Mudra · Yoga · Psychic Gestures
Mudra
Mudra means seal, gesture, or attitude. Where pranayama works with the breath and asana with the body, mudra works directly with prana — sealing its pathways, redirecting its flow, or awakening it where it sleeps.
These practices are drawn primarily from Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Swami Satyananda Saraswati (Bihar School of Yoga), cross-referenced with the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Gheranda Samhita. Descriptions are original; all traditions are credited. Many of these practices require direct instruction — treat these pages as orientation, not prescription.
The Bihar School classifies mudras into five groups: Hasta (hand), Mana (head/face), Kaya (body), Adhara (perineal), and Bandha (lock/seal). Bandhas — Jalandhara, Uddiyana, Mula, and Maha Bandha — are the deepest mudras, working directly with prana in the subtle body. They arise most naturally within pranayama and are covered in the pranayama section as aspects of Kumbhaka.
Mudras are best learned visually. The Shambhavi Mudra video below is a complete worked example; the search link surfaces current hand-mudra tutorials.
