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Week 10: Using Mudra in Asana

Bandha Mudra

In week 8's practice, I introduced bandha mudra, the gesture of clasping hands with fingers interlaced. Bandha means lock, and this mudra represents awareness of interdependence - awareness of connection.  We are inextricably ("locked") bound up in each others' experiences.

The emotional aspect of the mudra is one of comfort and safety. Not only do we recognize that we are profoundly dependent on others, and others are profoundly dependent on us, but we find comfort in this fact. Not anxiety. Not resentment.

Practice this mudra now, and see if you can feel the comfort, safety, and support in the gesture. Practice it two different ways - try pressing the heels of the palms together, for a sense of total support and connection. Then, try separating the heels of the palms, as if you were protecting something precious between the palms. 

Practicing Mudra in Asasa

There are many poses in yoga that invite us to clasp hands. Each time we come to such a pose, we can choose to consciously practice bandha mudra (instead of another arm and hand postition we may have learned and practice as a habit). In these poses, see if you can feel the energetic seal of the mudra - it should feel as though you are maintaining the integrity of your energy in the pose, maintaining the unity of your "whole-body" experience in the pose. The mudra can help balance actions in a pose - for example:

• Hands clasped in bandha mudra behind the back in a standing forward fold such as uttanasana (feet close together) or prasarita poddattanansa (feet wide apart).  Feeling the release and hang of the arms, ribs, and spine in  to balance the lift of the hips/sitzbones and upward lengthening of the hamstring muscles.  

• Hands clasped in bandha mudra, reaching overhead, in virabhadrasana A (warrior pose): finding the upward lift of arms and spine to balance the strong rootedness of the legs

• Hands clasped in bandha mudra behind the back in virabhadrasana C (balancing warrior pose): using the hand/arm position to engage the muscles of the back, to balance the downward energy of gravity and match the upward energy of the  lifted back leg.

• Hands clasped, arms pressing into the floor to support setu bhandasana (bridge pose) and balance the action of lifting the spine and hips.

In all of these poses, the mudra can remind you to balance the qualities of effort and ease - mirroring the kind of balance of interdependence in which we can both give and receive support.

Holding Hands in Asana

A few weeks ago, one of my yoga students asked me "Which hand holds which hand?" in a binding pose (a pose where one arm wraps around a leg, and the other arm wraps behind the torso, to clasp each other). In some styles of yoga, there is actually a "right" answer to this questions (i.e., "The hand that wraps around the leg is the hand that clasps the other hand or wrist.") But the energetic dynamics of one hand pulling the other hand or arm is an interesting distortion of a balanced interdependence. So in class last week, I encouraged students to experience this hand position as support - "Let it feel like someone is holding your hand, not like a death grip." If you have the spinal shoulder flexibility to practice binding poses, try this out yourself. Instead of reaching for one hand and wrist and pulling on it, try holding hands and feeling a sense of mutual support.

Some binding poses to try this in:

Bound utthita parsvakonasana (extended side angle pose).

Bound marichyasana A (sage pose).

Bound malasana (squat pose) - wrap arms around one leg as in marichyasana, and turn chest/gaze open and up.

In Life

How do you feel about being dependent on others? Is that scary, or comforting? Are others trustworthy, especially the people you rely on the most?

How do you feel about others relying on you? Is it overwhelming, or does it provide meaning to your life?

In your life, do you lean as much as you are leaned on? If not, why not? Do you think it is something about "them" (not trustworthy, too needy, they don't care) or something about how you view the world and act in it?