What is Mudra: Meaning, Origin and Purpose

Mudras have been used for centuries in various traditions of yoga, Ayurveda, Buddhist monks, and others to heal body, mind, and soul.

Mudra in Sanskrit means ‘seal’ or ‘sign.’ Mudra can be a certain position of a body part (gesture, finger position, tongue position) or position of the whole body (asana, like viparita karani mudra).

Mudras allow you to develop the ability to feel flows of life energy, prana, inside the subtle body and consciously control these flows. Mudras purify energy channels and mental centers in the subtle body. There are a lot of different mudras: Jnana, Dhyana, Nabhi, Viparita Karani, and many more.

Benefits of using mudras

1) Health becomes better.
2) Mental development becomes better.
3) Concentration becomes stronger.
4) Consciousness expands.
5) Normalize our energy, aura.

In yoga practice we can use mudras in meditation in some asanas, and it helps to make practice more effective. Usually mudras use saint people, highly realized masters in most traditions.

Let’s take a look at one of the most popular mudras.

Jnana mudra: effect

1) Increases power of mind.
2) Improves concentration.
3) Helps with mental disorders like headaches, insomnia, laziness, and depression.
4) Help with sleep disorders.
5) Help with tiredness.
6) Help to adapt the body to physical and emotional stress, time zones, and climate change.

How to do Jnana mudra

1) Sit in meditation posture.
2) Put your thumb and index finger together.
3) Relax body and hands.

First finger (thumb) means Brahman, and the second finger means individual jivatma. So when you connect them, it’s like connecting your individual soul to your highest self.

We can practice mudras every day for 30 to 45 minutes, or we can divide it into shorter periods of practice of 15 minutes.

Mudras prepare our mind for meditation, concentration, and withdrawal of senses from the body.

So if you use mudras in your yoga practice, it will deepen your practice and give great benefits.