Bliss-Girls

June 21 is celebrated as International Yoga Day. This year the theme is Humanity and its all about taking care of self and people around us. To commemorate International Yoga Day, yoga guru Nadini Shreesha, brings you this article about Mudras. Hope you benefit from reading this.

Mudras

The term Mudra is a Sanskrita word and is derived from two words. Muda which means happiness and dra which means withdrawal. Mudra means withdrawing happiness from within. Mudras are ancient techniques that involve the use of our physical body as an instrument to achieve mental and physiological health and happiness.

There are various types of Mudras. Few examples are the Maha mudra which involves use of whole body and hasta mudra which involves the use of hands. In this post we will explore Hasta mudras.

Hasta Mudra

Hasta Mudra is principally health in your hands. There are trillions of nerves in a human body and these nerves have endings in the palm, ear and foot. The nerve endings are sensitive and by applying slight pressure on the right nerve endings, different parts of the brain can be activated. By doing so, one can derive various health benefits. There are numerous hasta mudras and we will look into two very important Hasta Mudras here.

Hrudaya Mudra

This mudra is also known as Apana vayu mudra and Mruta sanjeevini mudra. It promotes good health of heart.

Formation:  Bring the tip of your Index finger to the root of the thumb. With the tip of your thumb, feather touch the middle finger and ring finger. Little finger should be kept straight.

Benefits: This mudra reduces air element in the body. It remediates any inflammations. Its also helps overcome anxiety and palpitations. It also benefits the circulatory, digestive and excretory systems.

The best way to experience this mudra is to climb a flight of stairs, relax for few minutes and take the next stair of flight holding this mudra. You can notice its immediate effect.

Duration: It is recommended to practice this mudra for a minimum of 15 minutes to maximum of 45 minutes in a day. It can be practiced by anyone and at anytime in any place.

Prana Mudra

This mudra is also known as victory mudra. Everything in this universe is made up of prana. Breath is the manifestation of prana. Prana is the life force. It is subdivided into 5 types known as Prana or Mukya prana, apana, vyana, udana and samana.

Humans get prana from air, water, sunlight, food and space. We have abundant prana shakti but we do not activate it. This can be done through the practice of Prana Mudra.

Formation: Touch the little finger and the ring finger with the tip of your thumb. Hold the index and middle finger straight.

Benefits: It results in clarity of mind. Mind engages in positive thoughts. It increases prana shakti (energy).

Duration: It is recommended to practice this mudra for a minimum of 15 minutes to maximum of 45 minutes in a day. It can be practiced by anyone and at anytime in any place.

It is best to follow a ratio of 3:1 while practicing these two mudras. For e.g. if you practice 45 minutes of Hrudaya mudra, do the prana mudra for 15 minutes.

Dear reader, thanks for your time. We wish you a healthy and happy life. We will get back to you with more information about other mudras in future posts. Till then keep practicing these mudras and reap its benefits.