Anjali Mudra Pose

Pose of the Month: Anjali Mudra

By Mary Pat FitzPatrick

The brilliant BKS Iyengar understood that the only requirements for a yoga practice are “a center of gravity and a sense of direction.” That leaves plenty of room for joyful exploration. We can notice the effects of yoga’s seeming opposites, like going down to go up (extending from one’s groundedness to create levity), and be precise or playful with alignment. 

 Anjali Mudra is typically practiced at the beginning and end of class and in many asanas. In Sanskrit, anjali means “offering” and mudra means “seal”. The gesture signifies “I bow to the divinity within you from the divinity within me.” It personifies an open heart and a way to come back to and maintain one’s center while recognizing the divine within all creatures.

Let’s allow ourselves to be amused by exploring this variation of Anjali Mudra~

Sit in a comfortable position, feeling the sides or bottoms of the feet and sit bones. Consider if the pull of gravity gives a sense of comfort. Ground down through that base and invite space into the lower back and abdomen. Consider if a sense of relief and uplift is occurring. Begin deep and comfortable inhalations and exhalations. Consider if space and activation are created inside and outside the rib cage. To your ability, extend the arms to the sides, bend at the elbows and bring the palms together, fingertips pointing up, thumb knuckles at the sternum, balancing the head over the neck and shoulders.  Gently but firmly press the fingers and heels of the hands into one another, creating a seal. Consider if there is energy at the midline nourishing the body vertically and horizontally. Are the chest and back broadening, sternum lifting, neck lengthening? Continue gently pressing the hands together, drop the shoulders, broaden the shoulder blades, extend the elbows away from the midline. Consider the full dimension of the body. Is it existing from the inside out, moving in multiple directions at once? Is there a sense of levity and extension on the inhale and groundedness and expansion on the exhale?  

Relax the hands-down, smile, and breathe naturally. Listen to the banter and whispers of the body while further exploring and playing with alignment. Identify the center of gravity and follow the body’s directions.