Have you ever needed the benefits from yoga (energy, relaxation, clear mind, emotional balance, etc.) but couldn’t practice a pose because you were in public, not dressed for yoga, or didn’t even know how to do yoga? This happens to me several times a day! Luckily, I have found another secret that really works. It’s Yoga Mudras – yoga poses using hand positions and gestures.
I finally started taking these ancient teachings seriously while I was teaching relaxation training and guided imagery in the Bahamas last spring for the Easter/Passover Symposium on Yoga and Sacred Healing at Sivananda Ashram. Amy Weintraub (Yoga and Depression) and Joseph and Lilian LePage (Integrative Yoga Therapy) taught them as part of their presentations. This experience convinced me that Yoga Mudras are very effective, simple and profound.
As soon as I got home, I began investigating and practicing Yoga Mudras more and more. One morning I was reading a book on Yoga Mudras by Gutrud Hirschi and it described amazing results and reasons to practice Yoga Mudras. The results sounded too good to be true. Since I was suspicious, I wanted to put it to the test.
Meanwhile, I was suffering from seasonal allergies – my nose was running, my eyes were watery and itchy, and I was sneezing. So I tried Bhramara Mudra. It worked – and quickly too! Naturally I shared this with my yoga students and they also reported positive results too. We were so excited and it convinced us that Yoga Mudras have lots of valuable benefits to offer.
There are Yoga Mudras to help with allergies, feeling calm, lifting energy, headaches, chakra balancing and many more.
So, how can you learn more about yoga mudras for the hands?
1. My next 2 blog posts will show you wonderful mudras to practice. (use the RSS feed so you don’t miss out – it’s up in the right corner of this blog)
2. Attend yoga classes. See my schedule. Let me know if you would like to book me for a workshop.
3. Joseph and Lilian LePage have been studying Yoga Mudras for 10 years to write a book all about them. Their book shows 108 hand gestures along with guided meditations and affirmations. I am honored and excited that they asked me to edit the guided meditations.
C. Norman Shealy M.D., Ph.D. is a neurosurgeon, psychologist, and founding president of the American Holistic Medical Association. For over three decades, he has been at the forefront of alternative medicine and alternative health care. He holds ten patents for innovative discoveries in medicine, has published more than 300 articles, and authored more than 24 books. His latest book is Medical Intuition: A Science of Soul. He is president at Holos Institutes of Health, Professor Emeritus of Energy Medicine and president at Emeritus Holos University Graduate Seminary. Learn more at