HOW TO INCREASE THE STRENGTH OF YOUR BODY?

PASHINEE MUDRA

(FOLDED PSYCHI ATTITUDE)

ASSUME HALASANA. SEPERATE THE FEET BY ABOUT HALF METRE.
BEND THE KNEES AND BRING THE THIGHS TOWARDS THE CHEST.
UNTIL THE KNEES TOUCH THE EARS, SHOULDERS AND FLOOR.
WRAP THE ARMS TIGHTLY AROUND THE BACK OF THE LEGS.
RELAX THE WHOLE BODY IN THIS POSITION AND CLOSE THE EYES.
BREATHE SLOWLY AND DEEPLY.
MAINTAIN THE POSITION FOR AS LONG AS IS COMFORTABLE.
SLOWLY RELEASE THE ARMS AND COME BACK INTO HALASANA.
LOWER THE LEGS AND RELAX IN SHAVASANA.

AWARENESS

PHYSICAL - ON THE STRETCH OF THE NECK.
SPIRITUAL - ON MOOLADHARA OR VISHUDDHI CHAKRA.

SEQUENCE

THIS MUDRA SHOULD BE FOLLOWED BY A BACKWARD BENDING ASANA.

BENEFITS

PASHINEE MUDRA BRINGS BALANCE AND TRANQUILLITY TO THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND INDUCES PRATYAHARA, SENSORY WITHDRAWEL. IT STRETCHES THE SPINE AND BACK MUSCLES, AND STIMULATES ALL THE SPINAL NERVES. IT MESSAGES THE ABDOMINAL ORGANS AND STIMULATES BLOOD CIRCULATION TO THESE AREAS. THE NERVE PLEXUSES IN THE VISCERAL AREA ARE STIMULATED AND TONED.

BENDING FORWARD AND EXTENDING THE STOMACH STRETCHES THE DIAPHRAGM AND PELVIC FLOOR, AND CREATES PRESSURE THROUGHOUT THE TRUNK OF THE BODY. THIS STIMULATES MANIPURA CHAKRA, THE CENTRE OF ENERGY DISTRUBUTION, AND RAISES THE LEVEL OF PRANA GENRALLY.

PRACTICE NOTES

RELEASE THE HOLD ON THE TOES BETWEEN BREATHS IF THE POSITION BECOMES UNCOMFORTABLE.

PRANA MUDRA

(INVOCATION OF ENERGY)

SIT IN ANY COMFORTABLE MEDITATION POSTURE, PREFERABLY PADMASANA OR SIDDHI/SIDDHA YONI ASANA WITH THE HANDS IN BHAIRAVA MUDRA.
CLOSE THE EYES AND RELAX TEH WHOLE BODY, ESPECIALLY THE ABDOMEN, ARMS AND HANDS.

STAGE 1

KEEPING THE EYES CLOSED, INHALE AND EXHALE AS DEEPLY AS POSSIBLE, CONTRACTING THE ABDOMINAL MUSCLES TO EXPEL THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF AIR FROM THE LUNGS.

WITH THE BREATH HELD OUTSIDE, PERFORM MOOLA BANDHA WHILE CONCENTRATING ON MOOLADHARA CHAKRA INTHE PERINEUM.

RETAIN THE BREATH OUTSIDE FOR AS LONG AS IS COMFORTABLE.

STAGE 2

RELASE MOOLA BANDHA. INHALE SLOWLY AND DEEPLY, EXPANDING THE ABDOMEN FULLY, DRAW AS MUCH AIR INTO THE LUNGS AS POSSIBLE.

SIMULTANEUOUSLY, RAISE THE HANDS UNTIL THEY ARE IN FRONT OF THE NAVEL. THE HANDS SHOULD BE OPEN WITH THE PALMS FACING THE BODY, THE FINGERS POINTING TOWARDS EACH OTHER, BUT NOT TOUCHING.

THE UPWARD MOVEMENT OF THE HANDS SHOULD BE COORDINATED WITH THE ABDOMINAL INHALATION.

