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Yoga Mudras and Energy Lines

So, I happen to be a somewhat energy sensitive person, and I need to invest in some shielding, because I tend to get spilled on a lot by other people, most notably with their anxiety and anger. I have the beginnings of a shield in place, but sometimes I forget to erect it, and it's not the strongest yet. The other thing I've noticed is that hand mudras seem to work well for me in the balancing energy department. I'm not so good at remember fancy positions, so I decided to look up the meanings behind them in the hopes of making my attempts more successful. Right now the best I can get is "oh that helped" or "ick ick ick, that felt wrong." Which is a starting point but doesn't really help me in knowing how to move forward.

Some information I managed to find via a quick google search:

From Nexoye
Thumb: Fire
Index finger: Air
Middle finger: Ether/Sky
Ring finger: Earth
Pinky finger: Water

The site goes on to describe how these elements are tied to physical aspects of the body, but I'm looking more for how these elements relate to emotions and the emotional/spiritual energy that flows through the body.

I am planning to maybe find a book on mudras, and see if I can relocate an online listed I was pointed to by

ysabetwordsmith, but I will gladly take any advice or recommendations any of you may have; this is brand new territory for me, and I'm not really sure what I'm doing.

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>> So, I happen to be a somewhat energy sensitive person, and I need to invest in some shielding, because I tend to get spilled on a lot by other people, most notably with their anxiety and anger. <<

A holey stone is a good natural shield -- that is, a stone with a natural hole all the way through it. String it and wear it as a necklace.

If you like essential oils, try Protection. I'm the one who named the original Shield in a Bottle -- a bunch of us were griping about holidays with annoying relatives, and Kamala whipped up something for us.

https://kamalas-own.myshopify.com/products/protection-1

>> The other thing I've noticed is that hand mudras seem to work well for me in the balancing energy department. <<

Have you ever seen the kind of science kit with a breadboard of holes that you plug wires into, and the pattern of connections turns it into different machines? Your body is like that. It has energy paths that run along similar lines but aren't identical to your nervous system. Most people know about the "7 chakras" along the spine, but those are just the biggest. There are smaller ones for the various organs, major joints, palms, fingertips, etc. Yoga asanas and mudras are two ways of working with the "breadboard" of your body. By touching different parts together you can cue it to do different things. It doen't necessarily work for everyone, but people who can do it can get quite strong results, and it sounds like you're getting some effects already. It's worth exploring further.

>>Right now the best I can get is "oh that helped" or "ick ick ick, that felt wrong." Which is a starting point but doesn't really help me in knowing how to move forward.<<

Keep track of what does which. You will likely find patterns, such as "palm mudras are too strong" or "one-foot asanas make imbalance worse." When you find something that works, look for other similar things and try them too. Also look for resources that sort things by purpose rather than just difficulty.

YouTube is great for yoga. Search something like "mudras for relaxation" or "yoga routines for balance" and it should offer a bunch of options.

>> The site goes on to describe how these elements are tied to physical aspects of the body, but I'm looking more for how these elements relate to emotions and the emotional/spiritual energy that flows through the body. <<

The Indian set is a little different from Pagan ones, but that's okay. Explore it.

https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/purifying-the-five-elements-of-our-being

This also comes up in Ayurveda, which offers some ideas for food as medicine.

https://vibranthealthayurveda.com/the-five-elements-of-ayurveda/

https://www.ayurveda.com/resources/articles/ayurveda-a-brief-introduction-and-guide

While I don't follow the whole system, I have noticed that the Indian custom of including the Six Tastes in each meal produces meals that are delicious, satisfying, and healthy.

http://ayurvedadosha.org/ayurveda-diet/six-tastes

Here's an example of a shadrasa masala:

https://keithonfood.com/2013/08/27/keiths-ayurvedic-6-taste-spice-mix/

>>I am planning to maybe find a book on mudras, and see if I can relocate an online listed<<

I recommend:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/238449.Mudras

These are some of my favorites:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/91/31/bd/9131bd4b0ee05afef2b815e34b29f20f.jpg

The four at the bottom are called Sa-Ta-Na-Ma and that set is my go-to for handling stress out in the world.

