#mudramonday

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Hridaya Padma Mudra: the lotus of the heart hand position on this #MudraMonday. A #mudra that helps coalesce the energy of our heart fires. Imagine the #lotus petals unfolding in your heart, each petal a quality you wish to bring forth to the world, such as peace, joy, kindness, and love. Allow the qualities that no longer serve you to fuel the flames at the center of the lotus. Breathe. (at San Francisco, California)

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Prithivi #Mudra for a belated #MudraMonday. I've found my fingers slipping into this position naturally within the last year (done on both hands by bringing the thumbs and ring fingers to touch), and with the amount of travel I've been doing pursuing the Yoga Animalia Project, it made sense to learn that this is a root chakra balancing mudra. Gertrud Hirschi likens the use of this mudra and its effects to the graft of a rose rooting into the ground even as its leaves reach skyward, and so too must we root to rise. Very appropriate as I dive deeper into the #vegan #permaculture design course I'm currently enjoying at @wildearthfarm. #WildEarthPDC2016 (at San Francisco, California)

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#MudraMonday with Suchi #Mudra to start your elimination celebration. Useful for jump-starting the cleansing process in the morning before you leave bed, and yes, I'm talking about poop! 💩 Suchi mudra may help with constipation challenges. Practice as shown for six breaths, stretching each arm out with an inhale, then switch sides up to six times on each side. Take the time to make your intestines happy, and help the process by eating nutritious whole plant foods with love and reverence and a big goofy grin. 😆 @greg_wieting being all serene and sh$t for this #MondayMudraDrop about a different type of dropping - I couldn't help it! (at San Francisco, California)

[theproducerdotcom]

Calm within the chaos. Spotted this lovely mudra in the middle of a very energetic & loud mural in the East Village this morning. #mudramonday #mindfulnessforcreatives #nycstreetart #streetart (at East Village/Lower East Side Historic District)

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#MudraMonday for thirty more minutes! Dropping the root chakra fortifying #mudra with Prithivi mudra this week to follow up last week's cleansing mudra. Prithivi helps us ground, helps us find our footing metaphorically and literally, and stabilizes our equilibrium. #MondayMudraDrop shenanigans - share 'em with @greg_wieting and I! (at San Francisco, California)

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#MudraMonday may have passed, but I'm carrying the mudra into my week with my friends Lulu and Temple. Apan mudra has a balancing effect, a mudra for springtime and removing toxins built up over the winter. (at Rooterville, A Sanctuary Inc)

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Yoga Animalia: Canine & Porcine - continuing the #MudraMonday love (share if you like and hashtag it!) with Varada mudra for the week. Spent time in one of the @rooterville pig barns with the crew there, including Temple dog whose best friend is Lulu pig, and who allowed Cameron human to nap and meditate with them. Varada mudra is a mudra of blessing and forgiveness. Where can you bring these qualities into your week? (at Rooterville, A Sanctuary Inc)

[ganeshayogachicago]

This mudra is excellent for those who are just beginning to incorporate mudras into a mindfulness practice.  The gesture, medha prana kriya, is truly an enabling tool physically, mentally and emotionally.  It’s core quality is that of welcoming thoughts and feelings.

“But wait a minute!  When I meditate, I am not supposed to have thoughts, right?  That’s why I can’t meditate, because I have so many thoughts!”

See, medha prana kriya is helping you already.  In a mindfulness meditation practice, you aren’t trying to suppress your thoughts, or anything else that bubbles up while you sit (or walk.) Let’s remind ourselves that mindfulness is the process of paying attention, on purpose and without judgement, to things as they actually are.  No mention there of trying to take your thoughts and shove them into a dank, unused corner of your brain.  Mindfulness demands that you have thoughts and feelings, so that you have something to pay attention to.  Medha prana kriya not only tells us that it’s OK to have thoughts and feelings while meditating, it gives you explicit permission to bring them on.

Let’s understand how to hold the mudra, and then we’ll practice it.  Place the tip of the index finger into the joint of the thumb.  Apply adequate pressure, as if you are pressing a penny against your thumb.  Extend the other three fingers to the best of your ability, and place the hands, palms up, onto the thighs or knees.  Do this with both hands.  Sit up tall. Close your eyes if that’s comfortable for you, and take a few full, slow, and even breaths.  Stay for four breaths, then open your eyes.

What you might have experienced during that brief time is a physical feeling of openness in the chest, which, not so coincidentally, is where your heart is located.  The mudra, and the physical posture it facilitates in your body, increases oxygen flow into the chest/heart center.  It is also no coincidence that oxygen=energy=prana, and that this mudra’s middle name is prana.  The mudra is intended to direct energy to the heart, the physical seat of emotion.  I like to think of medha prana kriya as an amplifier, one that turns up the volume on my emotions so that it is easier for me to listen to them. Try holding it again for a minute or two, and listen carefully for any emotional reactions that arise.  Let them come, without resistance or encouragement.  Simply see what happens.  After a few minutes, release the gesture, open the eyes, and note your experience.

But experiencing your thoughts and emotions is only part of what we do during mindfulness meditation.  We also learn to observe our thought patterns without judgement, grasping, or awful-izing.  This is a skill, which like any other takes practice to develop, so don’t beat yourself up if this is really difficult at first.  Try this exercise:  settle into to a comfortable meditation posture, whatever that is for you.  Hold the mudra, and take a few centering breaths. Bring to mind an image of something that makes you happy.  Allow yourself to experience these positive feelings, but without getting completely wrapped up in them. Observe yourself reacting to this image, like you are holding a clipboard and taking notes.  After 3-4 breaths, let the image go.  Now, bring to mind an image that is difficult or challenging for you (start with something minor, not your most difficult challenge in life.  Think  traffic or .) Just like before, allow yourself to experience the negative feelings that arise from contemplating this image, without amplification.  Try to see this experience as it actually is – something you don’t prefer, but that is a minor annoyance that will pass soon enough.  Observe your reaction.  See if you can release the emotions that have arisen. Return your focus to your breath for a minute, then release the mudra and open your eyes.  Notice how you feel, and how that exercise went for you. Keep practicing.

With practice, you may find that this mudra is especially helpful on days when you are experiencing a lot of mental noise pollution.  Medha prana kriya can cut through the din and create a bubble of peace and silence where you can better tune in to your thoughts and feelings.

Mudra image courtesy of “Mudras for Healing and Transformation” by Joseph and Lilian LePage.