June/July
The
Disinformation Society
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Talk
RV: No Evidence Required
Robert Jensen
Muting
the Conversation of Democracy
Bill Moyers
The
Path of Self-Limitation, Cooperation, and Sharing
Richard Heinberg
Biodiesel:
Growing a New Energy Economy
Greg Pahl
The
Parallel Revolution in Venezuela
America Vera-Zavala
Grassroots
Effort Creates Citizens Dialogue
Robyn Leor
The
Myth and Necessity of Genetically Modified Free Zones
Jeffrey M. Smith
From
Hurt to Heart
Eryn Kalish
Mudra
as Meditation
Andrea Luchese, M.A.
The
Klamath-Siskiyou Region: A Living Laboratory
Sue Parrish
How
You Can Help Protect Endangered Herbs
Laurel Vukovic
Cosmic
Calendar
Salina Rain
Mudra As Meditation
By Andrea Luchese, M.A.
My first exposure to Indian classical dance was at a dance camp intensive in Virginia some years ago. I was one of the few non-native adult participants, placed in beginners classes with children of Indian descent. We’d come from many parts of the country to study with the Dhananjayans’, highly acclaimed exponents of south India’s sacred dance tradition of Bharata Natyam.
One day, while practicing one of the steps in class, a senior disciple of my teachers approached me to correct the alignment of my arms, and the particular placement of my fingers, which were held in a mudra, or hand gesture, known as alapadma, which means fully-bloomed lotus. As she made subtle adjustments to my body she said, “Just wait until all of this clicks in place and you feel what this dance really does to you.” She meant that with enough practice, I would eventually be able to register how the deliberate placement of the body directs and effects energy in very particular ways.
For thousands of years the yogis of India have studied the body’s capacity to transmit higher frequencies of energy or light. Disciplines like yoga, and its cousin, Indian classical dance (which in south India was codified at least two thousand years ago) are in essence practices that are designed to bring the practitioner into sustained states of unitive consciousness, or connection with the Absolute. I refer to Indian classical dance, or Bharata Natyam specifically, as a practice of embodied spirituality in that it is through the body that one experiences union with the Divine. The architecture of Bharata Natyam, both in its steps and its language of mudras, supports this inner movement of deep internal connection. Like yoga, its ultimate aim is to unite the personal with the universal.
Since that dance camp, Bharata Natyam has become an integral part of my spiritual practice, along with sitting meditation, chanting, and focused inquiry. I have felt the tremendous capacity the body has to be a conduit of light, and how this capacity can be intensified by practices that support conscious movement and precise alignment. In addition to practicing Bharata Natyam, I also use mudra in moving meditations, and have occasionally experienced mudras spontaneously taking shape while sitting in meditation. Though Indian classical dance is an art form that takes years of dedicated practice to master, the beauty and wisdom of its language of mudra can be applied as a tool for meditation for anyone willing to give it a try.
In Indian dance mudras are positions of the hands used either decoratively or as a means to tell a story. The term mudra, however, has many meanings, and may refer not only to positioning of the hands, but also of the body as well. Mudras act like catalysts that can be used to direct con-sciousness. In Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands, Gertrud Hirschi explains: “These symbolic finger, eye, and body postures can vividly depict certain states or processes of consciousness. Conversely, specific positions can also lead to the states of con-sciousness that they symbolize.”
Various traditions and systems of healing recognize the hand as a map of the entire physical and energetic body. For example, in acupuncture (a treatment modality in Chinese medicine) meridians, or pathways of energy through which the life force flows, extend through the fingers. Needles or applied pressure to parts of the hand activate and direct energy through these channels and can help to heal disorders and imbalances in other areas of the body. In the yogic system, different centers in the body are recognized as vortices of energy called chakras. The five chakras situated along the spinal column are associated with the five fingers. Because energy lines run out from the chakras through the fingers, holding or moving the hands in or through mudra positions helps to activate these centers.
Below are two exercises that blend mudra and meditation. Rather than focusing on what the mudra can do, which in effect would be like prescribing a mudra for a specific purpose, I suggest doing the practice and seeing for yourself what it elicits. As you do the exercises, be aware of what happens in your own being in the way of thought, sensation, feeling, and movement of energy. It may be quite subtle and you may not notice much at first. See if you can be at ease with whatever arises, bearing witness with an open heart to your own inner experience.