>>A holey stone is a good natural shield -- that is, a stone with a natural hole all the way through it. String it and wear it as a necklace.<<

Oh! Something to act as an actual, physical shield is a good idea, I didn't think of that.

>>Have you ever seen the kind of science kit with a breadboard of holes that you plug wires into, and the pattern of connections turns it into different machines? … By touching different parts together you can cue it to do different things. It doen't necessarily work for everyone, but people who can do it can get quite strong results, and it sounds like you're getting some effects already. It's worth exploring further.<<

I didn't know all of this, though I did know bits and pieces of it. I'm not sure I'm one of the people that will get amazing results from it, but since I'm getting *something* with just my random piecemeal knowledge, looking into further might be worthwhile.

>>Keep track of what does which.<<

That is a good idea. I'm not great at holding things like patterns in my head, though I also often forget to log them. It's worth a shot though.

>>When you find something that works, look for other similar things and try them too. Also look for resources that sort things by purpose rather than just difficulty.<<

Those are both great suggestions, thanks!

>>Search something like "mudras for relaxation"<<

This is another good suggestions, and one I wouldn't have thought of on my own. Yoga routines, yes; mudras, no.

Thank you for all the links and recommendations. I haven't had a chance to look at them yet, but I will check them out as soon as I can, especially the mudra images.

I find the hand mudras help a lot more in directing and calming energy. I enjoy yoga for the stretching, the breathing, and the soothing voice of the instructor, but it's more of a muted, whole body effect than something that works for a specific cause (at least that I've found so far). With the hand mudras though, I've can usually feel an immediate effect and it also has the benefit of reminding me to take a minute to focus myself and really think, rather than just being swept along in my emotions.

>> Oh! Something to act as an actual, physical shield is a good idea, I didn't think of that. <<

A holey stone is a self-working example. There are also medallions, pendants, etc. that can do shielding but they often need a magical imprint to do it. A few seem to be self-working. Look for a rune or other symbol that means protection, a convex medallion -- really, a miniature shield.

>> I'm not sure I'm one of the people that will get amazing results from it, but since I'm getting *something* with just my random piecemeal knowledge, looking into further might be worthwhile.<<

If you are getting definite results while playing around with it, then it works for you. How much you get out of it will likely depend on how much you put into it. Once the base talent is established, how much skill a person develops is largely based on how much time and energy they devote to honing those skills.

>>That is a good idea. I'm not great at holding things like patterns in my head, though I also often forget to log them. It's worth a shot though.<<

Start with simple things. If I need a mudra for a ritual or some other special purpose, I look it up. The one I have memorized for everyday use in stressful situations is nothing more than touching thumb to each finger in turn.

The fancier mudras are for holding focus during meditation, where you want things to take a bit of attention; for summoning a particular deity, where it's complicated because it's kind of like a name-sign or phone number; or to set up more complex reactions, like a machine that needs a lot of wires. Those make more sense if you've learned simpler ones, because you'll see motifs repeating.

Note that you do have to mean it, which means pressing not hard but with some intent, like turning on a push-button switch, because that's basically what it does. Also the fingertip chakras are small, about the size of a pea or the eraser end of a pencil. Try different grips: pressing the flat of your thumb and finger together, the very tips, and an angle as if you were picking something up. Usually it is the pick-up grip that will give you the best contact and results.

For comparison, the palm chakras are much bigger, filling almost the whole palm -- say, about the width of a drinking glass. Hence why a basic energy manipulation exercise is to make a "snowball" of energy by rubbing your palms close to each other.

If you can already do the energy ball in your palms, try the same thing but with a pea to marble sized ball between two fingers, or thumb and finger.

