The Book of Chakras & Subtle Bodies

In yoga mudrā means ‘gesture’ and is a powerful way of tuning oneself to higher states of consciousness. By practising mudrā, our intention is to align our own individual prāṇic flow of energy with the source of Cosmic prāṇa that surrounds and suffuses us with life. Another meaning of the word mudrā is that it expresses the inner state of the practitioner performing the mudrā.

Through the practice of mudrās, the unwanted physical responses are controlled and the prāṇic energy in the subtle body is voluntarily activated and made to flow for spiritual benefits, bringing about a deeper awareness and concentration.

Prāṇa mudrā (invocation of prāṇic energy) awakens and distributes prāṇic energy throughout the body, increasing health, strength, and vital energy. The practice of prāṇa mudrā also develops the awareness of the flow of prāṇic energy through the nāḍīs and chakras. This practice is both an expression of offering of oneself and of receiving from the Divine. From the practice arises a sense of uniting the individual self (jīvātma) with the Supreme Self (Paramātma), a peaceful feeling of oneness.

Sit relaxed in a comfortable meditation posture with the head, neck and spine aligned, and with your hands in bhairava mudrā (gesture of Śiva: place the right hand on top of the left, so that the palms of both hands face upward) resting in your lap. Close the eyes.

Take a few deep yogic breaths, then exhale deeply and contract the abdominal muscles. Retain the breath out (antar kumbhaka) for as long as comfortable, and perform mūla bandha. Concentrate on mūlādhāra chakra at the base of the spine.

Release the mūla bandha lock. Inhale slowly and deeply in ujjayi breath, drawing the breath deep into the lower abdomen and pelvis, feeling an expansion with the breath. Coordinating the breath with the movement of the hands, simultaneously raise your hands up in front of your navel with your hands relaxed and open, palms facing your abdomen, with your fingertips pointing toward each other without touching. As you do this visualize and feel the prāṇic energy rising from the mūlādhāra chakra, up through the svādhiṣṭhāna chakra to the maṇipūra chakra.

Continue inhaling, expanding the breath into the chest from the navel and solar plexus, while slowly raising your hands up until they are aligned with your chest in front of the heart centre (the palms and fingers should be positioned as before). As you do this, feel and visualize the prāṇic energy rising from the maṇipūra chakra to anāhata chakra.

Now expand the breath into the higher lobes of the lungs in the upper chest, while raising the hands in front of the throat. As you do this feel and visualize the prāṇic energy rising from the anāhata chakra to viśuddha chakra.

Retain the breath, and stretch out your arms to the sides with your elbows slightly bent. Keep your hands in line with your ears and turn the palms upward. Feel and visualize the prāṇic energy rising upward from the anāhata chakra to ājñā chakra. Feel the energy as it expands as waves of pure light rising from the space between the eyebrow centre to the crown centre at the top of the head. Now, while retaining the breath for as long as comfortable, concentrate on the sahasrāra and visualize it as a source of pure divine light. Feel that peaceful vibrations are emanating from you and are spreading out in all directions in waves of vital prāṇic energy. Feel that the life force and divine consciousness are merging together as one. Bathe your consciousness in this divine light.

Now exhaling, perform the five steps in reverse order down through the chakras, returning to mūlādhāra chakra. Perform mūla bandha while concentrating on mūlādhāra chakra. Release the bandha and relax. Return to normal breathing and, feeling that your body is filled with light, gaze deeply into the Spiritual Eye and meditate in the stillness.

Continue to sit and meditate in the stillness with your eyes closed and your inner gaze at the Spiritual Eye, midpoint between the eyebrows. Feel your little wave of consciousness expanding into the Infinite ocean, dissolving all sense of ego.

Out of the many Mudrās, the following ten are the best: (1) Mahāmudrā, (2) Mahābandha, (3) Mahāveda, (4) Khecarī, (5) Jālandhara, (6) Mūlabandha, (7) Viparītkaraṇī, (8) Uḍḍīyāna, (9) Vajroli, (10) Śākticālana.

