You have likely seen people use mudras but perhaps you don’t know what they mean or why they are used. Mudras are body positions or gestures that have specific intentions and energetic focus. Usually, you will see them performed with the hands, but they can involve the entire body. They are symbolic within Buddhist and Hindu traditions and in Jainism, and date back far beyond our most ancient known spiritual practices. The origin of the mudras is not known but precedes Egyptian times and they are believed to be much older than that.

There are many mudras, however, they are not necessary to practice meditation, so I will only touch on the 3 most commonly recognized here in the United States. If you’d like to experiment with them, please do! But, just know that the efficacy of meditations are not compromised if you don’t.

The three most commonly used and recognized mudras here in the West are known as Anjali (prayer hands), Dhyāna (empty bowl), and Gyana (chin mudra). The names themselves are Sanskrit words written in English, I have provided the Americanized (Yoga) version of the names in parentheses.

Anjali (AHN-Jah-Lee) is most often associated with the greeting ‘Namasté”. If you’ve ever attended a yoga class, you are likely familiar with this mudra. This mudra expresses reverence, unity, and honor. It is an acknowledgment of connection, one hand representing the Self, the other representing the other. Together, a single being. The yoga teacher, when expressing Namaste using the Anjali mudra, is saying, "I honor the student, I acknowledge you and all that is, and we are one." The teacher is the student and the student is the teacher. "I am you, you are me, we are the Divine. There is individuality, but no separation."

Gyana (JEE-Ah-Nah) is commonly associated with meditation and is often what people think of when they picture someone sitting in meditation, usually with the assumption that “OM” is being chanted, too. I have known first-time meditators to immediately assume the Gyana mudra when sitting, and when asked why, the answer is generally, “I don’t know, I thought that’s how you do it.”

Gyana is the mudra for wisdom and knowledge. The thumb symbolizes the Divine/Supreme consciousness, the collective universe. The index finger represents the Soul or Self. When these are connected in this mudra, we are focusing our energy on our union with the Universe. The remaining outstretched three fingers represent the holistic aspects of ourselves, spiritual, mental/emotional, and physical…in that order, from the middle finger to the pinky. When using this mudra, our focused intention is on concentration, stability, interconnectedness, and grounding.

Dhyāna (DEE-Ah-Na) is all about movement and creating room for what matters. It is focused on eliminating attachments from our minds and waste and toxins from our bodies. This mudra helps us to become aware of our programmed responses and automatic reactions and pause. It opens us to release these things and make room for balanced absorption of what is, rather than striving for what we believe should be. Much like the physical body takes in food, processes it to use what is needed and eliminates the rest, our minds must process our experiences and let go of what is not serving us.

*Interesting side note: The word Namasté is most often mispronounced in the West, even by trained practitioners like yoga teachers and meditation guides. Usually we hear it pronounced nah mah STAY ...but the proper pronunciation is NAH muh stheh. Now you know!