by Dr. Loretta Standley - E-RYT500, YACEP, FIAMA

Mudras with Leah Juenger | Mudras with other Pose teachers coming

The word ‘Mudra’ comes from the Sanskrit root ‘mud’, which means ananda, bliss, happiness, joy, pleasure.

**Sidenote - Immediately upon seeing the word ‘ananda’, the name ‘Paramahansa Yogananda’ may pop into your mind or ring a bell. Born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893 – March 7, 1952. Click the link or pic to read more about him.

We use mudras for the purpose of achieving ‘Ananda-sri’ meaning ‘pure bliss’. The word ‘Sri’ is a title of respect that has feminine qualities, purity if you will. When ‘Sri’ is coupled with ‘Ananda’, this is the joining of a masculine (Ananda) and feminine (Sri) union.

We use the ‘mudra’ (hand or body gesture) to help us attain this Divine Power of bliss by connecting and locking-in ‘the circuit’. The mudra helps us to ‘lock-in’ the energy. I liken it to shutting the door or closing the window in order to keep the energy in and to keep it from escaping.

“Shut the door you’re letting the air out!”

“What do you think, we live in a barn?”

Having said that, mudra is also ‘currency’ as it keeps energy flowing. It is ‘current’. It has ‘current’. So we use the mudra to close the circuit and keep the energy flowing, just like a closed electrical circuit where energy can flow in an uninterrupted path. When we take position of a mudra, we lock in our ‘intended circuit’.

Mudra also means - mark, seal or gesture. Mudra can be a full posture as is the pose ‘Thunderbolt’ (aka Vajrasana aka Sitting on the Heels) and ‘Viparita Karini’ (Legs up the Wall).

Mudras can be body, face or hand gestures.

Mudras are also non-verbal forms of communication that retain the intended result or desire of the spoken word. Mudras are much like a sign language or a body language that says and does a lot without having said a word.

The following pages . . . I will begin loading many different Mudra’s for you to use and enjoy. More mudras will be uploaded every day. This will take time but you will have scores of Mudras to use and enjoy.

Mudras with Leah Juenger | Mudras with other Pose teachers coming |