The verse and its meaning · Yoga in Practice · Yoga in Practice — Hand Mudras

Prana Mudra — the gesture of the life breath

Hand Mudras 7

प्राण मुद्रा

Meaning · English

Prana mudra: prana, the life breath; mudra, a seal or gesture. The gesture of the life breath, the hand mudra in which the ring and little fingertips meet the thumb tip, known in English simply as the life-breath gesture.

Take the name apart. Prana is the breath and, in the tradition's account, the life force that rides on it. Mudra is a seal or gesture, a shape that closes something in and gives it a form. So the name is the gesture of the life breath. The shape is simple. The tips of the ring finger and little finger touch the tip of the thumb, while the index and middle fingers stay straight. This is modern postural yoga. The old hatha manuals do not describe these finger positions. Gheranda's mudras are of the whole body, with yoni mudra the one exception. The Mysore line of Krishnamacharya and the schools that grew from it codified the hand mudras in the twentieth century, and the names and claims come from that later teaching. Its frame in the old texts is Yoga Sutras 2.46 to 48. These speak of a seat that is steady and easy, a loosening of effort, and the mind resting on the infinite. Teachers of this gesture say it gathers the life breath, and they hold it with slow breathing when tired. It asks very little of the practitioner. It asks for a soft touch, a quiet breath and a willingness to sit. Nothing more is promised for it.

1. Sit tall in any steady seat. A cross-legged seat, a folded blanket or a chair will do. Lengthen the spine and let the crown of the head rise. 2. Let both hands rest open on the knees, palms up, for one breath. Let the breath settle. 3. Bring the tips of the ring finger and the little finger to the tip of the thumb, on both hands. Keep the index and middle fingers straight, but not stiff. 4. Hold it lightly. The touch is soft, never a grip. Let the shoulders stay down and the breath slow, in through the nose and out through the nose. 5. Close the eyes. Stay for a few minutes, or through a whole sit. Teachers hold it with slow breathing when tired. 6. If the hand tires, release it, shake the fingers out and begin again. 7. To come out, open the hand and let it rest on the knee. Breathe once or twice before moving. The touch should be about as firm as holding a feather between the fingertips, with no pressing and no white knuckles. The wrists rest on the knees so that the arms hang without effort. If the shoulders creep up, let them fall on an out-breath. The straight fingers need only be extended, not pushed. Take the gesture as a help to sitting still, and nothing more.

The body part is small. The thumb pad meets two fingertips, and the two straight fingers are lightly extended. Few muscles work, and they work gently. That is the point. A small, steady touch gives the hand a quiet task and gives the mind a place to rest. Attention gathers in the fingertips and then goes back to the breath. If the grip turns hard, the forearm and shoulder begin to work, and the effect is lost. The breath is slow because the gesture is meant for stillness, and a slow out-breath loosens the shoulders and the jaw. The tradition's own account is different from this plain description. It says the life breath, prana, moves in channels called nadis, and that the ring finger, little finger and thumb together gather it. That is the later teaching's account, offered as a way of understanding the practice. It is not physiology, and nothing in the body can be pointed to as proof of it.

The Mysore line and the schools that grew from it say that prana mudra gathers the life breath and steadies the sitter. They hold it with slow breathing when one is tired, and they say it supports a quiet, even sit. Some teachers also describe it as a help to concentration. These are the teachers' claims, handed down in modern teaching, and the old hatha manuals say nothing of them. Nothing here is a remedy. What can be said honestly is that the gesture gives a still sit something small to rest on.

A grandmother sits through the last hour of an evening prayer. Her knees ache, her mind drifts, and her hands lie in her lap. She puts her thumb to two fingertips and finds that the small touch gives her something to come back to. That is close to what is actually known. Slow breathing and quiet sitting are widely seen to settle the body and ease tension, and any simple, repeated touch can serve as an anchor for wandering attention. A good family doctor would say the same of a rosary, a worry bead or a hand on the chest. What has no modern support is the claim that this particular finger arrangement gathers prana or restores energy. Prana and the nadis are the tradition's account, and they match no structure that physiology can find. Teachers who offer the gesture as a help to sitting still are on firmer ground than those who say it does more.

This is not medical advice, and a page cannot correct what a teacher sees. Stop if anything hurts. The gesture itself needs no more care than ease. Take care instead with the seat. A person with stiff knees, hips or a sore back should sit on a chair or a raised cushion and not force a cross-legged seat. Anyone with pain, numbness or tingling in the fingers, wrists or hands should hold the gesture even more lightly, or rest the hand open. Anyone with a health condition should ask a doctor or teacher about breathing practice. Never grip, and never strain the breath to make it slow.

A gentler form rests the hands open on the thighs, palms up, with only a thin thread of touch between the fingers and thumb. Sit on a chair with the feet flat if the floor is hard. A fuller form holds the gesture through a whole sit of meditation, with the eyes closed. Do the same on both hands, since there is no mirrored side to learn. Some people rest the backs of the hands on the knees, palms up, and others lay them in the lap. Choose whichever keeps the shoulders down.

Gripping the fingers hard turns a gesture into a workout, so let the touch be as soft as a feather. Raising the shoulders to hold the hands up tires the neck, so let the wrists rest on the knees. Stiffening the straight fingers makes the hand rigid, so extend them gently and leave them there. Forcing a long, slow breath makes the chest tight, so let the breath find its own slow pace. Staying on when the hand is tired makes the sit a struggle, so release the hand and begin again. Expecting a special effect from the finger positions leads to disappointment, so treat the gesture only as a help to sitting still.

अर्थ · हिन्दी

In this book

• Before: Surya Mudra — the gesture of the sun · Hand Mudras 6
• Next: Apana Mudra — the gesture of the downward breath · Hand Mudras 8
• All of Yoga in Practice · Ask Krishna about it

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