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

Prithvi Mudra — the gesture of earth

Hand Mudras 11

पृथ्वी मुद्रा

Meaning · English

Prithvi Mudra, the gesture of earth: prithvi is earth, the broad ground underfoot, and mudra is a seal or sign made with the body. Here the seal is made with the hand, ring fingertip to thumb tip, and is commonly called the earth gesture.

Take the name apart first. Prithvi means earth, the wide ground that carries everything. Mudra means a seal, a sign or a gesture. So the name is simply the seal of earth, a small shape of the hand that is said to stand for steadiness. Now the plain sense. The old hatha manuals do not describe this finger position. The Pradipika, the Gheranda and the Shiva Samhita teach mudras of the whole body, with yoni mudra the one exception that uses the hands. Prithvi Mudra is modern postural yoga, codified in the twentieth century in the Mysore line of Krishnamacharya and the schools that grew from it. Its name and its claims are later teaching, and they are named as that here. Why is it taught? Teachers pair each finger with an element, and the ring finger with earth. Touching its tip to the thumb is said to bring the quality of earth: steadiness. They offer it for a sit in which the mind keeps wandering. What it asks of the practitioner is small. A tall, steady seat. Both hands open on the knees, palms up. One light touch between two fingertips. The other fingers stay straight. The old frame for all of this is Patanjali's: a seat that is steady and easy, effort loosened, the mind resting on the infinite. The gesture is only a help toward that, and nothing more is promised for it.

1. Sit tall in any steady seat: cross-legged on the floor, on a folded blanket, or on a chair with both feet down. Let the spine rise from the sitting bones and the crown of the head lift gently. 2. Let both hands rest open on the knees, palms up, for one breath. The wrists lie on the knees, and the arms are loose. 3. Bring the tip of the ring finger to the tip of the thumb, on both hands. Touch pad to pad. 4. Keep the other three fingers straight but not stiff. The palm stays up and open. 5. Hold the touch lightly. It is a soft contact, never a grip. Let the shoulders drop away from the ears, the elbows hang easy, and the breath move slowly through the nose. 6. Teachers pair the ring finger with the earth element, and the gesture is held in a sit when the mind wanders. When attention drifts, come back to the small touch of the two fingertips. 7. Stay for a few minutes with the eyes closed, or through a whole sit. If a hand tires, release it, shake it out and begin again. 8. To come out, open the hands, let the fingers lengthen, and let them rest on the knees for a few breaths before opening the eyes. The pressure is about what it takes to feel the two fingertips and no more. If the knuckles whiten or the forearm hardens, the touch is too much. Both hands do the same thing, so there is no first side. The breath is not counted or held, and it stays ordinary and quiet.

In the body, the work is very small. The thumb and ring finger meet through a few small muscles of the hand and forearm. Every other muscle should be quiet. The hold is easiest when the touch is soft, and a hard grip only sends tension up the arm into the shoulder and neck. Palms up with the wrists on the knees lets the forearms and shoulders open and hang. The tall seat does the real steadying: the pelvis is grounded, the spine stacked, the breath free in the ribs. The breath stays slow because there is nothing in the pose to hurry it. A relaxed hand and shoulder leave the chest room to move. For the mind, the fingertips give attention a small, constant place to rest. Touch is a plain sense, and noticing it can quiet the habit of wandering off. The tradition's own account is different. Later teachers say each finger carries an element, and that joining the ring finger to the thumb brings the earth element into balance. That belongs to the schools that teach it, not to anatomy.

The schools that teach Prithvi Mudra say it gives steadiness, a settled feeling of being grounded, and help in keeping the mind from wandering during a sit. Some teachers add that it suits a restless or scattered state. Others link it to the earth element and say it supports a sense of stability in the body. These are the claims of later teachers, who attach the names and the claims to the gesture. The old hatha manuals say nothing about it. What the practice reliably offers is a quiet task for the hands and a fixed point for attention, and the teaching promises no more than help in sitting still.

A man sits in a hospital corridor, waiting for news of his brother. His hands will not stay still. He turns his phone over, picks at his sleeve, folds and refolds a paper cup. Someone shows him a small touch of thumb and ring finger, and the fidgeting has somewhere to go. This fits what is understood in general terms. A slow breath, a supported seat and a simple point of attention, such as the feeling of two fingertips touching, can ease restlessness for a while. Sitting quietly with relaxed shoulders is ordinary good advice, and many people find that giving the hands one small, steady job helps. The element claims are another matter. There is no good evidence that the ring finger carries the earth element, or that this particular finger pairing does anything the other pairings do not. Modern medicine has no match for that idea. The calm people report is better explained by posture, breath and attention than by the pairing itself. The gesture is a harmless aid to focus, not a treatment for anything.

This page is not medical advice, and a teacher can correct what writing cannot. Stop if anything hurts or tingles. The gesture is light, but the seat can strain the knees, hips or back. Anyone with stiff or painful knees, a sore lower back or a recent injury should sit on a chair or a raised cushion rather than cross the legs. Numbness in the hands, pain in the wrists or fingers, or a tight neck and shoulders are reasons to rest the hands in the lap and ask a teacher. Do not hold the sit through discomfort, and do not press the fingers hard. Long sits are built up slowly. If the mind becomes agitated, open the eyes and end the practice. Pregnancy, heart conditions and other health matters call for a word with a doctor or teacher, who can say what suits the person.

A gentler form: sit on a chair, feet flat, and rest the hands palm up on the thighs. Or sit against a wall with a folded blanket under the hips so the knees fall below them. If the palm-up position tires the shoulders, turn the palms down on the knees. The touch stays the same, and the contact remains light. The fuller form is simply longer. Sit for a whole sit rather than a few minutes, with the eyes closed, and the touch of the fingertips as the place attention returns to. There is no mirrored side, as both hands make the same shape together. The same gesture can be made in a lying rest, with the hands at the sides.

Gripping the fingers hard: ease the touch until it is only contact. Raising the shoulders and tightening the arms: let the elbows hang and the shoulders drop. Bending the other fingers into a claw: let them lie long and soft. Slumping in the seat so the gesture has nothing to rest on: sit up from the sitting bones first. Forcing the hand to stay when it tires: release, shake out and begin again. Holding the breath to be still: let it run slow and ordinary through the nose.

अर्थ · हिन्दी

In this book

• Before: Akasha Mudra — the gesture of space · Hand Mudras 10
• Next: Varuna Mudra — the gesture of water · Hand Mudras 12
• All of Yoga in Practice · Ask Krishna about it

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