What is Mudra? – A gesture in yoga

Emely Freja Petersen
Sep 9
2 min read

Have you ever found yourself in a yoga class, hearing words in a different language or unfamiliar expressions you've never encountered outside of yoga?

The official language of the yoga tradition is Sanskrit – an ancient and sacred language from India. Even in Western yoga, many Sanskrit terms are still used. One you might have come across is mudra.

What does mudra mean?

The Sanskrit word mudra can be translated as a gesture made with the hands.

Mudras are a combination of physical movements or hand positions that can influence your mood, mindset, and perception. They are a useful tool to incorporate during meditation, as they help deepen awareness and strengthen concentration.

What is Prana?

In yoga, we also work with something called prana. Prana is described as life force or vital energy. When making specific hand gestures, you can direct this energy – prana – to different areas of the body and with different purposes. Mudras are especially used during meditation and can carry psychological, emotional, spiritual, and aesthetic significance.

Mudra in relation to the eight limbs of yoga

Mudras are connected to the later stages of yoga’s eight limbs – pratyahara, dharana, and dhyana (you can read my blog post about the eight limbs of yoga here). The practice of mudra can lead to a deeper and more advanced meditation practice, awakening the body’s subtle energies – prana (life force), chakras (energy centers), and kundalini (spiritual awakening).

Chin Mudra – One of the most classic mudras in Hatha Yoga

One of the most well-known and widely used mudras in Hatha Yoga is Chin Mudra, where the index finger and thumb touch while the palms face upward and rest on the knees. This mudra is commonly used to deepen and strengthen meditation. Our hands and fingers contain many nerve endings that constantly emit energy. When the thumb and index finger meet, the prana – or energy – is redirected back into the body and up toward the brain.

This mudra also holds symbolic meaning. The index finger represents the individual consciousness, while the thumb symbolizes the universal consciousness. When they touch to form a circle, it represents the union of these two aspects – the culmination of yoga.