Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands

by Gertrud Hirschi

Mudras--also playfully called "finger power points"--are yoga positions for your hands and fingers. They can be practiced sitting, lying down, standing, or walking, at any time and place. Schooled in the traditional knowledge of this eastern art of healing, well-known Swiss yoga teacher, Gertrud Hirschi, shows how these easy techniques can recharge personal energy reserves and improve quality of life. These mysterious healing gestures can calm the stress, aggravations, and frustrations of everyday life. Readers will learn how to:
Apply these simple exercises to prevent illness and support the healing of a great variety of physical and emotional problems.Use mudras to promote spiritual development.Additionally intensify the effect with breathing exercises, a affirmations, visualizations, herbs, nutrition, music, and colors.

Also included are several full-body mudras and exercises to enhance any meditation and yoga practice.

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Health, Reference, Meditation, Self Help, Religion

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2000

Reviews

[Fatima · Rating 4 out of 5]

برای اولین بار وقتی یکی از مودراها رو به مدت دو الی سه دقیقه تمرین کردم خیلی راحت تغییر انرژی رو در بدنم احساس میکردم و برام جذاب و جالب بود . همینطور که به ترتیب که با کتاب پیش میرفتم مودراهایی که نظرم رو جلب میکردن رو انجام میدادم و نتایجشون حیرت انگیز بود و دیگه هیچ شکی برام در مورد اثرشون باقی نموند.اما در مورد خود مودراها که چه هستند، مودراها ریشه در طب چینی دارند که طبق متون‌ کهن شون، از پنج عنصر اصلی در بدن طَبَعیت میکنن و هر انگشت از دستان ما خاصیت متعادل سازی یک عنصر خاص رو در وجودمون دارند که این عناصر مجموعا کل بدن جسمی/مادی و روحی و روانی مون رو کنترل میکنند و به راحتی تغییر میدن ...



ما با انجام حالت های خاصی با دست هایمان ، میتونیم در مدت نسبتا خوبی به اهداف جسمی و ذهنی و روحی ، جهت شفا یا موفقیت و رشد برسیم . مودراهارو میشه در کنار یوگا یا حتی بدون اینکه در عمرمون یوگا انجام داده باشیم هم انجام داد چون خود تمریناتش کاملا مستقل عمل میکنه اما ترکیب اینها با یوگا فوق العلاده تر خواهد بود . به علاوه که نویسنده شیوه های شخصی خودش رو برای قدرت بخشی بیشتر به مودراها توضیح داده و تست کردنشون برای شخص خودم ارزشمند بود و جواب میدادن . جالبه که در انتهای کتاب ، فهرست الفبایی هست که با توجه به مشکلات جسمی و ذهنی و ... (که بر اساس حروف الفبا اند) مارو به مودراهای مربوطه در صفحات مختلف هدایت میکنن . البته نویسنده در متن خود کتاب به هر مودرا که رسیده توضیحات چگونگی انجام و خواصشون رو گفته اما در فصل های بعدی مفصل تر از خواص و تجربیات خودش نوشته.

چندتا از مودراهای مورد علاقه ام :

کوبرا مودرا : که به مودرای ثروت و جذب خواسته ها مشهوره و سرعت جذب خواسته هارو شدیدا بالا میبره و ترکیبش با عبارات تاکیدی مثبت شگفت انگیز هست. هنگام استفاده ازش باید خیلی مراقب افکار و کلمات مون باشیم چون فوری در حال جذب قرار میگیرند



پرانا/پران مودرا :
که شمارو مثل یک باتری شارژ میکنه و البته که خواص بیشتری در متن کتاب ازش گفته شده .‌‌..



کسپانا مودرا :
انرژی منفی شمارو فورا تخلیه میکنه و حس تازگی رو منتقل میکنه (استفاده ی بیش از ۱۵ دقیقه تخلیه انرژیکی تون میکنه و نباید بیشتر از این مقدار انجام بشه . برای اطلاعات بیشتر حتما کتاب خوانده شود)



جیان یا جنانا مودرا :
مودرای دریافت خرد و دانش که در اکثر فیلم ها و تصاویر یوگی ها دیده میشه .

