The Surprising Science-Backed Benefits of Mudras

Aug 5, 2024

2 min read

What are Mudras?

Mudras, or energetic seals 🌀, are specific gestures done in yoga and meditation 🧘‍♀️ that are said to enhance the flow of—and seal in—energy in the body. By maintaining this energy within the body during yoga and meditation, we strengthen the mind-body 🧠 connection allowing for improved concentration.

While mudras can be done in various ways, hand mudras 👌 are the most common and what we are focusing on here. According to one study* 👩‍🔬, the amount of time spent in a mudra gesture is important. Holding a mudra for just five minutes is not enough; a mudra must be held for a minimum of 20 minutes ⏳ for a benefit to be had.

This is a relatively new discovery 🧐 for me, and I am intrigued to give these hand gestures a try! I always saw mudras as interesting hand positions 🤲 but never knew the reasoning behind them until recently.

The Benefits of Mudras

Some of the benefits from practicing hand mudras may be:

~increased vitality 🔋

~reduced anxiety ⬇️

~improved self-confidence 😎

~mental clarity 🔎

Hand Mudras

There are dozens of hand mudras 🙏 👌 ✊ 🤏 available to us and each serves a specific purpose. Here we will learn about three 3️⃣ common ones along with their particular benefits. When practicing hand mudras, it’s important that we are relaxed 🧘‍♂️ and keep the positioning soft. There is no need to tense our muscles 💪 in order to maintain the gestures.

Gyan Mudra — this very common mudra, done by connecting the thumb and index finger 👌 and keeping the other three fingers straight, is said to improve concentration 👀 and reduce stress.

Anjali Mudra — this ubiquitous mudra is what we call putting the hands in ‘prayer position’ 🙏 and is said to improve our focus.

Prithvi Mudra — this mudra, which involves touching the pads of the thumb 👍 and ring fingers 💍 together, is said to promote the healing of body tissues.