How to Use Mudras in Yoga to Advance Your Practice

When we think of the yoga practice, we often think of physical postures (asana), meditation, or breathing techniques (pranayama). A lesser-known part of yoga is known as Yoga Tattva Mudra Vigyan.

This area of yoga is known for the use of mudras, or hand gestures, as a healing modality. Often thought of as “yoga of the hands,” mudras can be used within meditation or yoga postures. These gestures help to influence the flow of energy in the body, thereby advancing your yoga practice by changing your physical and mental state.

How Mudras Work

It is thought that mudras re-establish the link between our physical body and mental body. Through nerve endings and energy pathways in the fingertips, the fingers act as electrical currents that can awaken or heal various parts of the body and mind.

In traditional ayurvedic medicine, mudras share a direct connection to the five elements of the body. A lack or excess of any element in the body can lead to illness; a balance of elements leads to good health and well-being. As we practice various mudras and connect the hands and fingers in different positions, we can stimulate or suppress the elements and achieve the balance our body needs. Each finger of the hand corresponds to one of the elements:

How to Use a Mudra in Yoga to Advance Your Practice

Because each mudra in yoga has a specific effect on the body and mind, it should be combined with the right pose and intention. As your needs change, so will your mudras. As you practice them, be mindful and present to the sensations in your hands and body. Like your physical yoga practice, mudras should be practiced consistently in order to gain the benefits they offer. Here are several areas of your yoga practice that can benefit from a consistent mudra practice:

During Pranayama

Pranayama, or breath control, is a crucial practice in yoga. As we use breathwork to control our prana, or life force, we can increase our energy and improve our state of mind. Many yoga practitioners believe that by sealing our meditation or yoga poses with our hands in mudras, we can help preserve and cultivate our life force. Try these mudras to stimulate your life force during pranayama:

• Prana Mudra: Perform this mudra by touching your ring and pinky fingers to the tip of your thumb, while keeping the other two fingers straight. Prana mudra is said to activate dormant energy in the body and enliven personal prana — while also putting you more in tune with the prana around you.
• Garuda Mudra: Hold your hands in front of you with your palms facing your chest. Cross your right hand over your left and interlock your thumbs, stretching all of your other fingers out. This mudra stimulates the fire element to energize and stoke your inner fire.

During Asana

In our physical yoga practice, we often focus our attention on our body’s alignment while sometimes losing the focus of our minds. Performing mudras with physical postures can remind us of the meaning of the pose. Add these mudras to your daily practice as a starting point:

• Anjali Mudra: Perhaps the most popular and well-known mudra in yoga is the gesture accompanied by the word “namaste.” With our hands in a prayer position at our heart center, we are actually practicing the anjali mudra. This mudra balances the right and left hemispheres of the brain, giving a sense of calmness. Begin and end your practice with anjali mudra to bring a greater sense of balance to your asana practice.
• Abhaya Mudra: This simple mudra is performed by holding the right hand open and facing out at shoulder height. This mudra represents fearlessness, protection, peace and friendship. Using this mudra with a warrior pose by raising the hand over the bent leg and letting the other hand slide down the back supporting leg, will help you tap into humility and strength.

During Meditation

Many mudras are practiced within meditation to help unlock deeper meditative states. The best postures to pair with mudras in meditation are lotus (padmasana) or easy pose (sukhasana). Mudras that improve concentration and focus the mind can help you gain deeper insight during your meditation. Try these mudras during your next meditation:

• Gyan Mudra: Perform gyan mudra by touching the tips of the index finger and thumb together. Keep the remaining fingers straight, but relaxed. This is considered the mudra of knowledge. The thumb in this gesture represents universal consciousness, while the index finger represents individual consciousness. The unity of the two helps you connect to your higher Self.
• Dhyana Mudra: Perform dhyana mudra by resting the right hand on top of the left hand, palms facing up. The hands should be curved slightly into the shape of a bowl. You can also bring the tips of the thumbs together to form a triangle over the bowl. Rest this mudra at the navel. Dhyana mudra helps bring your attention inward and is useful when you are trying to increase self-awareness.

During Kirtan (chanting)

Kirtan is a deeply devotional practice used frequently within the kundalini yoga tradition. It includes chanting mantras in a call-and-response format in order to sing praises to the divine. The intent of this chanting is to create a deeper sense of connection and unity. To enhance this practice, choose a mudra such as:

• Dharmachakra Mudra: On each hand, join the tip of the thumb and index finger to form a circle. Bring hands to heart level, right palm facing out and left palm facing the heart. The left middle fingertip touches the right thumb tip. This gesture reflects a state of devotion and represents serving from the heart.
• Lotus Mudra: Start with your hands together at heart center. Keep the base of your hands, pinky fingers, and thumbs together, while allowing the rest of your fingers to blossom open. This mudra balances fire and water, and opens your heart chakra to love, compassion, and gratitude.

Selecting a meaningful mudra in yoga can help you connect more deeply to your practice and clarify your intention and focus. With so many to choose from, mudras can grow with you as you continue to tune into your needs.