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Ring Finger Mudra for Temperature Control, Stamina and Equilibrium

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Another one of my favorite yoga mudras  is the Ring Finger Mudra.  It’s especially helpful in the summer since it helps control body temperature.  It does this since it works with the Chinese  “triple warmer. ” There are times when I get too hot as well as times that I get chilled due to air conditioning.  This hand gesture solves it.  In addition to temperature control, it is also good for increasing stamina and feeling balanced and a steady equilibrium.

How to do the Ring Finger Mudra

  • Sit, stand or lie down
  • Encircle your left ring finger with the four fingers of your right hand – the right thumb  extends to the middle of your left hand.
  • Keep holding your finger for a while and feel the experience
  • Next encircle your right ring finger and hold it for the same amount of time.

Benefits of the Ring Finger Mudra

  • Gives stamina, staying power and the power to be assertive
  • Associated with the deep meridian of the liver which provides patience, serenity, hope, and vision for the future
  • Associated with the triple warmer which provides temperature control for the body, which in turn regulates cell function.
  • Helps with maintaining equilibrium during stressful times

Reference:  Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands by Gertrud Hirschi

12-Minute Meditation Technique called Kirtan Kriya for Memory Improvement

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Having and maintaining a good memory is an important ingredient that all of us need and want. Right?  Many of us get concerned when forgetfulness happens to us or to those close to us.  This is particularly troublesome as we age and especially if we have a family history of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.  Try the 12-minute meditation called Kirtan Kriya.

Here is an inspiring video with research to prove that there are easy things we can do for memory improvement with meditation.

Along with the conventional wisdom of good nutrition, supplements and mental and physical exercise, Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD says that meditation is key.  A research study is reviewed that shows increases in brain development for memory, concentration and focus using a simple 12-minute meditation, including a yoga mudra.

The Kirtan Kriya – the Sa Ta Na Ma 12 minute meditation for memory is from the Kundalini yoga tradition.  To get measurable results, it is done daily for only 8 weeks.  But, who would want to stop there.  Not me!

The Sa Ta Na Ma meditation technique also stops the mental chatter to bring about a clear mind.  It’s calming too.

     

This NY Times article Yoga May Be Good for the Brain  was published June 1, 2016 .  It discusses a study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in April 2016.

A combination of 1 hour of weekly yoga exercise and a daily 15-minute Kirtan Kriya Meditation is recommended to help with memory improvement, concentration and mood improvement (depression).  Improvements were also made in “visuospatial memory, a type of remembering that is important for balance, depth perception and the ability to recognize objects and navigate the world”.  It was compared to another highly regarded brain training program practiced that was practiced for 1 hour weekly with 15 minutes of daily memory exercises.

The yoga + meditation group “topped the benefits of the brain training group”  showing statistically significant results.

More Resources…

  • Get an audio recording that will help you practice the Sa Ta Na Ma meditation with the correct timing.

    Sa Ta Na Ma
    Kirtan Kriya Meditation

    Click HERE to buy this downloadable digital album
    (MP3, AAC, M4A)

    $7.99

Sa Ta Na Ma Meditation CD
Sa Ta Na Ma Meditation CD
Sa Ta Na Ma is a powerful mantra. Scientific studies have shown this 12-minute meditation will increase memory, concentration, cognition & more. This is accomplished when the mantra is specifically said daily for 2-minutes out loud; whispered for 2-minutes; repeated silently for 4-minutes; whispered for 2-minutes; and out loud for 2-minutes. Special finger movements, called mudras, are also done throughout. The intro to this CD describes all you need to know to get started. The meditation track keeps track of the time for you with a beautiful chorus of voices. Digital downloads of this CD are also available.
Quantity:  
Price: $11.99Price: $16.95 

Kubera Mudra for Achieving Goals, Finding Objects & More

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Here’s another powerful yoga mudra (hand gesture) to use.  It’s called Kubera Mudra for achieving goals and more.  I’ve been adding it to my daily meditations and using it during my yoga posture practice.  I especially like using it when setting goals and intentions.  Please don’t take my word for it.  Instead, try it out for yourself and let me know how it goes.

Kubera Mudra Benefits:

  • Focuses and concentrates energy for something strongly desired.
  • Puts powerful strength behind future plans (goals and what you want fulfilled)
  • Confidence, calmness and peacefulness
  • It can also be used to find something (lost object, parking spot, etc.)
  • Physically, it opens and decongests the frontal sinuses.  Hold the mudra while breathing as if you were sniffing a flower.

 

How to do Kubera Mudra:

  • Touch the tip of your thumb, index finger and middle finger together.
  • Bend the other two fingers in toward the  middle of your hand.
  • Do this with both hands.
  • Hold for several minutes and repeat 2-3 times throughout the day.

Yoga Mudras for the Hands

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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.

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