There is always an aspect of yoga available to you. I find mudras so helpful to explore. How they can influence energy within. Or to experience a feeling of deep inner support. Or perhaps a long held wound buried deep in the tissues, has the opportunity to crack open and release. Mudra and mantra have long been a woven part of my practises. Especially useful when we might not have energy for anything else.
Mudra means seal or gesture. One might say we are making mudras all the time! Consider how we use our hands - shaking hands with another, waving at someone we are excited to see - clapping our hands in glee to relish a live music performance. We may even be more playful and gesticulate. Different cultures express in different ways.
There is also the FU sign - giving someone the finger. Flip it and you have the peace sign - or Churchill's victory sign - depending on how you see it.
Life happens through and as us. We can only see life, as we are.
Whilst the origins of mudra are unknown - namely how far back do mudras date....ancient cave paintings depict the human form in all kinds of ways. Some making gestures with the hands.
The best teacher of course is experience. And allowing yourself to feel and sense and open into what the experience is for you. Knowing it is always changing.
A mudra I love, as do many others who practise with me, is the gesture of unshakeable trust.
Join your fingers just beneath the first knuckle, thumbs up and then draw that shape over your breast bone. Your sternal plate. Like a warrior.
These are times for pioneers and truth warriors. We can only each do the inner work and inner unravelling of our blocks and buried wounds.
Best done in a seated position. Be comfortable.
Lay the mudra upon your heart and allow your breath to gently expand into a feeling of trust. This might mean we meet distrust or whispers of resentment. This is ok. Trust asks us to bear witness to where we feel fear or judgment.
May this mudra help you build trust in yourself. Explore how it feels.
In warmth,
Ciara