Yoga Practice Name
Maha Mudra
Yoga Practice Branch
Ashtang Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga
Yoga Practice Type
Hatha Yoga Category
Mudra
Steps and Description
- Sit in utthan padasana with the right leg outstretched.
- Keep the back straight and relax the whole body.
- Perform khechari mudra and take a deep breath in.
- While exhaling, bend forward and clasp the right big toe with both hands.
- Keep the head erect, and the back as straight as possible, then slowly inhale, tilting the head slightly back.
- Perform shambhavi mudra and then moola bandha.
- Hold the breath inside and rotate the awareness from the eyebrow centre, to the throat, to the perineum, mentally repeating, 'ajna, vishuddhi, mooladhara'.
- The concentration should remain at each chakra for only 1 or 2 seconds.
- Continue the rotation for as long as the breath can be comfortably held without straining.
- Release shambhavi and moola bandha.
- Slowly exhale, returning to the upright position an then relax.
Contraindications
- People suffering from high blood pressure or heart complaints should not perform this practice.
- Maha mudra should not be performed without prior purification of the body.
- Impurity is indicated by any symptoms of accumulated toxins such as skin eruptions.
- As the practice of maha mudra generates a lot of heat it should be avoided in hot summers.
General Benefits
- By the practice of maha mudra the combined benefits of shambhavi mudra, moola bandha and kumbhaka are gained.
- Digestion and assimilation are stimulated and abdominal disorders are removed.
- Maha mudra stimulates the energy circuit linking mooladhara with ajna chakra.
- The whole system is charged with prana which intensifies awareness and induces spontaneous meditation.
Benefits for Disease
Depression