What’s the difference between yoga nidra and meditation? Aren’t they the same thing?
Hey there! If you’ve been around the yoga community for awhile, I’m sure that you have probably heard and maybe even tried out yoga nidra and meditation. And maybe you’ve wondered what the difference is between the two practices. Isn’t yoga nidra just like guided meditation? Well sort of.
What makes yoga nidra unique?
At a basic level, yoga nidra is conscious sleep or sleep with awareness and os often simply called “yoga sleep” or “yogic sleep”. It is a systematic method of guiding our awareness from the external to the internal, the physical to the subtle. It moves through the five koshas or “sheaths”. The koshas are the annamaya kosha (the physical body), the pranamaya kosha (the energetic body), the manomaya kosha (the mental body), the vijnanamaya kosha (the wisdom body), and the anandamaya kosha (the bliss body). I won’t get into the koshas too much here. I have a whole blog post that explores each of the koshas in depth. You can check it out here.
Yoga Nidra Withdraws Our Awareness
This process of moving inward shuts down the thinking mind and into a state of pratyahara (hallelujah! — please tell me I’m not the only one whose brain likes to do, do, do). Pratyahara, known as the practice of sense withdrawal, is the fifth limb of Patanjali’s ashtanga yoga. And yoga nidra provides a systematic approach to withdraw our awareness. In yoga nidra we disengage the parts of our mind that are linked to sense perception. The only sensory input we keep “open” is the auditory channel and perhaps a little “feeling”.
To me, yoga nidra is a passive practice of awareness and receptive consciousness. It doesn’t matter if your mind drifts off. It doesn’t matter if consciousness falls away and the subconscious comes forward. The practice still works, so there is no need to force your awareness. With the mind quiet and receptive, the thoughts pause and we enter a state of pure consciousness (even if it’s just for a moment or two). In this receptive state, it is possible to work with healing old samskaras that no longer serve us and by using a sankalpa we can create new, healthy samskaras.
And finally, yoga nidra slows down our brain waves and helps us enter a space of deep rest. In a way, I think of yoga nidra as a game of “follow the leader” for the brain because the practitioner guides the entire experience. The mind doesn’t work to maintain focus, it’s just “follows the lead” of the teacher. The practitioner is like a gondolier or river guide, yoga nidra is the boat, and the student is the passenger.
What makes yoga nidra and meditation different?
On the other hand, meditation has become a bit of a blanket term for any practice that helps us gain insight and awareness. It’s important to realize that meditation practices span many different traditions and lineages, so it’s a bit challenging to compare yoga nidra and meditation.
However, especially when meditation is a brand new practice, it requires effort, there is basically no effort in yoga nidra, except to not fall asleep. Meditation is an active practice of training the mind to one-pointed focus, whether that’s a mantra, an object like a flame, your thoughts, your breath, or something else entirely. With this intention, the mind is brought back to the object of meditation when it loses focus and “wanders off”.
Yoga Nidra and Meditation are Complementary Practices
Yoga nidra and meditation both have numerous benefits and the two practices complement one another well. As a matter of fact, scientists on multiple continents are studying these two ancient practices and finding that they reduce stress, improve sleep, relieve menstrual discomfort and so on. Check out my other blog posts if you would like to learn more about the scientific benefits of the two practices.
Hello from Bali! Yogis if you ever have a chance to make it out to Bali DO IT! It’s so beautiful. I’ve already felt the energy shift of being here AND I’ve only been here a little over a day. It’s pure magic. Since I am in Bali I figured it would be wise to teach Ganesh Mudra today. Statues of Ganesha abound all over Bali! Some covered in moss or lichen, others adorned with flowers or mala beads, some with incense and offerings at their feet. It’s lovely. This is my third trip to Bali. Each time my energy shifts and obstacles seem to drop away…. Ganesh at work!
Mudras are shapes that you make with your hands to guide and direct the flow of prana and your awareness or intention. They’ve been around for ages and across cultures. Typically, they’re practiced in meditation, but some lend themselves well to an asana or pranayama practice.
Ganesh (also interchangeably called Ganesha), the elephant god, is the remover of all obstacles. Not only does Ganesh help us overcome life’s challenges, his mudra is for confidence and courage on our yoga journey.