Mahāmudrā (‘Great Gesture’) and other Classical Yoga mudrās are listed and explained in the ancient Hāṭha Yoga treatises: Śiva Saṁhitā, Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā and Hāṭha Yoga Pradīpikā. The path of Hāṭha Yoga was formulated and laid out by the great siddha yogis Matsyendranath, his disciple Gorakshanath and others, fourteen altogether.

The Sanskrit word mahā means ‘great’ and mudrā means ‘gesture’ or ‘attitude’, as noted above. Mahāmudrā, is a good preparation for the practice of meditation. It is a powerful technique, and, when performed properly, provides not only various kinds of physical benefits, but it also balances and opens the iḍā and piṅgalā nāḍīs. In the Kriyā Yoga tradition mahāmudrā is used to great effect in opening the spinal passage, allowing the life-force (prāṇa śākti) to flow upward in the suṣumnā. Unless this passage is opened the prāṇa śākti cannot rise to ājñā chakra.

Before practising mahāmudrā, practise head-to-knee pose (jānuśirṣāsana) to improve your understanding of the stretching movements needed.

Begin by sitting, with the spine upright, on one or two folded blankets in dandāsana (staff pose), with the legs together and stretched straight out in front. Press the palms of the hands flat on the floor (to lift the back further) on either side of the hips with the fingers facing forward. Draw the shoulder blades towards the spine and downward, opening the chest. Bend the right leg and bring the right heel into the right groin. Keep the left leg straight and the foot upright. Loop a belt around the left foot and hold the ends in your hands. Inhale, straighten your arms, and stretch your trunk upward. Concave the lower back and lengthen the front of the body. Gaze upward and breathe smoothly and evenly.

Exhale, bend your elbows outwards and extend forward from the lower back, and lower your trunk down over the leg. Stay and relax in the pose for ten slow, even breaths, or half a minute. Release your hands and come up slowly as you inhale.

Pressing carefully the anus by the left heel, stretch the right leg, and take hold of the great toe by the hand; contract the throat (not expelling the breath), and fix the gaze between the eyebrows. This is called Mahāmudrā by the wise.

In accordance with the instructions of the Guru, press gently the perineum with the heel of the left foot. Stretching the right foot out, hold it firmly by the two hands. Having closed the nine gates of the body, place the chin on the chest. Then concentrate the vibrations of the mind and inhale and retain it by kumbhaka. This is the Mahāmudrā, held secret in all Tantras. The steady-minded Yogi, having practised it on the left, should then practise it on the right side; and in all cases must be firm in prāṇāyāma – regulation of the breath.

Pressing the anus with the left heel and stretching out the right leg, take hold of the toes with your hands. Then practise jalandhāra bandha and draw the breath through the suṣumnā. Then the Kuṇḍalinī becomes straight, just as a coiled snake when struck by a rod suddenly straightens itself like the stick. Then the two other nāḍīs become dead, because the breath goes out of them. Then one should breathe out very slowly and never quickly. This has been declared to be Mahāmudrā by the great siddhas.

Begin by sitting, with the spine upright, on one or two folded blankets in dandāsana, with the legs together and stretched straight out in front. Bend the right leg with the knee opened out to the side and the thigh relaxing down to the floor, and position the right heel under the anus. (If you have tight hips and you are unable to bring the knee down to the floor, place a rolled blanket under the thigh to support the knee.)

As you exhale, bend your trunk forward and with both hands clasp the big toe of the left foot. (If your back is stiff and you are unable to bend low, then loop a belt round the foot to hold as in the previous posture, jānuśirṣāsana.) Allow the whole body to relax.

Inhale deeply, tilt your head slightly backwards and hold the breath in. Bring your inner gaze to the Spiritual Eye and perform mūla bandha, by contracting the perineum and anal muscles. In a cycle, concentrate on mūlādhāra, viśuddha and ājñā chakras in sequence for one or two seconds each. After holding the breath in for as long as you comfortably can, then straighten your head, relax mūla bandha and slowly exhale.

