Mudra

A gesture can do more than communicate; in this tradition, it can change the internal state of the body.

Mudrās are gestures of the hands, the face, or the whole body that seal and direct energy within the system, they are used in conjunction with āsana and prāṇāyāma to deepen and stabilize the effects of those practices.

Some mudrās are simple and introduced early, others are more complex and emerge only when the foundational practices are stable, their function is subtle but cumulative; over time they become a precise means of working with energy that has no equivalent in purely physical or cognitive approaches.

This is the seventh piece in the Elements of Practice series. Next: Concentration & Meditation — the final movement of the practice.