Surabhi Mudra

Namaste. Today we're going to look at shirabi mudra, and this is an amazing mudra for your hands if your hands get stiff. So if you work with your hands and they get stiff with your work, if you have had an injury and they're stiff of an injury, or if age is making your hands less pliable, this is the mudra for you. Now this is a mudra that may require some help from another person. Because initially when you do this mudra it can be, the hands are so stiff it's really kind of hard to do. But if you do it a couple of times even with help, then before you know it, you're able to perform this mudra.

Your hands will become more and more and more supple, more and more and more intelligent. If you have pain from stiffness, a pain will abate, it's a really, really amazing mudra. I'm going to bring you in and out of the mudra several times because it is a very interesting mudra, and I want to make sure you get it really well. So, looking at my hands, my hands are facing up, you just watch the first one. And I'm going to flip my right hand down and line my ring finger up with my pinky, so my right ring finger on my left pinky, and my right pinky on my left ring finger.

And I'm going to maintain those contacts, but begin to spin until my palms are facing one another. So I've made a little bit of an X, you might be able to see that X there. Now at this point I'm going to ask my hands to get a little softer because that helps just a little bit. Now I'm going to take my middle finger of the right hand and touch the index finger of the left hand, and then take the index finger of the right hand and touch the middle finger. Now when I turn my hands I can see both X's, there's an X and an X.

My thumbs don't touch. And then you'll see I have started out with a blanket on my lap so that I can rest my wrist without my hands having any pressure on them. And then I'm just going to allow my eyes to close for a moment, feel that sensation. And then I'll release my hands, you can wiggle your hands a little bit. Let's go on this one together.

So go ahead and get a blanket of some sort or a pillow, something like that to place in your lap, it'll be very helpful to you. Look at both of your hands, you're going to flip the right hand down. You're going to line up the right ring finger with the left pinky finger. This is right at the pads of the fingertips. And then the right pinky finger with the left ring finger.

It kind of looks like that. And from here I'm going to soften my hands a little bit because I'm going to want to spin. I want to keep the contact of the fingertips, but I want to spin so that my palms can sort of face one another. And looking down through that channel I see the X, so I know I'm there. My hands soften a little bit.

I take my middle finger of the right hand and touch the opposite index finger. And then I take the index finger of the right hand and touch the opposite middle finger. I look again and I see another X, the fingers crossing. My thumbs don't touch. And then I'm going to rest my wrist on the blanket and allow my eyes to close for a moment so I can feel the translation of the smoother through the body.

This helps so much with stiff hands. It also helps with a stiff attitude. Because our hands express everything that we're feeling, when our hands begin to beat stiff, other aspects of ourself become stiff as well. And it's not because we're stubborn or anything like that. It's just it is a stiffness that comes because everything's interrelated and interconnected.

Let's release the hands again. Wiggle the fingers around. This is one that will get tiring. You're going to have to build up your energy with it. If you're only able to get the first part of this, congratulations.

Grab a friend at some point and get them to wiggle your fingers and place your fingers in the right position. And just hold that for as long as you can. I've had students come to the yoga studio and we literally take turns holding one another in that shape. And over time the hands become supple. It's amazing.

It's the same thing that happened with my hands. My hands began to get very, very stiff with the body work that I do. And once I started this mudra, complete flexibility back to my hands. Really amazing. So let's try it again.

Looking at your hands, flip the right hand down. Ring finger of the right hand to the opposite pinky. Pinky finger of the right hand to the opposite ring finger. Soften the hands a little bit so that you can spin the palms to face one another without losing contact. Find your ex.

There it is. The middle finger of the right hand touches the opposite index finger. The index finger of the right hand touches the opposite middle finger. There's the other ex right there. Thumbs don't touch, but the arms rest.

Let your eyes close. Just breathe for a moment. You may already be feeling a pulsing in the fingers. That just means that your hands are celebrating these connections. And they're working diligently to begin to create vibrancy and suppleness and flexibility back into your hands.

Let the hands release. Wiggle the fingers. If you're still not quite getting it and you're frustrated, it's just because the hands are stiff. Don't give up. It just means that you're actually going to need some help working your fingers into the position.

And there is nothing wrong with that. Just like with the back mudra, how I have to stretch and open my hand because of my back. Same thing. This is medicine. Sometimes you need help.

Don't be stiff. Ask for help. One more time. We're going to go into it. Make sure you have it.

Palms facing up. Right hand turns down. The ring finger of the right hand touches the opposite pinky. And the pinky finger of the right hand touches the opposite ring finger. Hands soften as much as you can.

You're going to spin the palms to face one another without losing contact with those fingertips. Look for the X. And now the long finger, the middle finger of the right hand touches the opposite index finger. And the index finger of the right hand touches the opposite middle finger. The thumbs don't touch.

You can see that second X. Rest the hands. Rest the arms right here. Let your eyes close. Let your body feel the mudra.

If you are getting it but it's challenging, you might have a little bit of sweat on your upper lip right now. I see it happen all the time in classes. There's a deep transformation that takes place the minute you get into this thing. Your whole body is like, oh, hallelujah, thank God. All right.

Wonderful medicine. Three more breaths. And now soften the hands and release the hands. Rest the hands on your lap. Let's give them a little break.

Once you get to this point that you can take the mudra, again, you can do it four, five, ten times a day, this one. Even if you're only holding it for a minute or two. It's the going into the mudra that is really activating the mudra. So you don't have to hold it forever. Going in and out of it throughout the day is very beneficial.

Thank you for joining me. Sharabi mudra. Practice, practice, practice. Namaste.