Psyfamily magazine April 2016 | Page 9

Mudra (Sanskrit: मद्र ु ा) literally means "seal", "brand" or "gesture", it is a symbolic gesture used in Tantric rituals of both Hindu and Buddhist tradition. The mudras can be performed with the whole body but most are performed with the hands. Mudras are part of a system that uses the body to express and emphasize the intentions of the mind. It is often used in yoga practice in association with breathing (pranayama), in meditation and for healing purposes. Stimulate different parts of the body and affect the flow of prana, the vital energy. The picture below shows how our fingers represent five elements i.e. water, earth, space, air and fire. and channelize that supreme energy through your veins or “nadis”, you need to purify them first. So this gave birth to “Hatha Yoga” or training of hardiness, which has all physical postures to practice. Basically hath yog is a science that stands out as a first rung on the ladle that leads to supreme heights of royal training or “Raj Yog” It also shows about our social and moral values depending on planets which are responsible to that particular element. These Mudras are performed in Yoga asana, pranayama, etc. To prepare your mind (raj), you have to prepare your body (hath) first. Because We can note how in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist healthy body is healthy & iconography every god or sound mind. goddess adopt a Lord Shiva is also particular mudra, which considered as “Maha Yogi” along with the weapons because all the practice & or objects held by the knowledge (Vidya) that we deity, symbolize a have today is invented & particular energy or discovered by him. That is quality. why some consider Shiva as their “Yog Guru” rather In Tantric rituals 108 than a god. mudras are used. To make up your mind to use In the last issue we mentioned few mudra postures, we will discuss more about mudra and yoga practice (or sadana, asans) in our upcoming issues. Source : Aghori.it Wikipedia.org 10th April | Mumbai, IN 17th April |Bangalore, IN www.erowid.org