[Tandava Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is worth getting even if you just find one mudra that works really well for you. My favorite is the Shankh (Shell) mudra, which has saved me from sore throats and over-singing numerous times. There are lots of other good ones, too, all very clearly and helpfully presented.

[The Elves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mudras: Yoga in your Hands by Gertrud Hirschi is a handy reference book for using Mudras. Unlike some other books we’ve seen where you tended to wonder what you were really seeing, the graphics and descriptions of the hand positions are very clear. Honestly, we got it hoping it would have more magical and mystical connections for the mudras, but alas, it has little of this, although with a little intuition and research one can surely make these connections. Rather, she has associated the mudras with yoga and healing and thus the book might be of interest to the practitioners of Reiki or Qigong or other healing modalities as a supplement to their practice.

The Silver Elves authors of The Book of Elven Magick: The Philosophy and Enchantments of the Seelie Elves and The Book of Elven Magick: The Philosophy and Enchantments of the Seelie Elves, Volume 2.

[Crystal S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate the cover of my copy but I love this book. Hirschi does a wonderful job taking you through various mudras. Most are hand based but some include your entire body. I was amazed by the number she covers in this volume.

It’s easy to read but I wanted to understand the mudras kinesthetically so I actually chose to try a mudra a day essentially. At first I wove in one a day with my meditation practice but then I did them more intermittently. Regardless, when I tried them, they often seemed like a wonderful addition to my day. Although I’ve gone through the book once, I’ll probably keep it nearby to reference it regularly.

I can’t recommend this enough for those interested in mudras and meditation.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book and was instantly fascinated. As a yoga instructor anything that can enhance or deepen someone's practice or my own is of great appeal. This book explains and illustrates a variety of hand postures that work with the different energetic lines of your body to provides release and relief for acute and chronic physical issues as well as poses that help deepen your meditative state. I was truly amazed at the results I felt from the very first mudra I tried.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to pair with the Kundalini Yoga Cookbook!

[Ebony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands was an informative read and will be an even better resource. It’s a reference book, but I still like to read them cover to cover to get a feel for the author and to see if anything just speaks to me. Hirschi is a reliable narrator. She’s transparent about her own experiences and offers just the right amounts of caution and encouragement. She sites her sources, and I trust her as much as I trust an author I just found on the spiritual things.

I spent maybe 3 nights reading the book in chunks and earlier in the day when I finished the book I realized my fingers had found their way into a mudra while I was on a walk. I don’t know if I’ve always done that and the book finally made me conscious of it, or if my fingers found their way into the mudra because of my reading. Either way, I credit the book for that experience.

I can’t really sum it. There are mudras for all the things. The index is your friend even more so than the table of contents. Since I’m into TCM these days I was grateful to see those connections as well as references to the chakras. The hand maps consider: Ayurveda, Chakras, Acupressure, Reflexology, Meridians, and Palmistry. That’s enough of a reference bank to permanently acquire a copy. It’s not as comprehensive as some of my other books, but it’s more explanatory in the way that it connects myriad traditions which is something that personally speaks to me at this moment. If you’re into healing with your hands, I definitely recommend it.

[Nikola Yurukov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! For all you physically inclined people out there, this really gives you a good kinetic learner type of method for spiritual enrichment. Go get it! Start practicing!

[Liaken · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the concept of this book. It is going to take more time to really learn what it is teaching, so I'm going to have to come back to it (I maxed out the library renewals, so I'll wait for it to be re-shelved, and then try again).

In the meantime, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in mudras (hand positions) and how they affect your body.

[Guillermo · Rating 5 out of 5]

unlibro para siempre estar leyendo y consultando

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very useful, and have already referenced it for my yoga classes as well as my own practice. A great resource for anyone wanting to learning about mudras.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My most referenced yoga book. So many ailments can be treated through mudras...including hating the person in front of you at Target :)

[Yaaresse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this is a bookstore and was fascinated by it. I'm not sure how much of the health benefits part I believe, but there's nothing here that's going to hurt anyone. It's well-written and the graphics are very clear. Due to its nature, it's the sort of book you don't speed-read or finish quickly. It took me several months to work through it, and I still haven't really gleaned everything from it that it has to offer.

