From Leslie:
The word Mudra means seal, gesture, or attitude. We usually think of a folding or clasping of the hands in a specific way as a mudra.
Hands, head, internal locks, whole body postures can also be mudras. For the rest of the discussion here, however, I will just be referring to hand or finger positions.
Mudras are a means of changing fields of energy by moving the hands. Just like we can consciously change our breath and change emotions. That is what hand mudras can do in a subtle energetic way.
Mudras are also an outward expression of energy moving in the body. Just like the breath is an expression of our emotions. Mudras are also a communication system of feelings, ideas and emotions.
When I first began practicing yoga, I wondered about mudras. It looked beautiful but had no meaning for me and I decided I would not add that aspect into my practice until I understood what it meant.
It was after discovering meridian tapping or EFT that mudras made sense energetically. Just like the blood circulation system and lymph circulation system, we have an energy circulation system called meridians. Each meridian passes thru a major organ of the body and reflects the energy going to or coming from that organ system. Some of the meridians begin or end on the tips of the fingers, so if you are lightly pressing on those spots in a hand mudra and breathing deeply, you are balancing the energy of that meridian.
picture from mudras for healing
Thumb: lung meridian
Index finger: large intestine meridian
middle finger: pericardium meridian
ring finger: triple warmer
pinky: small intestine and heart meridians
The hands are powerhouses of energy and in the anjali mudra the hands are brought together and touching the heart, so you have the recirculating of powerful energy from the palms and the powerful energy from the heart all connecting. Not only is it beneficial from an energetic standpoint, it reflects reverence, gratitude, oneness to the divine in many cultures and religions. This is one mudra that does have symbolic meaning to us in the west as well as the east.
Picture from sri chinmoy centre
Attitudes and meanings are the other aspects of mudras that we don’t relate to in the west because we were not brought up using the mudras and developing associations with them. We have our own hand gestures, however, with significant meanings both positive and negative. I guess we could call those mudras. Here are some examples that bring happy, positive memories or emotions:
picture from elk grove.org
This is the fingerplay of the church and the steeple. It usually has happy memories for people.
Picture from Welsh surfing federation.
This thumbs up gesture shows success, and a positive attitude
If we had grown up in the religion or culture that used the mudras on a regular basis, then we would have the associations of a certain meaning and understanding and emotions when we see or do them.
We already use the internal locks called bandhas in our practice and the anjali mudra. As we add more hand gestures for the purpose of balancing energy in our organ systems then slowly over time we will build meaning and an association of peace with these mudras.
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