The ability to concentrate energy in the hands or fingers allows many magical effects, from mudras to sticking things together to martial arts moves like Diamond Finger.

>>This is another good suggestions, and one I wouldn't have thought of on my own. Yoga routines, yes; mudras, no.<<

YouTube is generally a good place to check for videos on how to "do" things -- just about anything, by now.

>> I find the hand mudras help a lot more in directing and calming energy. I enjoy yoga for the stretching, the breathing, and the soothing voice of the instructor, but it's more of a muted, whole body effect than something that works for a specific cause (at least that I've found so far). <<

Mudras are more focused because they're smaller: that's literally what focus means, directing everything to a small point. Think of the difference between a flashlight and a laser; they do different things but both are useful. Using your whole body gives you more leverage, and more options.

If you want something between the two, useful for comparison, look for two-handed mudras that bring your arms into play a bit. Among the easiest and most useful is the Rock and Water salute: dominant hand in a fist, other hand covering it, at chest height. Power and control.

>>A holey stone is a self-working example. There are also medallions, pendants, etc. that can do shielding but they often need a magical imprint to do it. A few seem to be self-working. Look for a rune or other symbol that means protection, a convex medallion -- really, a miniature shield.<<

I'll have to see if I can find one of those. Sounds like it could be very helpful.

>> Once the base talent is established, how much skill a person develops is largely based on how much time and energy they devote to honing those skills.<<

That makes sense.

>>If you can already do the energy ball in your palms, try the same thing but with a pea to marble sized ball between two fingers, or thumb and finger.<<

I can't quite manage a ball, but I can do a cushion-like energy field between my palms. I can push on it a little bit, like if you playing with soap suds between your palms, and once I have the field there, if I tilt one hand, I can feel the energy move in response on the other palm.

>>YouTube is generally a good place to check for videos on how to "do" things -- just about anything, by now.<<

Yes, there are a lot of things that can be found on YouTube, it's quite useful.

>> I can't quite manage a ball, but I can do a cushion-like energy field between my palms. I can push on it a little bit, like if you playing with soap suds between your palms, and once I have the field there, if I tilt one hand, I can feel the energy move in response on the other palm.
<<

Then you're getting close to the ball stage. Try imagining it like making a snowball. The snow starts out as a fluffy mass in your hands, and you pat it into a around shape with firmer boundaries.

>>Then you're getting close to the ball stage. Try imagining it like making a snowball. The snow starts out as a fluffy mass in your hands, and you pat it into a around shape with firmer boundaries.<<

I'll give that a try. Trying to give it an actual shape is the part that always trips me up, rather than just letting it pool between my hands.

Okay, there's another interim step you can try. Instead of aiming to go directly from pool to ball, just try to manipulate the pool. Pour it from one hand to the other, make it thicker on one side, pat a flat place in it, etc.

The "snowball" approach works well for many people because it has a strong tactile reference in real life. That doesn't necessarily mean it works best for everyone.

Oh, that sounds like fun. I sort of got a ball shape to work using both hands, but I can't do it one-handed yet. Just playing around with the energy sounds like a good way to get better at it.

One-handed is considerably harder than two-handed for energy work.

Concentrate on feeling the energy and making it do what you want. Just push it around and play with it.

I shall do that :)

>>If you like essential oils, try Protection. I'm the one who named the original Shield in a Bottle -- a bunch of us were griping about holidays with annoying relatives, and Kamala whipped up something for us.<<

I tried this one. I like the smell of it, though I'm still figuring out the best way to use it, and what situations it helps with.

Thank you for all the advice about the mudras and yoga, and the boom recommendations. I'm still working out what works for me, but I do find a lot of hand mudras work for me, provided I get the combination right.

I'm also figuring out what kind of yoga videos I like, and what moves help and what doesn't feel right. I've found a really good person to follow on youtube, so that helps a lot too.

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Yoga Mudras and Energy Lines

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