Mukula to Avahitta
(Contraction & Expansion)
To begin, sit comfortably with your legs crossed, knees lower than hips (prop yourself up on a small cushion if this is not possible, or sit in a chair, with your feet flat on the floor), and your head, neck and trunk in a long line. For now, rest your hands on your knees and close your eyes. Take a moment to tune into your breathing by simply allowing your attention to rest on the movement of breath in and out of the body. Notice texture, rhythm, and temperature. Make no effort to change the breath, just notice it and see if you can feel the body being breathed. Feel the natural radiance of the spine and how this upright position supports a quiet dignity of being. If your attention drifts to thought or some other sensation, gently bring it back to rest on the breath and awareness of the body being breathed.
When the mind begins to quiet, cross the hands in front of the chest, wrist on top of wrist, letting the elbows rest at your sides. Close all the fingers up, so that the fingertips are in a cluster and pointing up (photo #1). This mudra is known as mukula, or flower bud. Next, open all the fingers up (thumbs point away from you, while pinkies point straight up) into avahitta mudra (photo #2). Avahitta means to hold in the hands and is made by linking both hands in alapadma (see description below). Continue moving back and forth slowly between mukula and avahitta mudras, synchronizing breath and movement. Exhale as you open your hands into avahitta, inhale as you close your hands in mukula. Repeat this cycle at least 10 times and notice what you can about how these movements affect your state of being. Notice where energy is moving freely and feel where it is not. The opening and closing of the hands like this mimics the movements of expansion and contraction seen in nature, throughout the cosmos, and in the unfolding of our lives. When you have finished cycling through the movements, place the hands back on the knees and linger here as long as you’d like. When you’re ready, slowly open your eyes.
Note: To practice placing the hands in avahitta mudra, begin with palms facing up, fingers spread and all on the same plane (horizontal with the ground). Lift the pinkies up (the ring finger will move too), and point the index finger and thumb down. This is the shape of alapadma, which when the hands are crossed one over the other becomes avahitta.
Anjali to Pushpaputa
(Gesture of Offering)
For this next meditation, begin either seated as before, or standing. If you are standing, position yourself in a comfortable stance, such as with the feet hip width apart and parallel. Though the legs should be straight, avoid locking the knees. Place your hands in front of your chest, in prayer position, or anjali mudra, with the palms together, fingertips pointing up (photo #3). Next, cup the hands, with the palms up and the outside edge of the hands and pinkies touching (photo #4). Rest the elbows at your sides. This mudra is called pushpaputa, or hands full of flowers. As the name implies, this is a gesture of offering. If an image of the Divine or a person or being arises spontaneously in your consciousness to whom you are making this offering, then tune in to what it is that is your hands are holding. Perhaps you are offering the receptivity symbolized by the empty shape of your hands. Maybe you see flower petals there. Raise the hands slightly until they are level with your chin, then point the fingertips down, as if making an offering (photo #5). As the fingers point down, lower the hands and bow the torso forward slightly. As your body returns to its upright position, bring your hands back into anjali mudra. Repeat this sequence at least 10 times, alternating between anjali and pushpaputa mudras in one continuous and slow movement.
Again, notice what these repetitive gestures evoke in you. Feel what emotions and sensations arise, and let them wash through, like a river through a channel. When you are ready, pause with your hands in anjali mudra until you feel that the meditation has come to a close. This series can be practiced with eyes open or closed. If your eyes are open, allow the gaze to track with the hands. As the hands lift, look upward. As the hands lower and the torso bows, lower the gaze. When the hands return to anjali mudra, look straight ahead.
Both exercises can be done in silence or to music that supports a meditative state or devotional experience. Feel free to experi-ment with standing or moving around while doing the mudra sequences. You may find that the mudra pattern will lead you into your own movement exploration, free from form or structure. Above all else, always follow the body’s inherent wisdom and surrender to what what’s to be danced through you!
Andrea Luchese has a masters degree in Integral Dance, with an emphasis in dance and spirituality. The founder and director of Ananda Natya School of Indian Dance, she teaches and performs Indian classical dance and movement meditation classes throughout southern Oregon and in other parts of the US. On June 11, 7:30 pm, Andrea will be performing a traditional Bharata Natyam recital called Natyanjali at SOU’s Dorothy Stolp Theatre in Ashland. Tickets are $15 advance/$18 door ($5/kids under 12) at the Music Coop, 181 “A” St, Ashland. To schedule classes, workshops or performances in your area, contact Andrea at elementalgrace@opendoor.com or call (541) 201-1971.
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