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

Apana Mudra — the gesture of the downward breath

Hand Mudras 8

अपान मुद्रा

Meaning · English

Apana Mudra: apana, the downward-moving breath; mudra, a seal or gesture. The gesture of the downward breath, the hand pose in which the middle and ring fingers meet the thumb.

Take the name apart first. Apana is one of the breaths the old texts name. Prana is the breath that moves inward and upward; apana is the breath that moves downward and outward, the one of the lower belly and of letting go. Mudra means a seal or a gesture. So the name says: the hand gesture of the downward breath. The plain fact comes first. The old hatha manuals do not describe this gesture. The Pradipika, the Gheranda Samhita and the Shiva Samhita teach mudras of the whole body, with yoni mudra the one exception that uses the fingers. The finger positions, their names and the claims for them come from later teaching, in the modern postural yoga codified in the twentieth century in the Mysore line of Krishnamacharya and the schools that grew from it. Its frame in the old texts is Yoga Sutras 2.46 to 2.48: a seat steady and easy, the loosening of effort, and the mind resting on the infinite. What the teaching says is simple. The middle and ring fingers touch the tip of the thumb, while the index and little fingers stay straight. Teachers say this helps the body let go, and they pair it with a long out-breath, since apana is the breath that goes down and out. Why teach it at all? It gives the hands a quiet task, so the sitter has something small and steady to attend to. It asks nothing more than ease: a light touch, relaxed shoulders, a slow breath. Nothing beyond that is promised.

1. Sit tall in any steady seat: cross-legged on the floor, on a cushion, or on a chair with the feet flat. The spine is long and the crown of the head lifts gently. 2. Let both hands rest open on the knees for a breath. Feel the shoulders drop and the breath settle. 3. On both hands, touch the tips of the middle and ring fingers to the tip of the thumb. The three tips meet pad to pad. 4. Keep the index and little fingers straight, but not stiff. They extend easily, as if resting in the air. 5. Rest the backs of the wrists on the knees, with the palms facing up. Palms down is also taught, but this lesson keeps them open. 6. Hold the touch lightly. It is soft, never a grip. The shoulders stay down, the jaw is loose, and the breath is slow. 7. Close the eyes. Breathe in quietly through the nose, then let a long, unhurried out-breath leave through the nose, a little longer than the in-breath. Do not strain to lengthen it. 8. Stay for a few minutes, or through a whole sit. If the hand tires, release it, shake it out, and begin again. 9. To come out, open the hand, let the fingers spread and rest on the knees, and sit for a breath before opening the eyes. Fine points: the pressure is only enough to keep the fingers in contact, about what it takes to hold a feather between them. Watch the forearms and the shoulders, since tension tends to creep up from the hand. Both hands are done together, so there is no other side. If the long out-breath makes you tense or breathless, return to the natural breath.

Start with the body. The hand holds many small muscles, and a deliberate pose of three fingertips keeps them lightly busy. The thumb, middle and ring fingers press together while the other two extend. When the touch is soft, those muscles work gently and the forearm can stay loose. When it turns into a grip, the tension travels up the arm into the shoulders, so the pose teaches you to notice that spread of effort and release it. The breath does most of the rest. A slow out-breath, longer than the in-breath, is a plain way to settle a sitting body. The belly softens, the ribs ease down, and the attention follows the air out. The gesture and the breath share one theme, which is letting go. The mind is helped by having a small, fixed point of contact. The touch of fingertips gives attention a place to rest that is neither dramatic nor dull. When thoughts wander, the sensation at the fingertips is a way back. The tradition has its own account. In it, apana is the downward breath, and the gesture is said to belong to that current. This is the tradition's language of prana, not a description of anatomy.

No old verse gives benefits for this gesture, since the old manuals do not describe it. What the schools that teach it say is this. Teachers say it helps the body let go, and they pair it with a long out-breath for that reason. Some describe it as steadying the sitter and helping the sit to be calm and unhurried. Others link it, in the language of the tradition, to the downward-moving breath and to the lower body's release. These are teachers' claims, handed down in later teaching. What can honestly be said is smaller: the gesture gives the hands a quiet task, and the long out-breath and soft touch support stillness. The lesson itself takes it as a help to sitting still, and nothing more is promised.

Picture a grandfather settling into his chair after the evening meal, hands in his lap, trying to quiet a busy head before bed. A gesture like this fits that moment, and it is worth being plain about what is and is not known. What holds up in general terms is modest. Sitting still with a slow, lengthened out-breath is a well-understood way to feel calmer, and giving the hands a simple, light task can help attention stay in the body instead of drifting. Those benefits come from the stillness, the breath and the attention, and any quiet posture of the hands would likely do something similar. What has no support is the claim that the particular finger placement does something special. There is no good evidence that touching the middle and ring fingers to the thumb acts on the body in the way the later teachers describe. Apana as a downward breath belongs to the tradition's account and has no direct match in physiology, though the felt sense of letting go on the out-breath is real enough. Take the gesture as a help to sitting, which is how the lesson offers it.

This is not medical advice, and a teacher can correct what a page cannot. Stop if you feel pain, numbness or tingling in the hand, wrist or fingers. The gesture asks only for ease, so no special condition rules it out, but those with arthritis, a hand or wrist injury, or nerve trouble in the arm can hold it more loosely, hold it for less time, or simply rest the hand open. Long out-breaths can feel uncomfortable for anyone with breathing difficulty, pregnancy or dizziness: return to the natural breath at once. Never grip, never force the breath, and never sit through discomfort to finish a time. If a seated posture hurts the knees or back, sit on a chair.

Sitting on a chair, with the feet flat and the back tall, is a full and proper form. If holding both hands tires them, use one hand at a time, or rest the hand open and return to the gesture later. Some teachers place the palms down on the knees, which feels grounding, while the palms-up form feels more open. To lengthen the practice, begin with one minute and add time slowly across weeks. A folded blanket under the hips keeps the knees below the hips in a cross-legged seat. There is no mirrored side, as both hands do the same.

Gripping the fingers hard turns a soft touch into effort; press only enough to keep contact. Bending or clawing the index and little fingers adds tension; let them extend easily. Raised shoulders show the hands are working too hard; drop them on each out-breath. Forcing the out-breath long makes the throat and belly tight; let it lengthen on its own. Slumping the spine makes the breath shallow; sit tall first. Holding on through a tired hand defeats the point; release it and begin again.

अर्थ · हिन्दी

In this book

• Before: Prana Mudra — the gesture of the life breath · Hand Mudras 7
• Next: Vayu Mudra — the gesture of air · Hand Mudras 9
• All of Yoga in Practice · Ask Krishna about it

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