A photographic guide presents more than 200 Indian hand gestures used in yoga and dance, in a fully indexed and cross-referenced format, giving both the Sanskrit and English name for each.

Hand mudras have been used for centuries in yogic traditions to promote health and wellbeing, and they are considered valuable tools on the path of spiritual awakening. This card set provides 72 of the most important hand mudras used in yoga. The gestures presented support mental and spiritual development, and have a wide range of health benefits. Each card presents a full-colour image of the mudra with the Sanskrit name, transliteration and English translation. The back of each card includes concise information on technique and applications as well as the physical, energetic and spiritual benefits of the mudra. The accompanying booklet contains background information on the mudras, how to practice them at home, and details on how each of the 72 mudras can be used to address a variety of common health complaints. This card set will enrich the practice of students and teachers of yoga, and will be of interest to anyone looking to gain a comprehensive understanding of hand mudras.

A simple technique to achieve lasting health, happiness, and inner peace. “Yoga for the hands—sounds too good to be true. Do it at the office, on an airplane, lying in bed. Seasoned yoga teacher Gertrud Hirschi has used these hand postures to ease asthma, relieve flu symptoms, think more effectively, relieve tension, and more. Like a classroom instructor, she guides readers with simultaneous breathing advice and conjures up helpful images.” —Brian Bruya, Amazon.com Review Mudras are yoga positions for your hands and fingers. They can be practiced sitting, lying down, standing, or walking, at any time and place. These mysterious healing gestures can calm the stress, aggravations, and frustrations of everyday life. 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. Readers will learn how to use the practice of mudras to: Prevent illness and ailments Support the healing of many emotional issues Promote spiritual development Intensify the affect with breathing exercises, affirmations, visualizations, herbs, nutrition, music, and colors therapy Also included are several full-body mudras and exercises to enhance any meditation and yoga practice.

Yoga is flying across the shores of Bharatha all over the world like an eagle. The entire humanity needs yoga today. If going after Yoga to get rid of diseases is one dimension, using Yoga to make our body healthy so that we can enjoy material pleasures is the other dimension. This was not what those great Rshis who evolved Yoga had in mind. Yoga is another name for pure living. If man lives, being aware of the purpose for which he was created, what else can it be excepted in Yoga? Human body is a temple. In a larger sense, it is the dwelling place of gods. Whatever one finds in the world is present in the human body. We have 72,000 Nerves in the body, also we have 72,000 Nadies which are subtle channels and centres of energy. We get a detailed account of these in books on Hatayoga. In this background Mudras and Bandhas occupy a place of great significance. We have a considerably difficult challenge to convert this Annamaya body into one, the object of which is Dharma Sadhana. Kalidasa has announced, "Shareeramadyam khalu dharma sadhanam". Our sages have said, "Manaeva manushyanam karanam bandha mokshayoho" Our mind is the cause of both Bandha and Moksha. In that case how can we make use of the techniques available to us to the best of our advantage? "Mudras" help us to keep our body and mind pure and chaste. They are tools to lead us to life fulfilment. When we activate the nerve and nadi centres in the body, they make the flow of energy smooth. Our body is a fantastic machine designed by the Creator. He has set in it a super computer called the 'Brain'. All the activities in our body are controlled by the Mind. The pressure exerted on certain key points in the body and in hands, energises the centres in the brain. We have come to know this truth as a result of experiments conducted in different parts of the world. Acupressure specialists assert that if we activate certain points in the legs, hands and ears, we can ward off a number of disorders of the body. In our ancient Tantra Marga we hear about "Khechari Mudra". During five thousand years after sage Vedavyasa, our ancestors have devised a number of ways to help man keep himself fit. They are simple and workable. We get a sea of information about Mudra Science in a number of books on Yoga shastra and Tantra Shastra. In a few of our epics also, we get references to these Mudras.

Drawn from two of the most important ancient texts on the subject, the Natya Shastra and the Abhinaya Darpana, this attractive set of user-friendly cards shows the 52 fundamental hand mudras used in Indian dance and theatre. These gestures provide the basis for an entire language of hand articulation. Each card presents a full-colour image of the mudra with Sanskrit name, transliteration and English translation, as well as concise information on origins and applications. The cards are arranged in the traditional order with 28 single-hand and 24 joined-hand gestures, as described in the Abhinaya Darpana. From storytelling to representations of human emotion to spiritual symbolism, hand mudras are one of the most potent and expressive features of Classical Indian Dance. This card set will enrich the practice of students and teachers of Classical Indian Dance and theatre, and will be invaluable to anyone interested in Indian mudras. This eBook is best viewed on a colour device.

Mudras occupy an important place in Buddhist and Hindu religious practices as these signify special meanings, associated with specific divinities and rites, which cannot be represented any other way. This book is a dictionary of mudras in Hindu and Buddhist religious practices that lists the various mudras - deity-centred, rite-centred, yogic-centred, and so on - illustrating each with a simple drawing drawn generally from the perspective of one holding the mudra. It contains detailed notes that give numerous references to literary and other sources that reveal a lot about the mudras - their descriptions in the texts, rites associated with the mudras in the texts as well as the varied interpretations of a number of mudras in the different texts. The book also has an introduction on Hindu and Buddhist mudras that goes into iconographic features associated with deities along with the technical descriptions and the subcategories and further divisions into which mudras are arranged. It scrutinises the work done by a number of scholars on the subject to throw further light on the subject. The volume will prove indispensable to all students and scholars who are engaged in study of Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions and practices.