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BSYC
Brahma Mudra (attitude of ail-pervading consciousness) Assume a meditation asana.
Relax into the posture.
Turn the thumbs inward across the palms and fold the fingers over the thumbs.
Then place the back of the hands on the thighs and bring the knuckles of the hands together.
The thumb side of the hand is away from the body; the fingernails are visible; the little finger side of the hand is close to the body.
Place both hands close against the body at the level of the pelvic bone.
Benefits: This mudra helps to stimulate full yogic breathing, i.e. using the abdomen, chest and clavicles for each respiration. The knuckles, being pressed together, connect all the hand meridians. The tips of the fingers form another circuit as they touch the palm.
Comparative practice
Practise these four mudras (chin, chinmaya, aadi and brahma respectively) and see if you can discern any difference in the intensity of your breathing and type of breath used. While practising any pranayama which does not utilize nasikagra mudra, perform chin mudra and become aware of its effect on the lungs. Does it influence abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing? Practise this for 10 minutes and then change to chinmaya mudra. Is there any alternation of your breathing pattern? Do you feel any influence on the thoracic region and the intercostal muscles? Then perform aadi mudra and watch if there is any effect on the upper chest region and clavicles. Lastly, change to brahma mudra and feel if there is any effect
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