands. Later, I discovered variations of Gyan Mudra. For example, you might do this with palms up or palms down. Your hands may be on your thighs, or your lap, or with the arms in a variety of poses. Gyan Mudra may be done with one hand, while the other hand is employed in another mudra altogether.
My deeper study of mudras began about 13 years ago. That particular yogic school blew right by dogmatic, and went all the way to sclerotic. Though tiresome, this approach actually served me by fostering a systematic, organized focus. They taught that Gyan Mudra channeled prana in a way that brought wisdom and prosperity. By then I was well aware that other schools had different ideas of what each mudra "does", and could keep my mental equilibrium in the face of endless declarative sentences.
They also opened the door to practicing mudra as a yogic intersection of palmistry, astrology, and numerology. This is beyond the scope of a blog post. Besides, other schools have opposing views on what these things mean, or even if they have any meaning at all. Once again you simply ask yourself, “Is it true for me?”
Since then I've regularly practiced and taught half a dozen mudras. There are many more in my repertoire, but they only come out on special occasions. Some mudras I decline to attempt, because they are too difficult, or bizarre.
In my own experience and practice, at first the differences in each mudra's effect were almost entirely physical - specifically, in how they made my hands feel. Over time, I began to discern a unique quality for each mudra, one that was not always what I learned in school or books.
Like other inner practices of yoga, mudras are subtle. This means that your personal experience of a mudra will keep evolving and deepening over time. Yoga teachers often use mudras as accents to their physical yoga classes, in order to initiate the student into the practice from a physical standpoint. But with time, other experiences of a mudra can evolve. The Sanskrit and meditation scholar, Dr. Loren Roche, has suggested that rather than translating mudra as a “gesture”, “passport” can be another interpretation, meaning that a mudra is like an entry into a different consciousness.
I’ve found this to be so. With practice, mudras go beyond accentuating a feeling. They create it. A state of consciousness that takes considerable posture work (asana), breath work (pranayama), and meditation to achieve may become attainable in moments with the associated mudra alone, though this may not happen overnight!
Mudra may also be an attitude, a posture, or movement. Mudras are used in temple dancing, meditations in various religions worldwide, and yoga, and so have the attributes of expression, internal centering, or energy direction. They may direct or intensify internal energy, or tap into the earth or the Universe. Effects range from physical, including healing, to mental, emotional, devotional, and psychic.
Your personal intention has considerable impact on the result.
Though mudras are usually thought of as work done with the hands, there is much more. Arms and legs can be used as well. Yoga Mudra is a full-body posture (Don’t be dismayed if you find several different postures described as Yoga Mudra - sorting these things out in itself brings growth). Shoulder Stand and Legs Up the Wall yoga poses may be used as mudras. There are simple practices using the tongue. The position of the head may be employed. Physical muscle and energy locks (bandhas), focus of the eyes (drishti) and visualization are sometimes described as mudras.
There are also more advanced teachings, seldom available to the public, which ought not be undertaken without expert guidance. The tongue may be used in a much more difficult way, typically to intensify Kundalini energy, and can be developed to an astonishing degree over a period of years. Further advanced work with mudras involve a variety of practices that focus on the pelvic floor, sometimes with a partner.
Please don’t take the word “advanced” as a personal challenge. Such mudras are not viable without an experienced teacher and monk-like dedication. There are also pitfalls for students and teachers alike in the course of such instruction. One may wind up with immense esoteric knowledge, only to find one’s life working better with the most basic practices.
A Mudra Practice to Try at Home
This is a simple practice to develop your discernment of the effects of mudras. Try it, and just notice how each mudra feels to you — there is no right answer!
A key to success: As you do the exercise, keep returning your attention to the feelings, sensations, and energy in your body. Be patient with yourself. The mind will wander; this is natural. Your task is to bring it back continuously and gently. This is not a time for analyzing, categorizing, labeling or figuring stuff out. Just become interested, with great innocence and calm, in how you feel. Refrain from digging into it.
Begin by sitting in any comfortable position, with your feet on the floor. A chair is fine. Let your eyes be closed, and relaxed. The spine is erect, and aligned with the neck and the back of the head. Be upright, relaxed, and in no way rigid. Start with both hands in your lap, palms up, with the padded part of your thumb and index finger touching.
Take five long, slow, deep breaths in this position. Count silently, one on the inhale and again on the exhale, then two, and so on. After five repetitions, release the index finger, and bring the thumb to the middle finger. Take five more breaths. Continue in this manner, moving next to the ring finger, and ending with the little finger. Once completed, there is a final mudra. Lay your hands in your lap, with the back of the right hand in the palm of the left. The padded part of the thumbs are touching lightly and pointing forward. Take five more breaths.
This practice has an additional benefit of developing easily and naturally into a lovely meditation. Enjoy!
Meet the author: Duke's interest in yoga began in high school when he bought a used book on the subject for a quarter. Since then, he has taught over 6,000 classes. Now semi-retired as a teacher, he enjoys taking classes in a variety of yoga styles, and playing his symphonic gong for meditation and sound healing. He will be joining us on Dec. 21, 2020 to guest-teach one of the free weekly livestream meditation sessions.