I inherited my maternal line's tendency for arthritis in the hands and wrists. Add years of poor typing habits and repetitive kitchen work onto that, and it's a recipe for stiff, achy hands. Practicing some of these at night seems to minimize the morning discomfort.

[Laurence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about Mudras. I highly recommend this book. The only odd thing I noticed is that the female pronoun is always used. However, in the descriptions of the mudras, how to do them, their benefits, etc., there is no trace of sexism or preference for female readers. You will find for each mudra (and there are very many presented in this book) a description and drawing that explains how to do the mudra, and also along with the description of the benefits of the mudra the book includes a meditation and an affirmation for each mudra. All in all, a very complete and useful book. Highly recommended.

[Ladyfilosopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a treasure chest of a book. The humanity of the author exudes from each page. The book came to me while I have been putting together accessible movements of wellbeing for people suffering complex trauma. Each mudra is clearly described, the simple drawings make even the most intricate hand gestures comprehensible! I value finding the tisanes of herbs and the affirmations, which, YES, have to be in the positive form, (otherwise, statements become an injunction or admonition). Pearls of wisdom nest among the pages. As she describes her pathway during the preparation of this book, amazing things happen as we search for ways to be well in this world.

[Kanwarpal Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short handy reference book for using Mudras. Unlike some other books we’ve seen where you tended to wonder what you were really seeing, the graphics and descriptions of the hand positions are very clear.

Although Mudras are not magic it's scientific reference and can help make mystical connection given by researchers but alas, it has little of this, with a intuitions and research one can surely make these connections. Rather, mudras are majorly associated with yoga and healing and thus the book might be of interest to the practitioners of Reiki or Qigong or other healing models as a supplement to their practice and research on the Mudras and yoga .

[AL · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always been drawn to the hand gestures in many Hindu and Buddhist art works, so this book attracted me immediately. Apparently, mudras were not revealed to the novice or less experienced practitioners, which explains why they have not been as well-known to Western yoga. This is a nice introduction, and despite some of the instructions being somewhat vague and rushed, this book is a great source for further study and reference of this nuanced and meditative yoga limb.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hard book to rate. Until I try all (or most) of the mudras, how will I know ..... So my plan is to give the book 4 stars for now because it has motivated me to incorporate meditation and mudras into my daily yoga practice.

[Andry · Rating 2 out of 5]

The topic is very interesting but there are almost no explanations, you have to believe that a particular position of your fingers is improving this or that.
I found it just an introduction and a starting point you are curious about these mudra.

[Hermann Nitsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ampio libro sui mudra, ben strutturato ma con divagazioni spiritualiste per me eccessive: lo yoga è una filosofia antica, rimodernata e a tratti scientifizzata (dove non lo è può restare piacevolmente filosofia), si insiste a renderlo religione

[E S Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for your gift to the world

Very valuable applicable life changing knowledge that you are sharing with people of today- how to keep yourself healthy thru your hands

[Nancy McQueen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book, but I did not feel that it had enough on the subject. That being said, this is a great book for a starting off point.

[Frances Krumholtz · Rating 4 out of 5]

All-encompassing intro to mudras

[Maeve Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to use and understand. One of the best mudra books out there.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely practical guide to mudras. No fluff or filler. Perfect for beginners as well as just a reference guide for those experienced. Includes an index in the back for cross reference. Perfect.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gift from Thomas Thanksgiving 2021

[Fran Barajas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Demasiado utilitarista para mi gusto, pero bueno.

[Kristy Marquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is very Informative and full of interesting information. Now that I have read it I can go back and try some of the mudras with more time to work on each one.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

G

I picked up this book because of a religion I studied. Interesting and believable. I already do some of the yoga she introduced and will try others I wasn’t aware of.

[Julian Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands" contains fifty-two numbered mudra entries, with clean line illustrations, clearly written instructions, as well as a per-entry herbal remedy suggestion, visualization and affirmation. What makes this book particularly helpful is the material tucked into it, before and after the book's main body. In the introductory material, there are brief discussions about Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Reflexology and Hatha Yoga as they relate to hands. In the appendices, tables shed light on the chakras and the Chinese five-element system. Written from the perspective of an enthusiastic European mudra-practitioner, the text is easily accessible—with its Westernized perspective and voice. This work was translated from German.