What is a Mudra?
Mudra is Sanskrit and means “seal”, “gesture”, or “symbol”. Mudra comes from the word, “mudita”, which means to feel a sense of happiness. Mudras are often used to expand your breath, consciousness, and energy systems of the mind and body. They are commonly used in yogic practices by pairing them with pranayama (breathing techniques to guide energy in the body), asana (physical act of yoga), and mantras.
There are mental and physical health benefits to practicing mudras. Using mudras while controlling your breath and staying present is said to have healing effects on specific systems in the body.
You can practice a mudra while standing, seated, walking, or even lying down. The focus should be on a long, tall spine with deep breaths to help with the flow of energy, or prana, in the body.
History
Hand Mudras have been used in religious, spiritual, and artistic traditions throughout the world. For example, pressing your two hands together over your heart for prayer hands. Mudras have a long history in Indian dance and drama. They have been used as symbolic imagery, to represent deities, and express emotions in a story. There are hundreds of mudras from ancient traditions of India and Tibet. Many are for the hands and fingers called Hasta mudras. But there are also full body mudras called Yogic mudras that use the eyes, face, and body.
Traditional Indian Systems
In traditional Indian systems, the fingers represent:
Thumb-paramatma, or Supreme Consciousness
Index-jivatman, or individual soul
Middle-sattva, or purity
Ring-rajas, or passion
Pinky-tamas, or inertia
In this tradition, the mudra of touching the index and thumb together symbolizes the individual soul combining with Supreme Consciousness.
Ayurveda Philosophy
In Ayurveda (Indian healing) philosophy, everything is made up of the five elements: earth, fire, air, ether/space, and water, including your body. There is a connection between the five elements and the hand.
Thumb-Fire
The fire element represents heat, transformation, light and energy. This finger, the thumb, relates to the sense of sight, the digestive system, empowerment, and courage.
Index finger-Air
The air element represents light, movement, sensitivity and openness. The index finger relates to the sense of touch, the cardiovascular and immune systems, and the feeling of love and compassion.
Middle finger-Ether/Space
The ether/space element represents expansion, freedom, communication, and subtleness. The middle finger represents the sense of hearing, the endocrine and nervous system and the feeling of unity and spaciousness.
Ring finger-Earth
The earth element represents stability, grounding, and sustenance. The ring finger relates to the sense of smell, the structure of the physical body and feeling safe and connected.
Pinky finger-Water
The water element represents fluidity, flexibility, and adaptability. The pinky finger relates to the sense of taste, the reproductive, urinary, and lymphatic systems, and the feelings of pleasure and self-nourishment.
How do Mudras work?
Everything is made of energy and has an energy field around it. Your body has an energy field that surrounds it too. The space that surrounds the outer part of your physical body is your ‘aura’. You have an energy body that is made up of chakras or meridians (lines of energy). These energy centers or groups of nerves run throughout your body. The physical and energy body work together.
The use of mudras and yoga help to bring awareness to the flow of energy. They help to support the physical and energetic body working together. Nadis, or your body’s energy centers, assist the flow of energy in your mind and body.
Electromagnetic waves are transmitted from your fingertips. Mudras are used to decrease and increase the influence of the 5 elements in your body. Each fingertip will complete a circuit when joined together to activate the flow of energy.
The thumb (fire element) activates all the other elements. This activation either accelerates or decelerates the element that relates to a certain part of the body.
When you touch the fingertips together this increases or balances the element. If you fold the fingers and press, this controls or subdues the element.
In Ayurveda, an imbalance is corrected at the elemental level so when there is balance a disease or condition goes away. For example, obesity is related to the earth element being out of balance. If you can control the earth element, then obesity can be controlled.
Benefits of Practicing Mudras
There are positive psychological benefits to practicing mudras. These include relaxation, calmness, positivity, and overall well-being. You can practice a mudra anywhere. I did one while I was getting acupuncture because I felt a panic attack coming on. Using a mudra and mantra, helped bring me back into the present moment and stop the panic thought loop that was starting to play in my mind.
When you combine deep breathing while focusing on a mudra, its effect multiplies. They can help you go into a deep meditative state. Mudras can act as anchor points in meditation if your mind starts to shift away from your practice as well.
Mental Benefits
Mudras on a mental level clear away the clutter in your mind. They help increase your concentration and create positive thoughts and impressions in the mind. Using the energy points in the body, you stimulate the nervous system. This helps to relieve stress and you improve your mood.
Physical Benefits
On a physical level, they help remove any blocks in your energy to allow it to flow more freely. This increase vitality and helps to regain any lost energy. When you use mudras, you help link the brain to the body which can reduce pain and stimulate the endorphin rush.
The 5 Elements
Also, mudras help to balance the 5 elements that compose your body. The body is always ingesting, digesting, and eliminating waste in your mind and body. In Ayurvedic philosophy, air and ether carry blood, oxygen, and energy to all parts of the body and help to eliminate waste in the form of urine, stool, and sweat. Ether carries thoughts and feelings to different parts of the body. When there is a block in these systems, it can lead to problems or disease. This can also happen if there is a block in your nerves and energy is not flowing properly. Yoga and mudras help to remove the blocks and keep the energy flowing properly.
Resources:
Dale, C. (2021). Complete Book of Chakras. Llewellyn Publications.
DeNicola, A. (2016) Mudras for Awakening the Energy Body. US Games Systems, Inc.
Nataraj, Y. (2020). Healing Mudras. Nithin Bhat Kalya.
Sunitha S, Sharma CP. Mudra therapy and its classification. Int J Health Sci Res. 2021; 11(1):118-126.