Benefits of Ganesha Mudra for Courage:
Ganesh mudra helps activate the root, navel & heart chakras. Practicing this mudra for courage helps us to trust our foundation. When we feel supported it’s that much easier for us to step into our personal power, while staying aligned with the energy of the heart. Ganesh Mudra activates the fire element and can help you act with confidence, courage, self-esteem, compassion and openness. Ganesh mudra, just as with Lord Ganesha himself, helps dispel fear, so we can achieve our hearts desires. On a physiological level this mudra releases tension in the muscles of your chest and may also stimulate activity of the heart and open the bronchial tubes.
To practice Ganesha Mudra:
Bring your left hand in front of your heart and turn your palm away from you (your thumb pointing down) and fingers bent. With your right palm facing toward you hook the fingers of your right hand with the fingers of your left hand. Elbows pointing out toward the sides. From here, with an exhale breath pull the elbows away from one another while keeping the fingers locked together (don’t let them separate). You will feel the muscles of your chest and upper arms engage. On your inhale breath release the tension. Repeat up to 8 times. You can use this mudra daily OR as needed; like when you’re feeling self doubt, fearful, or closed off from others.
Try this, come into a posture that makes you feel small and closed off, just pause here for a moment and notice the shape of your body, notice how your energy shifted. Now, sit tall and bring your hands into Ganesh Mudra and gently pull your elbows out to the side, just like described above. Then bring your awareness again to the shape of your body and how you feel holding this powerful mudra. Pretty amazing, isn’t it?! Try to become aware of how you carry yourself throughout the day. If you notice your posture becoming rounded (like when you’re at your computer or on your phone) and take a few moments to shift your energy. Give yourself a little Ganesh power up!
Incorporate This Mudra For Confidence Into Your Yoga Practice
This mudra is easy to incorporate into a yoga practice too! Since it instills confidence and courage, I like to incorporate it into powerful poses like Crescent Lunge, Warrior 1, and Warrior 2, especially if we’ll be doing a strong balancing sequence later in class!
Amplify Your Connection with Ganesh by Adding a Mantra
I love combining mantra with my mudra and meditation practice. One of my go-to mantras is “Om gam ganapataye namaha” which essentially translates to “salutations to the remover of obstacles”. You could chant this mantra when you’re starting a new project or have a big, seemingly impossible task ahead, or even when you’re just having a rough day. If you would like to learn more about Ganesha, his origin story and significance in Hinduism, here is an approachable blog post about him.
If you would like to learn more about mudras or need a little inspiration for your meditation practice, I invite you to check out my book The Little Book of Mudra Meditations or join me for a live class on Zoom or an in-person yoga retreat or teacher training!
Let me know how your meditation practice is going and as always, reach out with questions.
If you’ve been practicing yoga for awhile chances are you’ve heard of yoga nidra. Yoga nidra is “yogic sleep” or as my husband calls it “advanced napping”. Sounds pretty good, right? You get to lie in Savasana (corpse pose) the whole time while you’re systematically instructed through a deep relaxation exercise. Yoga nidra guides you through the koshas, or layers of your being and drops you into deep relaxation where healing and true restoration can occur. The sequence of cues relaxes the body and awakens the unconscious and subconscious mind. The benefits of yoga nidra are plentiful and range from better sleep to reduced stress and beyond.
You don’t need to know what the koshas are to get all of the benefits of yoga nidra. Benefits of the practice are numerous and range from better sleep to stress reduction and beyond. Plus, anyone can practice yoga nidra and therefore receive its benefits.
The practice of yoga nidra can trace its roots back to India, where it was developed and expanded upon, most notably by the Bihar School. Yoga nidra has been studied across continents and the practice is backed by science… and I’m not talking about pseudoscience. In this post I will list out just a few of yoga nidra’s benefits. Also, if you’re interested in a free guided yoga nidra you’ll find a yoga nidra script here and a nature inspired yoga nidra recording here. Don’t worry if you fall completely asleep during the practice, it just means that your body needs to rest.
1.) Yoga Nidra Reduces Stress & Anxiety
Yoga nidra has been proven effective in reducing stress and anxiety. A 2018 study published in the International Journal of Yoga found that yoga nidra was more effective than meditation at reducing both cognitive and physiological symptoms of anxiety. In the United States there has been a dramatic increase in hospitalizations due to stress in both men and women. Chronically elevated stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine lead to increased inflammation, heart disease, fatigue, stroke, sleep disorders, and chronic prain. It’s important that we make time for our health now, so we don’t have to make time for our dis-ease later.