THE ARMS AND HANS SHOULD BE RELAXED. WHILE INHALING FROM THE ABDOMEN, FEEL THE PRANA OR VITAL ENERGY BEING DRAWN FROM MOOLADHARA CHAKRA TO MANIPURA CHAKRA.

STAGE 3

CONTINUE THE INHALATION BY EXPANDING THE CHEST AND RAISING THE HANS UNTIL THEY ARE DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE STERNUM AT THE CENTRE OF THE CHEST.
FEEL THE PRANIC ENERGY BEING DRAWN UP FROM MANIPURA TO ANAHATA CHAKRA WHILE INHALING.

STAGE 4

DRAW EVEN MORE AIR INTO THE LUNGS BY SLIGHTLY RAISING THE SHOULDERS AND RAISE THE HANDS TO THE FRONT OF THE THROAT IN COORDINATION WITH THE BREATH.
FEEL THE PRANA BEING DRAWN UP TO VISHUDDHI.

STAGE 5

RETAIN THE BREATH INSIDE WHILE SPREADING THE ARMS OUT TO THE SIDES.
FEEL THE PRANA SPREADING IN A WAVE THROUGH AJNA, BINDU AND SAHASRARA CHAKRAS.
IN THE FINAL POSITION, THE HANDS ARE LEVEL WITH THE EARS.
THE ARMS ARE OUTSTRETCHED BUT NOT STRAIGHT, AND THE PALMS ARE TURNED UPWARD.
CONCENTRATION ON SAHASRARA CHAKRA AND VISUALIZE AN AURA OF PURE LIGHT EMANATING FROM THE HEAD.
FEEL THAT THE WHOLE BEING IS RADIATING VIBRATION OF PEACE TO ALL BEINGS.
RETAIN THIS POSITION, WITH THE BREATH HELD INSIDE, FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE WITHOUT STRAINING, THE LUNGS IN ANYWAY.
WHILE EXHALING, REPEAT STAGE 4,3,2,1 AND SLOWLY RETURN TO THE STARING POSITION.
DURING EXHALATION, FEEL THE PRANA PROGRESSIVELY DECESDING THROUGH EACH OF THE CHAKRAS UNTIL IT REACHES MOOLADHARA. AT THE END OF EXHALATION, PERFORM MOOLA BANDHA AND FEEL THE PRANA RETURNING TO MOOLADHARA CHAKRA.
RELAX THE WHOLE BODY AND BREATHE NORMALLY.

BREATHING

INCREASE THE DURATION OF INHALATION, RETENTION AND EXHALATION SLOWLY. BE CAREFUL NOT NO STRAIN THE LUNGS. WHEN THE PRACTICE HAS BEEN PERFECTED, VISUALIZE THE BREATH AS A STREAM OF WHITE LIGHT ASCENDING AND DESCENDING WITHIN SUSHUMNA NADI.

AWARENESS

THE AWARENESS SHOULD MOVE IN A SMOOTH AND CONTINUES FLOW FROM MOOLADHARA TO SAHASRARA AND BACK TO MOOLADHARA, IN COORDINATION WITH THE BREATH AND THE MOVEMENT OF THE HANDS.

SEQUENCE

PRANA MUDRA IS BEST PRACTICED AFTER ASANA AND PRANAYAMA AND BEFORE MEDITATION, BUT IT MAY BE PERFORMED AT ANY TIME.

TIME OF PRACTICE

IDEALLY, PRACTICE AT SUNRISE WHILE FACING THE SUN.

BENEFITS

PRANA MUDRA AWAKENS THE DORMANT PRANA SHAKTI, VITAL ENERGY, AND DISTRIBUTES IT THROUGHOUT THE BODY, INCREASING STRENGTH, HEALTH AND CONFIDENCE. IT DEVELOPS AWARENESS OF THE NADIS AND CHAKRAS, AND THE SUBTLE FLOW OF PRANA IN THE BODY. IT INSTILS AN INNER ATTITUDE OF PEACE AND EQUANIMITY BY ADOPTING AN EXTERNAL ATTITUDE OF OFFERING AND RECEIVING ENERGY TO AND FROM THE COSMIC SOURCE.