Mudras are gestures which can be done with hands and bodies. Last week I looked at a few of them in my classes.
I was inspired by a couple of girls I saw simultaneously waving. One to hail an Uber and the other saying Hi to her friend as they approached each other.
You might have also come across that delightful Tiktok of a primary school teacher in Thailand greeting her class. They touch a symbol to show how they want to be greeted. This can be a high five, namaste, fist spud or even a hug. See this link if you haven't already. It's really lovely.
Whilst looking into this subject I came across an Italian cafe called 21 Sid, in East london. The owner describes how hands are the heart of the Italian culture and they are integral to everything she does. So much so she uses little illustrations of these as part of her branding. I've attached a couple here and here's the link to the cafe https://21sid.co.uk
When you think about it some hand gestures can be quite rude - even offensive. I'm sure you can relate to this if you're a driver in London.
In yoga mudras are supposed to have a more spiritual quality to them. Connecting a greater life force (prana) with the practitioner and the universe. Familiar ones are chin mudra where your first finger and thumb lightly touch and 3 fingers pointing downwards (representative of the 3 gunas). Or dhyana mudra where one hand is placed on top of the other with the thumbs lightly touching in your lap. Like a bowl ready to be filled. Both of these are often seen in statues of buddha and shiva.
In ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine, the different fingers are associated with specific organs, thus helping to regulate our health. So you can hopefully appreciate that this is a huge subject in itself. There's a nice little article here about these 2 mudras often used for meditation, if you want to read more.
I'm a bit over sensitive and a bit obsessed with how things feel. I guess it's in my DNA having been a designer. It gives me great joy to feel good quality, beautifully crafted, simple organic shapes and natural materials. Although it has to be said massive steps forward have been made in recycled and modern man made fibres. I so appreciate the beautiful, buttery, strong and non pilling (doesn't bobble) fabric which is used for my favoured leggings. (Which I featured on my recent Christmas gift guide).
Being more in tune with what we feel, touch and do with our hands is part of being present and more mindful. That is yoga.
So for now namaste.
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