Another study looked at Heart Rate Variability, which is a sign of autonomic nervous system balance and found that yoga nidra (alone or preceded by an asana practice) improved Heart Rate Variability. The practice of yoga nidra shifted the balance of the autonomic nervous system toward the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system is what governs our relaxation response, commonly referred to the “rest and digest” response.
2.) Your Body Has An Opportunity to Heal: Yoga Nidra Slows Down Your Brain Waves
Yoga nidra guides the student into the deepest state of sleep where the brain produces theta (4-7 hertz) and delta waves (1-3 hertz), but the student remains conscious throughout. According to Theta Healing, “Theta State is a state of very deep relaxation; it is used in hypnosis and during REM Sleep. The brain waves are slowed down at a frequency of 4-7 cycles per second…Theta waves are always creative, characterized by feelings of inspiration and very spiritual. It is believed that this mental state allows you to act below the level of the conscious mind.”
Delta waves on the other hand, are the slowest waves at 1-4 cycles per second and are experienced during deep dreamless sleep. When our brain waves have slowed down to the delta level, it is when our body has an opportunity to rest, restore and heal.
3.) Yoga Nidra Can Help Heal Trauma
Yoga nidra can be used to heal from trauma. According to an article in the Boston Globe, “In 2006, the Department of Defense conducted research at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on the efficacy of yoga nidra on soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder. This led to the incorporation of yoga nidra into weekly treatment programs for soldiers in several VA facilities across the country.”
4.) Yoga Nidra Reduces Chronic Pain
Our bodies naturally want to heal and yoga nidra gives our body the time to do just that. Remember those delta waves I mentioned earlier? And the parasympathetic nervous system? Yoga nidra helps switch us out of doing and into being so we can rest. According to the same Boston Globe article before “the US Army Surgeon General endorsed yoga nidra as an intervention in treating chronic pain”. The practice of yogic sleep gives the body time to rest, recover and restore, which thereby brings down inflammation and improves the function of the immune system.
5.) Reduces PMS Symptoms
There have actually been a handful of studies on the efficacy of yoga nidra’s ability to reduce PMS symptoms. According to one recent study, “… patients with menstrual irregularities having psychological problems improved significantly in the areas of their wellbeing, anxiety and depression by learning and applying a program based on Yogic intervention (Yoga Nidra).”
So if you’re feeling low energy, anxious, depressed, or irritable carve out a little time for yoga nidra. When aunt “Flow” is in town, I’ve found it to be super beneficial. I’m less agitated, my energy improves, and I’m overall more “even” emotionally.
Yoga nidra improves sleep and reduces insomnia. Insomnia and sleep deprivation contribute to mental disorders, stress management (or lack there of), and immune suppression. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults and young adults get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Yoga nidra trains the mind and body to relax and move more easily into the deeper states of sleep. Forty-five minutes of yoga nidra is equal to up to 3 hours of sleep!
Sleep is vital to our health and wellbeing. Poor sleep and insomnia can lead to more than just irritability and bags under your eyes. If you’re sleeping crummily (is that even a word?) you might experience:
poor memory and trouble concentrating
heart disease, heart attack & stroke
increased blood pressure
low libido
weight gain
diabetes
a weakend immune system
increased inflammation
Yoga nidra is a good way to supplement your sleep if you’re not sleeping well at night. You could try yoga nidra during your lunch break or give it a try right before bed — go ahead and crawl into bed and prepare yourself for a restful night of sleep.
7.) Reduces Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes
The benefits of yoga nidra and other deep relaxation practices may even extend to those with type 2 diabetes. According to a recent Huffington Post article, “A recent study published in the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology found yoga nidra may reduce the symptoms of diabetes and help control blood glucose levels.”
8.) Plant The Seeds of Future Growth
The work done in yoga nidra with a sankalpa (an intention or positive affirmation) can facilitate life altering changes in one’s thought patterns, relationships and achievements. It is a tool that the yogis have been using for many many years to achieve great feats. Working with a sankalpa helps create new sattvic impressions in the mind and can move us to a state of clarity, aligned with our dharma, and connected to the wisdom of the divine. Examples of popular sankalpas are “I am love”, “I am the witness”, and “I am radiant, divine light”, but feel free to come up with your own.
