Yoga mudras are simple hand gestures that activates the flow of energy in our body. Apart from yoga, mudras are also a prominent part of classical dance forms, as it is a mean to convey the story or to articulate emotions. There is much more to yoga than it meets our eyes.

Mudras are the one that enhance the power of yoga making it more effective and easy to learn. They mean ‘seal’, ‘gesture’ or ‘mark’. Exploring mudras systematically will help a yoga practitioner to perform yoga more effectively. A mudra produces a harmony among all body parts as well as guarantees the correct functioning of the whole body.

Mudras are very powerful to stimulate different parts of body and mind, and to affect the flow of prana in the body. The use of mudras in yoga is a powerful tool for self-care and empowerment.  Here are the list of 10 popular mudras along with their benefits:

1. Gyan mudra

It is one of the most familiar and popular mudras in our mainstream society. Meditators in their practice often use them. This mudra is performed by touching our index fingertip to the tip of our thumb while holding other three fingers straight. The intention of this mudra is to improve our concentration and to sharp our memory.

2. Surya Ravi mudra

Similar to gyan mudra, this mudra is performed by uniting the tip of our ring finger with thumb. The rest of the fingers are left straight. This mudra represents energy and health. The benefit of this mudra is it helps to bring positive energy and changes in our life along with life balances.

3. Vayeu mudra

Vayeu mudra is performed by bending your index finger and pressing it with thumb while keeping other three fingers straight. This mudra is oftenly performed for 45 minutes. Regular practice of this mudra will help to reduce the air elements in the body, which controls restlessness, nervousness and calms uneasy mind. It also harmonizes our body.

4. Buddhi mudra

Buddhi mudra being one of the popular mudras , has many benefits . It helps for mental clarity . Buddhi mudra also help us to improve our communication , such as improving internal and external dialogues. This mudra is performed by touching our thumb finger to our pink finger while other fingers are left straight.

5. Anjali mudra

This mudra is generally used in meditation. It is also one of the popular mudras in our society. This mudra can be performed by both sitting and standing. The back should be stretched out and our palm should be together at the level of heart chakra. This chakra helps to find a balance between mind and body.

6. Abhaya mudra

It is performed by raising our right hand upto shoulder height with a bent arm turning our palm to face with fingers pointing up. Abhaya mudra is noted as the first gesture of Buddha. It helps to reduce fear evoking divine protection.

7. Adi mudra

This mudra is first ever mudra we made as a baby. Our fingers are folded down into a fist, our thumb touching little finger. This mudra helps us to expand forward on inhalation as it activates prana flow in throat and head.

8. Shuni mudra 

This gesture is performed for gaining sensory powers. It also helps to improve intuition, alertness and purifies our emotions and thoughts. It is performed by touching the tip of our middle finger with thumb while other fingers are relaxed.

9. Dhyana mudra

Another popular mudra is dhyana mudra. This mudra is generally used in meditation and provides calming energy for deep contemplation and reflection. To do this mudra, we need to place our hands in our lap; left palm under right and our palm should face up with our thumb tips touching each other.

10. Rudra mudra

This is often associated with God shiva . The word ‘rudra’ means lord in Sanskrit. To perform this we need to connect our thumb to index and ring finger while other fingers are left straight.  This mudra helps to improve our clarity and concentration of thoughts

If you want to learn more mudra click the link here where you can find 40 popular Mudras and its benefits