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Mudra Magic!

My first experiences with Mudras


May 15, 2017 1 Comment

Sharing my experiences with mudras(will keep adding as I keep experimenting):

1. My first encounter with mudras was with my father. He started doing prana-mudra after
reading that it is good for the eyes. My mom and dad both had glasses for reading. My mom’s
number kept increasing but my dad’s number stayed the same and he said it is because of
prana-mudra. My dad was a chain smoker!

2.Decades ago while studying for my engineering I was told by someone to do Adi mudra to
get rid of sleep. I just did one fist with my palms in the lap or on the table and continued
studying for my exam and lo behold the sleepiness was gone. I was feeling heat in the head.

Adi Mudra

3. Last month I did a yoga teacher training course and we had our first class on Mudra Yoga.
Next day was a Sunday and we went on a 12 hour city trip most part of which was done
walking. I had bought new box heel sandals and I am used to only flat sandals. So after few
hours I started having pain in the lower part of the spine. So I did the Merudanda mudra in
downward direction while continuing walking. And again, in just 10 minutes my pain was
gone!

Merudanda Mudra

4. Then after some weeks I developed dry cough and I used Surya+Jalashamak mudra and
Linga mudra for 15 minutes each daily. But these I did along with ginger+tulsi+honey tea,
warm water drinking. The cough lingered very long but I did get relief from the mudras, I
could feel the heat in my chest with those mudras. Meanwhile a friend who was very
skeptical about mudras also tried these mudras for her sinus and she said she was surprised to
see them working!

5. Just today I woke up with a stiff neck. Whenever it used to happen before I could not move
my head side ways for many hours and it pained. Today when it happened I started doing
Merudanda mudra thinking I will have to sit at least for 15 minutes to make it work. But as
soon as I did the mudra I felt a warmth in that spot and not even a minute passed that it
healed! It is amazing.

Surya Mudra

Jal Shamaak Mudra

Linga Mudra

Interestingly if you do this mudra right, with the thumb erect, 2 points start throbbing. And
these are exactly the 2 points which are mentioned in acupressure to relieve asthma and
breathing difficulties and for cough.
So what exactly are mudras???

Each finger in our hand represents an element as shown below. Our yoga teacher told us
some interesting details :-).
5 Elements 5
Fingers

In India we are used to showing the pinky to ask/tell that we want to go to the bathroom to
urinate because pinky stands for water and we show thumb to indicate that we are thirsty
because thumb stands for fire/heat. Think of the thumb as the king and the other fingers as
slaves. When the tip of thumb touches the tip of any other fingers the other finger element
gets balanced.

So if thumb tip touches the index finger tip, the air element in us gets balanced and so the
functions of the body and mind controlled by the air element come into balance.

If the thumb tip touches the bottom of the index finger, then the slave is higher than the king
and the air element increases.

If the index finger tip touches the thumb bottom, then the slave is enslaved to the king and the
air element decreases. And so on for other fingers.

There are more complex theories behind it which I need to study first and then will share. But
for now they work for me and my friends, so try it out and share your experiences!

A good video on mudras in general not just from yoga perspective:

Update
4. I hit my spine with something really hard, like a rod, some weeks ago. It pained when it hit
but then I was fine and I ignored it. After some days I started using a new chair, learning a
new violin technique and I started getting numb fingers, dizziness and vomiting like feeling
frequently. I had forgotten about the hit on the spine and thinking the chair and the violin are
the culprits kept practicing light stretches and yoga. It was getting better, then coming back.
So one day, when my back and neck were feeling stiff and I was feeling dizzy, I asked my
husband to massage my back and when he touched the spine he noticed a big bump in my
spine and I screamed in pain. It was then I understood that it was because of that hit I was
feeling so all these weeks. Next morning we went out of town and I started feeling dizzy in
the car. It was a 35 minute ride so I did Urdhva Merudanda for upper spine. And to my
astonishment the lump vanished, the pain vanished, and so did the dizziness and vomiting
sensation. I was not really sure and I thought it would come back. But it has not yet and 4
days have passed since then.

Merudanda – 3 positions

Merudanda for entire spine


Adho Merudanda for lower spine
Urdva Merudanda for upper spine

3. Some days ago I had menstrual cramps and I would usually take bach flower rescue
remedy and sleep over it. And all my day would have been dull and in slight pain. But today I
did Apana-Vayu mudra. I sat with a 15 minute timer but just in 10 minutes the pain was
gone!
Surprising thing is that I have menstrual cramps only outside India, in India never and the
flow is also less in India and exactly 5 days long whereas outside India it is 7-10 days longer.
Am hoping with regular practice of yoga, pranayama and mudras it will be normal.
Apana Vayu Mudra

2. Today I was heavily bloated looking 9 months pregnant and feeling heavy. So I tried vayu
mudra and I felt lighter. Then I tried apana vayu mudra and I started burping uncontrollably

for next 15 minutes. Phew!

1. Today I had continuous lower back pain, which I ignored yesterday thinking it will heal on
its own. I had carried heavy tanks of saw dust uphill on my shoulders day before yesterday.
So today I did resting crocodile pose with a heat pad on the lower back, along with
merudanda for lower-back and it healed in 10 minutes.

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