As you can see, the benefits of yoga nidra are numerous. If you haven’t tried it already, I encourage you to give it a shot. It doesn’t require any special props, you can practice at home in your pjs, and you can’t really do it wrong. I encourage you to find a recording that resonates with you and practice that. There are many resources out there! I even have a yoga nidra recording on my YouTube channel and I have a couple of yoga nidra scripts (one yoga nidra inspired by nature and the other inspired by the ocean) that you could use to make your own recording. Join my newsletter if you want to hear about live Zoom yoga nidra classes or upcoming trainings.
Welcome beautiful human! I’m excited to share this yoga nidra inspired by the ocean with you. This yoga nidra, or yogic sleep, is inspired by my short time living by the sea in Santa Barbara, California. I used to love taking the pups over to the beach for a romp in the surf and when the tide was just right I would find all kinds of little gems — sea glass, perfect little shells, and polished stones. We often saw dolphins and seals (or sea lions?) playing in the surf. I often wondered if they were just as enchanted by us as we were by them. It was a beautiful place to call home.
If yoga nidra is new to you, check out some of my other yoga nidra resources:
We’ll practice yoga nidra in shavasana. If you’re not comfortable in shavasana, find a comfortable seat or lie on your side. For shavasana, slide a bolster or folded blanket underneath your knees and another blanket or pillow underneath the back of your head. The body temperature tends to drop during yoga nidra, so a blanket over the top of your body is usually really nice too. Let’s drop into this ocean-inspired yoga nidra.
Preliminary Relaxation For This Yoga Nidra Inspired by the Ocean
Take the next couple of minutes to get really comfortable. Adjust your props, your clothing and remove any distractions from your space. Once we’re in the practice of yoga nidra, you will want to remain still for the duration.
Settle in. Take care of any last-minute wiggles and invite in a sense of stillness and calm. Close down your eyes and bring your awareness to your breath. Without changing your breath, simply witness it. Witness the rise and fall of your breath at your belly. Witnessing this sacred, natural rhythm. Unhurried. Unrestricted. Stay with the rise and fall of your breath.
Witness its ebb and flow. Your inhale releases into your exhale and your exhale surrenders into your inhale. PAUSE
Yoga Nidra Sankalpa
In yoga nidra we work with a sankalpa. A sankalpa is a positive “I am” statement that is true at the core of who you are. It is your essence simplified into a short positive “I am” statement. Bring into your mind’s eye your sankalpa. Once it has formed, repeat it quietly and internally to yourself three times. PAUSE
Remain aware of my voice and be still throughout the remainder of practice. The practice of yoga nidra begins now.
Rotation of Consciousness
Remain aware of my voice and do not sleep. I will guide you through a rotation of consciousness all you have to do is follow along and move your awareness from point to point within your body.
Move your awareness to your mouth
Become aware of your tongue
Lower jaw
Lower row of teeth
Upper row of teeth
Gums
Upper lip
Lower lip
Space between your lips
Both cheeks
Right ear
Left ear
Forehead
Both temples
Top of the head
Back of the head
Tip of the nose
Right nostril
Left nostril
Right eyelid
Left eyelid
Right eye
Left eye
Right eyebrow
Left eyebrow
Space between the eyebrows
Now go to the right hand
The right hand thumb
Second finger
Third finger
Fourth finger
Little finger
Palm of the hand
Back of the hand
wrist
forearm
elbow
Upper arm
shoulder
Right armpit
ribs
waist
hip
Right thigh
knee
calf
ankle
Heel
Sole of the foot
Top of the foot
Right big toe
Second toe
Third toe
Fourth toe
Little toe
Now Go to the left hand
The left hand thumb
Second finger
Third finger
Fourth finger
Little finger
Palm of the hand
Back of the hand
wrist
forearm
elbow
Upper arm
shoulder
Left armpit
ribs
waist
hip
Left thigh
knee
calf
ankle
heel
Sole of the foot
Top of the foot
Left big toe
second toe
Third toe
Fourth toe
Little toe
Groin
Right buttock
Left buttock
Lower back
Mid-back
Upper back
Right shoulder blade
Left shoulder blade
Back of the neck
Back of the head
Right inner ear
Left inner ear
Roof of the mouth
Throat
Right collar bone
Left collar bone
Right chest
Left chest
Middle chest
Upper abdomen
Navel
Lower abdomen
Groin
Whole spine
The whole head
Right arm
Left arm
Both arms together
The whole right leg
The whole left leg
Both legs together
Whole front body
Whole back body
Be aware of the whole body. PAUSE
Breath as Prana
Now bring your awareness to your breath. Experience your breath as it is. Follow its natural tide without altering it. Experience the pranic tide of your breath as if your whole body is breathing. Vibrant, white light flowing in and out with each cycle of breath. Waves of sparkling light washing over you with each inhale and falling away with each exhale. Each inhale peaking like a wave of prana cresting and then giving way to the exhale. Experience the peaks and valleys of your breath like the waves of an ocean. PAUSE.
