we are pretty sure all of us are worried for our healthy life. To maintain our healthy life many of us joining the yoga classes or take a crash to gym or attend the sessions of zumba classes.First of all we have to know that mudras or yoga are very beneficial for our healthy life. so now we what is mudra?A mudra; Sanskrit: मुद्रा, IAST: mudrā, “seal”, “mark”; Tibetan: ཕྱག་རྒྱ་, THL: chakgya, is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. In yogic sense, mudras may be understood as the process that involves the flow of energy within the body through some gesture, posture, etc.
The practice of mudras during yoga and pranayama has been very common in India in religions like Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. Though mudras involve the entire body, most of the mudras are performed using fingers and hands to channel the flow of energy in the body.
- Gyan Mudra (Mudra of Knowledge):Gyana Mudra is a mystic position of the thumb and index finger depicting a gesture of supreme knowledge. Since it’s practised with the help of the hands, therefore, it is a type of Hand Gesture (Hasta mudra) in yoga.In Hatha yoga texts, Gyan mudra is described most effective hand gesture that works on uniting the human soul to the ultimate supreme soul.
How to do gyan mudra
- Sit in a comfortable posture (Sukhasana, Padmasana or any meditative posture). You might practice it in a standing pose (Mountain pose) if you are unable to sit down.
- Hold your back, chest, and head in a straight position.
- Relax your whole body and place your hands on your knees in an upward direction.
- Now fold the index finger of both of hand towards the thumb & join the tip of your index finger with the tip of the thumb. Leave the remaining three fingers extended.
- Maintain the same arrangement of fingers and put your hands on your knees facing in the upward direction.
- Relax and close your eyes softly and concentrate on your breath. Inhale and exhale deeply to seep air into the deepest tissues of your body to attain a sense of lightness in your Chitta (or consciousness).
- Clear all the thoughts in your mind and listen to the vibes of your body. Do not avoid what your soul tries to express you rather face it and harmonise it in yourself.
- You can chant a mantra or “Om” while exhaling deeply for an ecstatic effect.
- Vayu Mudra (Mudra of Air):Vayu Mudra is a hand gestures, practiced to release excess of air from the human body. This relieves one from the symptoms related to aggravation of air element in the body like excessive gas, bloating, arthritis, gout and other pains.
How to do vayu mudra
- First of all, bring your body into a comfortable sitting posture such as Sukhasana, Vajrasana, Padmasana, etc. Find your place of relaxation here, one should be still and calm before doing Vayu Mudra.
- Now, proceed with the deep breathing while keeping the eyes close. Closing of the eyes holds your concentration for further practice, whereas breathing stimulates the prana flow across the body.
- Begin with the palms facing upside. Fold your index finger in a way that it touches the base of the thumb finger. Further on, pressing it with the thumb finger.
- However, your index finger might hurt a bit for a while but after some time it will find its way to remain disciplined in the Vayu mudra. After that, extend the rest of the fingers as much as possible.
- Now, without disturbing the gesture, place your hands on both of your thighs. From here, maintain the steady, calm breathing with OM chanting to add spiritual awareness into your practice.
- Prithvi Mudra (Mudra of Earth):Prithvi Mudra (Mudra of the Earth) is a gesture of the hands practiced as part of meditation and also as part of therapeutic yoga sequences. In Sanskrit ‘prithvi,’ refers to the ‘earth,’ and ‘mudra,’ refers to ‘gesture of the hands.’ Earth is considered as one of the elements within the body and with the practice of Prithvi Mudra helps to awaken the earth element. For the practice of this mudra the ring fingers and the thumbs are used in both the hands. The ring finger represents the Earth element, whereas the thumb represents the Fire element. The main features of the earth element are; firmness, stability, strength, and stamina, and with the practice of Prithvi Mudra (Mudra of the Earth), it can help keeping these features in balance.
How to do prithvi mudra
Meditation postures like Padmasana, Swastikasana, Siddhasana, etc. are excellent for the practice of mudras.
Properly place your hands
Now, while sitting in a comfortable posture, place the hands with the palms facing upwards on the thighs or above the knees.
Form the Mudra
Now slowly fold your ring finger and tap the tip of the ring finger or Anamika finger to the tip of the thumb with little pressure. And try to keep the rest of the three fingers extended and straight as much as possible. Besides, it should be done with both hands simultaneously.
Maintain the Mudra
Try to maintain the Prithvi Mudra for a minimum of five to ten minutes.
Body fitness 