Repeat the entire practice on the other leg, and then repeat with both legs together, this completes one round. Practise three to 12 rounds.

Exhale deeply, and in succession apply the three bandhas. Holding the breath out, apply mūla bandha by contracting the perineum and anal muscles; then contract the lower abdominal muscles in and upward in uḍḍīyāna bandha, drawing from the lift of mūla bandha; then, with the chest open, apply jālandhara bandha. Applying these locks draws the prāṇic energy upward in the spine toward the crown of the head.

Now, holding the three bandhas, bend your trunk forward and with both hands clasp the big toe of the left foot. (If your back is stiff and you are unable to bend low, then loop a belt round the foot to hold as in jānuśirṣāsana.) Pull on the big toe and stretch the spine, concentrating on energizing it by the resistance to the pull. Bring your inner gaze and attention to the Spiritual Eye and mentally chant Oṁ at that point six times. Feel a sensation of energy rising through the spine to the Spiritual Eye at the eyebrow centre.

After holding the breath out with the three bandhas for as long as comfortable, slowly release the three bandhas in succession: first release mūla bandha, then release uḍḍīyāna bandha by releasing your diaphragm downwards, followed by releasing the chin lock, then inhale smoothly. Return to normal breathing and relax the body.

Repeat the entire practice on the other leg, and then repeat with both legs together; this completes one round. Practise three to 12 rounds.

This Kriyā Yoga version of mahāmudrā is modified, with a different knee position. If you have problems with your knee, like a tear in the meniscus, or other knee injuries, then you may find this posture easier, as it does not require a rotation of the knee.

In this practice the purpose of sitting on the heel pressed against the anus, and keeping the fingers interlocked while pulling on the big toes, is to stimulate subtle energies in the body, and particularly in the spine.

Note: The full Kriyā Yoga version of mahāmudrā is taught with a different breathing technique to the one described here. You would need to be initiated into the practice of kriyā prāṇāyāma, as taught by Paramhansa Yogananda on the spiritual Kriyā Yoga path, to receive this technique.

Stage one: Sit upright with the head, neck and spine aligned, on a firm carpeted surface or a yoga mat to protect your ankles. Sit on your left foot, with the heel pressing against the anal region, or with the sole of your left foot resting under your left hip. Bend your right leg and place the foot flat on the floor. Then, interlocking the fingers of both hands, clasp your hands around the right knee and draw the thigh in against your torso, or as close as possible. Keep your spine straight and, while pulling on the right knee, inhale (breathing in ujjayi breath) slowly to a count of ten. Keeping your concentration and awareness in the spine, feel that you are drawing a cool current of prāṇic energy up the spine.

Then, hold the breath in and stretch the right leg out in front of you. Bend forward, and with the fingers of each hand interlocked, grasp your big toe and pull, so that you extend your trunk forward with your forehead toward the knee as close as is comfortable. (If you are not supple enough, then bend the knee slightly. The most important thing is to feel the spine stretching and a sensation of energy rising through it.) As you hold the breath in, apply the chin lock (jālandhara bandha), and with your focused attention at the Spiritual Eye, mentally chant Oṁ six times. Feel a sensation of energy rising up through the spine and then pulsating at the Spiritual Eye, radiating waves of bliss throughout the brain.

Release the chin lock, and with the clasped hands around the right knee draw the knee back up against your torso, while slowly exhaling to a slow count of ten. Keeping your concentration and awareness in the spine, feel a warm current of energy flowing down through the spine.

Stage three: Sit upright with your knees bent, and with your clasped hands (fingers interlocked) around the knees, pull in your thighs against your torso. Inhale (breathing in ujjayi breath) for a slow count of ten. Feel that you are drawing a cool current of prāṇic energy up the spine.

Now stretch both legs out together in front of you and, grasping the big toes with the interlocked hands, pull on the big toes and stretch your torso forward, feeling the stretch in the spine. Apply the chin lock and bring your forehead toward the knees. Hold the breath in, and with your focused attention at the Spiritual Eye, mentally chant Oṁ six times. Feel a sensation of energy rising up through the spine and then pulsating at the Spiritual Eye, radiating waves of bliss throughout the brain.

