Samputa Mudra
Baxter Bell
I was recently approached by Kim and Megan at Nest Yoga with a request. They had become aware that I start and end each class with a new yogic hand gesture and share it all 3 of my regular classes at Nest for the week, and they were intrigued to learn more about Mudras! So, they floated the idea that I might share a bit of what I know about this often missed or downplayed part of the yoga traditions. Turns out, I had done just that a few years back for my first blog (that I co-founded), Yoga for Healthy Aging.
So, I am happy to share the beginning of the post here with a link that will take you to the blog to read the rest, where you will also learn one of the many wonderful hand gestures that can enhance your practice in some beneficial ways:
Yoga for Healthy Aging Blog, September 29th, 2016
What’s is in a Gesture? Nearly of Year with Mudra
Late last year, my colleague Mary Northey gave me wonderful book on yogic hand gestures (hasta mudras) written by Joseph and Lilian LePage. As I first flipped through the pages, my curiosity was piqued. This book alone describes 108 hand mudras (there are other categories of mudra we won’t get into here, such as facial gestures, whole body gestures and others), and there are likely many more hand mudras out there. This was actually not my first exposure to the idea of the uses and potentials of specific hand gestures. Some years ago, I had attended a workshop with Richard Miller, PhD, in which we learned the famous Indian chant and prayer the Gayatri mantra, and the extensive series of hand mudras that are sometimes performed while chanting the mantra. And many of my teachers over the years used the most commonly done mudras at end of class or during a final sitting meditation, such as Anjali mudra (prayer position) or Jnana mudra (wisdom mudra). I also remember seeing hand mudras as part of an Indian classical dance performance on my trip to India in 2005, an art they have long been associated with… (read more: http://yogaforhealthyaging.blogspot.com/2016/09/what-is-in-gesture-nearly-year-with.html)
Join Baxter for an upcoming class at Nest via Zoom and learn a mudra live!
Mondays, 5-6pm
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11am-12pm
https://www.nest-yoga.com/livestream
For more newly minted blog posts, check out Baxter’s new blog, “What’s on Your (Yoga) Mind?”, and feel free to send him your questions regarding yoga, health and life!
https://www.baxterbell.com/blog
For more of Baxter’s archived blog posts on Yoga for Healthy Aging, search: http://yogaforhealthyaging.blogspot.com/
** Photo: Baxter doing Samputa Mudra, the Gesture of the Treasure Chest, for Cultivating Truthfulness- Satya