I don’t know about you, but I can sometimes have very restless hands during seated meditation. I am never sure where they feel “right” and they usually float around to different places while I sit. Sometimes I simply cup them in my lap, but that feels a bit limp and useless. Sometimes I put palms together in prayer, but after a while my arms feel heavy and, to be honest, sitting that long in prayer can feel kind of cheesy to me. Sometimes I rest my palms on my knees, but that tends to pull my forward, pulling my upper back and shoulders down until before I know it, I’m slumped over and out of alignment. I enjoy putting my hands on my heart when meditating on love, compassion, or the heart chakra, but, like the prayer position, it’s not sustainable for long periods of time.
When I’m in easy pose, my core is activated, my legs are folded, my spine is lengthened, and there seems to be a channel of energy running from toes to crown, but my arms seem to be a bit… extra; like limp fish that I can’t seem to bring into the fold. So I’ve started utilizing Mudras.
Mudras are basically Yoga for your hands. The word “Mudra” means “seal” or “gesture” in Sanskrit, and they are designed to help you focus your mind on a specific goal or channel a specific type of energy. Most of them are thousands of years old and are considered sacred in Buddhism. Just like Yoga, the physical practice of Mudras does not do anything on its own, so just making the movements means nothing without the accompanying focus of the mind. The Mudra is a tool to help guide your meditation, just like a specific mantra, pose, or a mala would.
I recently picked up “Mudras for Awakening the Energy Body” by Alison Denicola, and started with the root chakra mudra for “Centering,” which is essentially putting your palm face up and bending your ring finger into the palm to be held by the thumb. I sat for fifteen minutes, and alternated my breath work between my main body and my hands. I have to admit, I did feel more centered when I was done! If anything, it provided me with fifteen minutes of meditation during which I did not fidget with my hands, and every time my thoughts wandered, I was able to bring my focus back to my hands and the word “center,” so it seems like the benefit was two-fold.
I’d like to play with mudras a bit in yoga class, and I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. In the meantime, I encourage you to look them up and give them a try!
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