Mudras 101 - The Power Is In Your Hands

These ancient symbolic gestures may hold the key to deepening your connection to your practice.

- By Linda Sparrowe

We often see statues of ancient yogis, gods, and goddesses sitting in meditation and holding their hands in certain positions. Or we may go into a yoga class in which the teacher encourages us to sit in silence with our hands perched on our knees, index fingers touching thumbs, and wonder: What do these hand gestures have to do with meditation? Turns out, quite a bit.

Hasta Mudras—literally meaning seals, stamps, or gestures—are sacred hand movements that have been used for thousands of years in many different traditions as a way of deepening one’s practice and awakening the power of the Divine. Today, Hasta Mudras continue to be important tools to free up energy (prana) and direct it to areas of the body that need healing. Every mudra has a particular purpose and moves the energy in a specific way throughout the body to create subtle physical, mental, and emotional changes. For example, if you come into your meditation practice feeling agitated or anxious, placing your palms face down on your thighs will usually calm and ground your energy. If you feel sluggish or sleepy, a palms-up mudra might enliven you.