Important Yoga Mudras Explained

Maha Mudra

The Sanskrit word Maha means great. Hence Maha Mudra is a Great Mudra - great in the sense of its effects. The attitude while practicing Maha Mudra should be to fully devote all of your memories, experiences, thoughts, emotions and activities to God and let all energy flow freely.

The reason for variations of Maha Mudra is the particular situation of a group of spiritual disciples or the particular situation of his health that might require a slight variation. Maha mudra is to let stored trash energy in the body flow and leave energy system of a body. Hence Maha Mudra helps to let go and dispose of trash in life. Properly executed, Maha Mudra instantly creates a flow of energy sensitive people can feel.

Different asanas in Hatha Yoga have a precise effect on the energy flow of a human body. To get blocked energy flowing or to create balance in the flow where you find excess or reduced flow. Mudras change the natural flow of prana - life force - into a desired direction or stop the flow for a precise reason to be achieved for spiritual progress.

Kechari Mudra

For example the famous Kechari Mudra is aimed at stopping mind and thus artificially create silence within or peace of mind. Ketchari Mudra often is part of various different yoga systems such as some Kriya Yoga teachings and other spiritual yoga paths. To practice Kechari Mudra may take thousands of hours of regular daily practice over a few years. In the worst of all cases if karma too powerful, even Kechari Mudra fails to create peace of mind.

The safest way to permanently create peace of mind, i.e. beyond this one lifetime on earth, is to dissolve all conflicts in love, to forgive, to pardon and to reconcile with all. If you are in love with all and thus in peace with all, your mind always is silent.

Like in our physical we have the option to collect and dispose of all garbage or we can learn to avoid trash from the very beginning. Such is the difference between Kriya Yoga - the secret teachings of Jesus where developing love results in peace with all and thus in silent mind. In a life of love all mental activity is quiet and thus Kechari Mudra obsolete.

Shambhavi Mudra

Another popular Mudra known almost world wide since thousands of years is the Shambhavi Mudra. The name itself is irrelevant and only used in spiritual traditions related or coming from India. The technique however is known under many different names. The purpose of the Shambhavi Mudra is to synchronize the 2 brain hemispheres and to create inner balance. A complex procedure achieved by a simple mudra or technique!

Imbalance in the energy flow in left and right brain hemispheres may be created by many causes such as one sided work. For example mainly intellectual work and too little emotional or visual nature work may cause imbalance and thus need for re-balancing. Proper lifestyle in harmony with God and nature makes Shambhavi Mudra in most cases obsolete for advanced spiritual practitioners. A modern method of practicing Shambhavi Mudra is the 3D view of pictures without visual aids.

The science of different yoga disciplines such as Raja Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Hatha Yoga and others is highly developed and modern science and medicine often far ahead specially in the understanding of the real root cause of a symptom or illness to cure. Mudras are but one tiny but highly efficient method to control the flow of energy within a human body.