Now count each breath. Count down from 54 to 0. Inhale 54. Exhale 53. Inhale 52. Exhale 51. If you lose count simply begin again. PAUSE
Opposites
Now bring your awareness to an experience of pleasure. Welcome the feeling of pleasure into your being. Hold your awareness on the experience of pleasure.
Now bring your awareness to an experience of pain. Meet the feeling of pain with equanimity. Experience it fully. Hold your awareness on the experience of pain.
Now bring your awareness to your body. Feel your body, mind and soul contracting. Becoming smaller and smaller.
All at once, the body expands. The mind expands. And the soul expands. Body, mind, and soul expanding into the infinite, boundless.
Now bring your awareness to the experience of holding tightly. Experience the gripping in your body and mind.
Now bring your awareness to the experience of letting go. Experience the release in your body and mind.
Archetypal Images
I will now describe images to you. Experience them without attachment and allow them to wash over you.
Your bare feet on the earth
You see a meandering path
Tall tufts of grass line the trail
Follow the path toward the sound of the ocean
You glimpse the ocean’s glimmering waves
The sea is calm
Your path gently gives way to a wide stretch of golden sand
You see the vast expanse of sea stretches out before you
The sun dances off the crest of each wave
Your breath in sync with the rhythmic pulse of the ocean
Miles of shimmery sand in each direction
Seabirds dart and dive
Puffs of clouds drift overhead
Dolphins play just beyond the waves
You walk over to the edge of the water
With each step little crabs scurry away
You stop and roll up your jeans
The water flows over your toes
Tiny shells, little gems, and sparkly stones turned and tossed by the gentle sea
A perfect shell washes up to your feet
You reach down and pick it up admiring its perfection
You peacefully slide it into your pocket and walk along the beach toward distant cliffs
A large piece of driftwood provides a spot to sit and rest
You turn your gaze toward the horizon and you take in your surroundings
A sense of ease washes over you
You reach into your pocket and pull out the shell
You turn it over in your hands, one, two, three times
You see a tiny inscription — it’s your sankalpa
Now, repeat your sankalpa internally to yourself. Speak it into the deepest layers of your being with meaning and intention. PAUSE
Gently bring your awareness back to your physical body lying on the earth. Experience your breath as the waves of an ocean. Sensation coming back. Arms. Legs. Torso. Head. Without opening your eyes, find a bit of movement. Little movements to start and finally a full body stretch. The practice of yoga nidra is complete. When you’re ready, roll over onto your side and pause there for a breath or two before coming up to a seat.
I hope you enjoyed this yoga nidra inspired by the ocean and beaches of sunny California. If you would like to learn more about yoga nidra, join me for a yoga teacher training or retreat. Both are great ways to learn more about this immensely healing practice.
This use does not convey the right to borrow from this script or to reproduce it in any way. No part of this script may be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, digital copying, print, audio or video recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
Hey beautiful soul. Have you ever wondered what to do with your hands during meditation? You’ve probably seen meditators, yogis and even the Buddha himself using hand positions called mudras for meditation, but you’re not sure what they mean or why they’re making shapes with their hands? When I began my yoga journey, nearly 20 years ago, I didn’t even know there were meditation hand positions and I certainly didn’t understand their significance. These days we have so much more information at our fingertips (pun sorta intended) and I thought I would share some meditation hand positions that I’ve found profoundly impactful in my own meditation practice.
Welcome to the Practice of Mudras: Hand Positions for Meditation
Hand mudras are hand positions for meditation. However, they can be incorporated into your yoga practice off the cushion — when you’re commuting, navigating a challenging situation, or even when you’re doing your asana practice. These mudras are more than just shapes that you make with your hands. Ayurvedic practitioners have been using these mudras therapeutically for hundreds, if not thousands, of years!
Mudra is the Sanskrit word for gesture. Just like a gesture in your daily life, each mudra has a meaning or intention. Much like a mantra, they can be used to focus your mind on an intention and direct your energy internally. The energy I am referring to is called prana. It is often called our life force energy. It is the energy that flows through our nadis and chakras.