Release the chin lock, and slowly exhale to a count of ten. Keeping your concentration and awareness in the spine, feel a warm current of prāṇic energy flowing down the spine.

Then bring your knees and thighs back up against your torso, by pulling on the knees with clasped hands. Relax and return to normal breathing.

This completes one round of mahāmudrā. Practise three complete rounds. As you progress with this practice, you may increase the number to six or 12 complete rounds.

After your practice of mahāmudrā, focus your attention within, in the stillness of your inner Self. As you meditate, keep your inner vision at the Spiritual Eye. Continue to feel the energy vibrating in the spine. Feel and visualize it radiating out into every cell and atom in your body, until your body is permeated with divine bliss. Then expand that blissful consciousness into the Infinite.

Mentally affirm: ‘I am the ocean of Spirit that has become the wave of human life.’

To be Self-realized is to know your Self as the great ocean of Spirit by dissolving the delusion that you are a little ego, body, or personality.

The practice of mahāmudrā awakens and enlivens the subtle energy in the seven-centred astral suṣumnā passage in the cerebrospinal axis (the Pathway to God), through which all aspirants seeking liberation must pass to reach God consciously. It is a specific process by means of which one is able to awaken dormant forces in the lower three chakras and cause them to flow upward to the ājñā chakra and the thousand-rayed lotus at sahasrāra, at the crown of the head.

The spinal cord can be likened to an electrical wire. In the astral wire are located seven subtle centres of light (chakras) which are the sub-centres for the conduction and distribution of prāṇic life currents throughout the body. From the medulla oblongata energy flows into the cerebrospinal axis through the physical body. Just as electricity flows into a bulb through a wire, so the Cosmic Energy enters the medulla and flows through the brain (where it is stored) into the cerebrospinal axis and its seven subtle chakras, and is distributed throughout the network of subtle nāḍīs to the whole body.

The kriyā Yogi mentally directs his life energy to revolve, upward and downward, around the six spinal centres (medullary, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal plexuses) which correspond to the twelve astral signs of the zodiac, the symbolic Cosmic Man. One-half minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man effects subtle progress in his evolution; that half-minute of Kriyā equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment.

Jyoti mudrā (‘Gesture of Light’, ‘Inner Light’) is the gesture by which light is created. In yogic texts this mudrā is also referred to as yoni mudrā. The Sanskrit word yoni denotes the womb of creation, the source of origin because, like the baby in the womb, the yogi practising yoni mudrā has no contact with the external world, and therefore no externalization of consciousness. Yoni is also used to name the female sexual organs. The word mudrā in this case denotes a physical practice which has an effect on the mind.

In India there are specially carved stones in the form of a yoni in which the Śivalingam rests, representing the source which supports and sustains spiritual consciousness. When yoni unites with linga, it becomes a symbol of divine procreative energy. Linga is the mind, yoni is the kūtastha, the point between the eyebrows, where the spiritual light manifests. Ājñā chakra is the root of kūtastha. Everything evolves from kūtastha-yoni. When the linga-mind settles in kūtastha-yoni the yogi experiences a state of infinite bliss.

Yoni mudrā is also known as śanmukhi mudrā. Śan means ‘seven’ and mukhi means ‘gates’. Śanmukhi means ‘closing of the seven gates or doors of sense-perception’ (the seven are the two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and the mouth). Jyoti mudrā and śanmukhi mudrā are both Hāṭha Yoga practices mentioned in the Hāṭha Yoga Pradīpikā by Yogi Swatmarama. Pradīpikā actually means ‘self-illuminating’ or ‘that which illumines’.

In the practice of jyoti mudrā the mind is brought to a point of relaxed absorption within itself. By closing the outer doors or gates of the senses, jyoti mudrā redirects the energy of the senses inward, which induces pratyāhāra (sense-withdrawal).

