Why Use Mudras in Teaching: Mudras Introduction

In the article quoted below, Baxter Bell, MD shares these reasons for practicing and teaching mudras:

• Mudras practiced with meditation and pranayama tend to promote calm and deepen concentration as well as bring overall energetic balance.
• Some students may enjoy practicing mudras and find them easy to incorporate in home practice.
• Mudras appear to have a positive impact on a wide variety of health conditions and have beneficial effects on the hands.
• They are safe and accessible.

As I started to include mudras into my regular morning meditation practices, I very quickly discovered, to my delight, that my mind was more focused during meditation than it had been prior to introducing mudras… I decided to share a new mudra each week with my local yoga classes as part of the initial meditation we do at the start of each class. My students love it! Many have reported that they found the mudras they added to their home meditation and breath practices to be helpful in calming, energizing, and balancing their minds and bodies… The present challenge with all these “potential” health benefits is that to date we don’t have scientific studies looking at the outcomes of practicing mudras regularly, or how they might work. However, they are completely safe to practice and almost anyone can do the hand gestures, even if they cannot do full asana practice, as another way of experiencing yoga. – Baxter Bell MD