An Indian Art

What Mudra can do?

Some simple types of Mudras

My personal experience - Yoga Mudras saved life

For many years, I have successfully used mudras to help me concentrate better or to intensify my meditation. Don't ask me why, but I always felt my little finger games to be something quite intimate, and consequently omitted them from the curriculum of my courses. It probably wasn't the right time for them yet.

At a workshop for brain training several years ago, I became acquainted with Mudra Number 27 and immediately put it to use for a great many different occasions. If I lose the thread while speaking or writing, or if I want to remember something, I simply place the fingertips of both hands together. Then the sentence or word usually comes to mind. Mudra Number 42, the hands placed together in front of the chest, calms my thoughts and supports concentration. I was also able to counter physical complaints with mudras. One of the most wonderful experiences occurred when I had to lie down after returning from a very long hike. I was very tired and had met a number of people on horseback (I react allergically to the smell of horses), as well as blossoming trees, during the last three miles. This was enough to cause an asthma attack. I did Mudra Number 4, and after four minutes, my breathing wasback to normal. I also frequently use Mudra Number 5 when I notice that my chest has become constricted. Perhaps I should do a serious course of treatment at some point using this mudra. During the last flu attack, I often felt wretched. Mudra Number 3, the first version, helped me. Before I go on a long hike, I like to move my bowels, which is done easily if I have already done Mudra Number 23, followed immediately by Mudra 24, while still resting in bed. Fellow hikers also report success with these mudras.

In case of seasickness, or when generally suffering from flatulence after too much fat at a meal, I use Mudra Number 3, the first version, with much success. I find Mudra Number 2 to be great because it practically throws me out of the bed in the morning. It is wonderfully refreshing and counteracts sensations of dizziness.

After a long session of garden work that was followed by an annoying backache, I recently had an interesting experience. I laid down on my back, pulled my knees up to my chest, and did Mudra 17 to balance out the energy in my back. After a few breaths, I felt wonderful and a pleasant warmth flowed through the lumbar vertebral area into my back. I could directly feel how the backache slowly dissolved. Our health and well-being are greatly dependent upon an optimal flow of energy, and tension blocks this energy flow.

Since I am basically a healthy person, it naturally hasn't been possible for me to try out the effects of all of the mudras. However, many of my yoga students and acquaintances have told me about improvement or even the miraculous healing of some conditions. One woman thought that mudras saved her husband's life one night when he woke up with vehement heart pain. She attempted to contact a physician and placed his hands
into the form of Mudra 16 while waiting. The heart pain subsided, he fell asleep exhausted, and it wasn't necessary for the physician on emergency call to come immediately. In the morning, she took her husband to the doctor. The diagnosis was that the man had suffered a severe heart attack during the night.

Publisher's Note: If you feel heart pain, please get to the emergency room in your hospital. Call an ambulance; make sure you have emergency phone numbers available for quick reference in case you need them. Doing the mudras while waiting for an ambulance is fine. The woman in this story is very lucky that her husband lived through this experience! The mudra exercises do not replace the care of a competent physician.

Palmistry and Yoga mudras

Astrology and palmistry have always belonged together. If the practice of the mudras stimulates your interest in palmistry, you can find a large selection of literature on the topic. The mudras can actually strengthen the hands and the individual fingers, even changing character traits in the process. In the little finger, we find creativity, a sense of beauty, and inner clarity; in the ring finger, there is sense of family, the ability to love, and a feeling of security; initiative, sobriety, and the love of order are found in the middle finger; intellectual faculty, individuality, and striving for power are in the index finger; the will, instinctiveness, and vitality in general are found in the thumb. Further classifications from astrology and palmistry can be found in the illustrations on page 38 and the one below.As you can see, you have "a great deal in your hands" with the mudras. You can take hold of your life with your own two hands and decide what is important to you.

Meridians and Deep Meridians

Meridians are the energy paths that run through the body and control its individual functions (circulation, respiration, digestion, and individual organs). The beginning and ending points of the meridians are taken into particular consideration by the mudras. In acupuncture, only the superficial meridians are considered and the system of deep meridians is often even rejected as being speculative. Since the effect of many mudras only became clear to me once I learned about the deep meridians, I am also presenting this system here. Try encircling your fingers around your little finger more often. This is good for your heart! If you tend to be chilled easily, or susceptible to illness, then encircle or massage your ring finger.