Yoni mudra
Translation: “womb gesture” or “source gesture”
How to: Bring the pads of your index fingers to touch. Then bring the pads of your thumbs to touch, so that these four fingers form a diamond shape. Point your thumbs toward you. Interlace the remaining fingers. You can do this in one of two ways: either interlacing the fingers inward, or resting them on the outsides of the hands. Rest your hands in your lap.
Effects: With both hands interlaced, yoni mudra creates a cross connection between the left and right side of the body. This balances both the feminine and masculine energies of the body, as well as the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Because yoni mudra calms the nervous system, it’s helpful both for meditation and for relieving anxiety.
3. Jal mudra
Translation: “water gesture”
How-to: Touch the tips of your thumb and pinky fingers on each respective hand together. Straighten your other fingers. Rest the backs of your hands in your lap.
Effects: In jal mudra, the water and fire elements are combined by touching their respective fingers together. This helps to regulate fluid balance, and is particularly helpful in lubricating the body. It’s beneficial for those with dry skin, constipation, dehydration, loss of taste, and painful, dry joints.
4. Hridaya mudra
Translation: “heart gesture”
How to: Bring your index finger to the base of the thumb on each hand. Join the tips of your middle and ring fingers to the tips of the thumbs. Keep the pinky fingers straight. Rest the backs of your hands in your lap.
Effects: The middle and ring fingers are directly related to the nadis, or subtle channels, that are connected to the heart. By touching them together with the thumbs in hridaya mudra, the flow of prana is directed toward the heart. This nourishes the heart, making this gesture beneficial for anyone with heart problems. But it also has emotional effects. Hridaya mudra helps to release blocked emotions and relieve heartache, perfect for anyone going through emotional difficulties.
To benefit from any of these four healing mudras, practice for five to 30 minutes a day. You can also break this down as three minutes, twice daily if you are crunched for time.
Reference: Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha. Bihar, India: Yoga Publications Trust, 2008.
Julie Bernier
Julie Bernier teaches women the art of self-care so that they feel their healthiest and happiest in their own unique bodies. This holistic approach to individualized wellness is rooted in the ancient Indian knowledge of ayurveda: a complete medical science and way of life which explains that our wellbeing blossoms when we align ourselves with nature. Julie is a registered ayurvedic practitioner by the Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America (AAPNA), a Certified Massage Therapist, and a classical hatha yoga teacher. She studied each of these modalities in the US and straight from the source in India. Connect with Julie at trueayurveda.com, on Instagram, or on Facebook. True Ayurveda, Facebook, or Instagram.
