Mudras
Yoga Mudras
The Sanskrit word mudra is translated as 'gesture' or 'attitude'. Mudras can be described as psychic, emotional, devotional and aesthetic gestures or attitudes. Yogis have experienced mudras as attitudes of energy flow, intended to link individual pranic force with universal or cosmic force." The Kularnava Tantra traces the word mudra to the root mud meaning 'delight' or 'pleasure' and dravay, the causal form of dru which means 'to draw forth'. Mudra is also defined as a 'seal', 'short-cut' or 'circuit by-pass'.
Mudras are a combination of subtle physical movements which alter mood, attitude and perception, and which deepen awareness and concentration. A mudra may involve the whole body in a combination of asana, pranayama, bandha and visualization techniques or it may be a simple hand position.
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika and other yogic texts consider mudra to be a yoganga, and independent branch of yoga, requiring a very subtle awareness. Mudras are introduced after some proficiency has been attained in asana, pranayama and bandha, and gross blockages have been removed.
Muras have been described in various texts from antiquity to the present day in order to preserve them for posterity. However, such references were never detailed or clearly delineated as these techniques were not intended to be learned from a book. Practical instruction from a guru was always considered to be a necessary requisite before attempting them. Mudras are higher practices which lead to awakening of the pranas, chakras and kundalini, and which can bestow major siddhs, psychi powers, on the advanced practitioner.
Mudras and prana
The attitudes and postures adopted during mudra practices establish a direct link between annamaya kosha, the physical body; manomaya kosha, the mental body; and pranamaya kosha, the pranic body. Initially, this enables the practitioner to develop awareness of the flow of prana in the body. Ultimately, it establishes pranic balance within the koshas and enables the redirection of subtle energy to the upper chakras, inducing higher states of consciousness.
Mudras manipulate prana in much the same way that energy in the form of light or sound waves is diverted by a mirror or a cliff face. The nadis and chakras constantly radiate prana which normally escapes from the body and dissipates into the external world. By creating barriers within the body through the practice of mudra, the energy is redirected within. For example, by closing the eyes with the fingers in shanmukhi mudra, the prana being radiated through the eyes is reflected back. In the same way, the sexual energy emitted through vajra nadi is redirected to the brain through the practice of vajroli mudra.
Tantric literature states that once the dissipation of prana is arrested through the practice of mudra, the, mind becomes introverted, inducing states of pratyahara or sense withdrawal and dharana, concentration. Because of their ability to redirect prana, mudras are important techniques for awakening kundalini. For this reason they are extensively incorporated in kriya and kundalini yoga practices.
| E995 |
Considering all these questions the article below contains answers to all the questions.; |
| sharon |
Could you please advise of a mudra and mantra for the autonomous nervous system. |