If you’re familiar with the Eight Limbs of Yoga you can easily use these mudras during dharana (concentration) and dhyana (meditation). Check out my book The Little Book of Mudra Meditations if you want to learn how to incorporate 30 different mudras into your practice. You’ll find practice guides and guided meditations.
Let’s get started.
Gyan Mudra (Gesture of Knowledge)
The most iconic meditation hand position is gyan, also spelled jnana, gyana, gian. Gyan is nearly identical to chin mudra and these two mudras are used interchangeably and although different, there isn’t much consensus on their distinguishing features. Go figure. I’ve done my best to outline the differences between chin and jnana mudra in another blog post you can find here.
You’ve likely seen Hindu deities, the buddha, sages, yogis, and meditators all demonstrating Gyan mudra.
How to Practice Gyan Mudra or Chin Mudra
Bring the tip of the thumb and the tip of the index fingers to touch and extend the middle, ring and pinky fingers long. Rest the wrists on the thighs/knees and turn the palms of the hands upward to create openness and receptivity or turn the palms of the hands down toward the earth for more grounding. I also like to bring one hand in front of the heart and one hand to the thigh.
In this mudra the thumb represents divine wisdom or universal wisdom and the supreme soul, while the index finger represents the individual soul. With that in mind, uniting the thumb and index finger unites the individual soul with that of the supreme soul. If the thumb is brought over the top of the index fingernail it represents the surrender of the individual soul to the supreme soul.
Dhyana Mudra (Gesture of Enlightenment)
The Buddha was often depicted practicing Dhyana Mudra while seated in meditation. In Dhyana Mudra the right hand is always placed on top of the left hand. It represents wisdom and enlightenment and the left hand represents the illusory world of maya. Use Dhyana Mudra in your meditation practice when you need a little extra help with focus and concentration. I find that this mudra helps me find calmness, clarity, and a sense of peace during times of stress.
How to Practice Dhyana Mudra
Bring your hands in front of your lower abdomen. With your palms facing upward, place your right hand on top of your left. You can bring the tips of the thumbs to touch to form a circle or triangle, but it’s not necessary. Hold the mudra for the duration of your meditation practice.
Buddhi Mudra (Gesture of Perception/Intellect)
Buddhi Mudra is another great hand position for meditation. This mudra assists our meditation practice by improving our intuition, psychic development, mindfulness, clarity and understanding. Use Buddhi Mudra in meditation when you’re seeking wisdom, insight and guidance and when you’re feeling lost, stuck or need answers to big questions.
Like Varuna Mudra, it works on the water element in the body and it can help manage disease related to lack of water in the body, think kidney and bladder health.
How to Practice Buddhi Mudra
Bring the tip of your pinky finger to touch the tip of your thumb. Extend your index, middle, and ring fingers long. Rest your hands on the tops of your thighs with your palms face up.
Varada Mudra (Gesture of Generosity)
Varada Mudra is a “new to me” mudra… well it’s new to my practice. Hindu deities are often depicted with this “boon granting” mudra… think Lakshmi and her golden coins. I like this hand position for meditation because it feels kind and loving and generous. It feels like the name implies. Varada translates as “boon giving”. It’s a mudra for abundance, generosity, compassion and charity. It symbolizes an offering and also a welcoming. I personally like to incorporate this mudra into a loving-kindness or heart chakra meditation.
To Practice Varada Mudra
With your right hand, bring the back of your right wrist to your thigh, open your palm and gently stretch your fingers down toward the earth so the palm of your hand faces away from you. Your left hand can take another mudra that resonates with you. Personally, I like to place my left hand over my heart and think of love flowing into my heart space through the palm of my left hand and love flowing through my right hand to those who need it. A gentle cascade of love flowing to me and through me.
Vajrapradama Mudra (Gesture of Unshakeable Trust)
And finally, my favorite mudra, my go-to, Vajrapradama Mudra. This is the mudra for unshakeable trust. It’s grounding and heart-centered. It calms the nervous system and helps us find and trust the wisdom of our heart. It’s particularly potent during times of challenge or frustration.
To Practice Vajrapradama Mudra
Bring the hands in front of your heart. Interlace your fingers and rest your open palms on your heart.
If you would like to deepen your meditation practice hop into my upcoming yoga teacher training. You’ll find a supportive community, inspirational practices, and accountability.
As always, feel free to reach out with questions about mudras, meditation or yoga teacher training. I’m here for you.
Love and Light, Autumn
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