The purpose of jyoti mudrā is to take the energy awakened by the kriyā prāṇāyāma meditation in the spine, and draw it upward to focus it at the Spiritual Eye. Jyoti mudrā calms the breath in the region from the throat to the point between the eyebrows, enabling you to see the radiant light of the Spiritual Eye within the radiance of stirring light in the form of absolute stillness and absolute peace.

During the practise of jyoti mudrā, certain nerves in the body are affected and rejuvenated. This is similar to an acupressure rejuvenation treatment (though this is not the main purpose of jyoti mudrā). Around the head and eyes there are many acupuncture points which can be targeted to direct energy. The nerves that are affected when the fingers and thumbs are in position on the face in jyoti mudrā are as follows.

• The thumbs indirectly inhibit sensory stimulation of the eighth cranial nerve.

• The index fingers touch over the infratrochlear branch of the ophthalmic and the infraorbital branch of the maxillary.

• The middle fingers depress the nasal branches of the infraorbital nerve.

• The little fingers affect the inferior labial branch of the mandibular nerve (sensory branch).

1. To practise jyoti mudrā, sit upright with the head, neck and spine aligned in a comfortable meditation pose. Relax your whole body and with your eyes closed, bring your focused attention to the Spiritual Eye.

2. As you inhale slowly to a mental count of 10–12, drawing a current of prāṇic energy up in the spine, raise your arms in front of your face with the elbows parallel to the floor and pointing sideways, so that you are ready to assume the finger positions of the jyoti mudrā at the end of the inhalation.

3. Hold the breath, and the prāṇic energy you have drawn up the spine, at the Spiritual Eye. While holding the breath, close off all the sense openings in your head with the fingers and thumbs of both hands, so that all the energy lights up the region between your eyebrows. Close the ears by pressing the ear flaps in with your thumbs. Place the index fingers on the corners of the eyelids, resting on the lower bony eye sockets and gently press the eyes shut (do not put pressure on the eyes). Use the middle fingers to close the two nostrils by pressing the soft nares of the nose just below the nasal bones. Place the ring fingers above the lips and the little fingers below the lips, squeezing the mouth shut, with the fingertips touching each other.

4. Now, while holding jyoti mudrā, feel that your fingers are directing the prāṇic energy to the Spiritual Eye and, with deep focused awareness, turn your gaze inward toward the inner light of the Spiritual Eye. If you perceive light at the Spiritual Eye, experience it and merge into it, and feel that you are one with the light.

Hold your breath in for as long as comfortable without strain, and while gazing into the Spiritual Eye, mentally chant Oṁ continuously at the mid-point between your eyebrows. Observe the light of the Spiritual Eye that is gathering and intensifying at that point. You may see that the light condenses into a golden ring around a sphere of dark blue, with a scintillating silvery-white five-pointed star at its centre. This is the Spiritual Eye.

5. Then, release jyoti mudrā by removing your fingers from the sense openings. Keep the fingers and thumbs resting gently on the face, so that you are ready to practise another round of jyoti mudrā.

6. Exhale slowly to a mental count of 10–12, feeling the current of prāṇic energy descend to the mūlādhāra chakra at the base of the spine.

This completes one round of jyoti mudrā. Practise three rounds, then sit in stillness in meditation. Jyoti mudrā can be practised at any time, but the best time is in the deep calmness at night. After calming your mind and relaxing your body with deep breathing in ujjayi prāṇayama, practise hong-sau, followed by jyoti mudrā, then the Aum Technique of listening to the inner vibratory sound of Aum.

After your practice of jyoti mudrā, focus your attention within, in the stillness of your inner Self. As you meditate, visualize yourself surrounded by God’s all-pervading light. Feel yourself bathing in that radiant light.

Gaze deeply into the inner light of the Spiritual Eye, the seat of spiritual perception. Dive deep into the light, immerse and absorb your whole being in that light, until you feel at one with it. Feel God’s Presence in the light as joy (bliss).

Mentally affirm: ‘God’s omnipresent light permeates every particle of my being. I am filled and sustained with that Divine light and joy.’