MUDRĀ Shmudra!

We love Mudras. You can probably tell from this old website picture (we really must get around to updating!); here you will see the Mudras that we each favoured (for whatever reason) when we sat down for those pics.

I chose ABHAYA MUDRA: the Seal of Fearlessness (you often see it practiced in iconographic depictions of deities, sages and saints). It is used to dispel fear and evoke the direct experience of openness. It is a gesture of reassurance and safety.

Darren chose KARANA MUDRA: probably because he was thinking more of Kerrang! (Kerranga Mudra… geddit?) :).  His is the Gesture of Banishing because it helps to dispel negativity and anxiety whilst enhancing feelings of happiness and contentment.

A Mudra is a sacred gesture or ‘seal’ used during yoga and meditation practice as a means of channeling the flow of the vital life force energy known as ‘prana’.  What have these got to do with Bikram Yoga? … Absolutely. Nothing. 🙂 We do not practice these two in class. BUT. We do use a few of the most universally recognised hand Mudras.

In class we use:

AÑJALI MUDRĀ (NAMASKAR): If you have attended even one yoga class it is a familiar gesture; the drawing together of one’s palms at heart level is widely used as part of prayer OR respect or a silent greeting all over the world.  When used as a greeting some say it means the God in me salutes the God in you.  My favourite: The good in me salutes the good in you.  We use it in Tree, Toe Stand and you can see it in many our ‘arms overhead’ gestures.

It represents the yogic process of unification. Anjali mudra nourishes our heart gently encouraging it to open.

In class we use:

UTTARABODHI MUDRA: a gesture that identifies with a supreme power and symbolizes perfection. There are 112 variations! The closest variation we use is called Ksepana Mudra (or Kali Mudra).

To form the Uttarabodhi Mudra our stylie:  Interlace fingers and fold them down. Thumbs are crossed. Release the index fingers so that they are extended pointing toward the sky and their pads touch each other. These clasped hands are held at heart level or over the head.  We incorporate this into many over the head postures.

It supports release, expansiveness, and purification (rids the body of negative energy) or very simply supports ‘letting go’.  I love to give it extra attention if I feel a bit heavy or I have been giving the wrong thing too much attention in my life.

That’s it folks! no other Mudras necessary in Bikram method!

We encourage a Bhairava Mudra if one is not going full expression of Fixed Firm Pose (i.e. if one is staying in an upright kneeling position and does not need the support of hands against the floor).  This Mudra is not a standard part of our practice but I observed shortly after we opened that we needed to give kneelers something to ‘close’ this posture for them or they got very fidgety. It worked. This is a meditation Mudra. Buddha is often pictured with this hand gesture. Very simply place (rest) right on top of left palm and softly touch the thumbs together and place the hands on the lap.  Job done.  It is a gesture of surrender also known as the gesture of supreme bliss. It balances the right (male) and left (female) bodies or you could say it unites the right and left hemispheres (the intellectual and creative sides) of the brain.  It brings harmony, calms the mind and helps concentration and meditation.  It is similar in appearance to, but should not be confused with, Dyhana Mudra.

Now that really is it folks. No More Mudras! Leave the Jnana and Chin Mudras at home… any other gesture in class only serves to distract and confuse our newer practitioners. Essentially, if we haven’t instructed it don’t do it. If you do it and we haven’t instructed it we will ask you to drop it/let it go.

If you haven’t thought about these hand gestures before we hope you enjoy your new awareness of them.  See! there is always more Yoga to be had in your Bikram Yoga class!

 

 

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