Mudra for Your Voice

Mudras are ways of placing your body, specifically your hands, to direct the energy flow to a particular area. The Anjali Mudra we use at the end of class (palms together in front of your heart) increases the energy flow to your heart center – a lovely way to greet others and express gratitude.

Here is a mudra I use to increase the energy flow to my fifth chakra – the throat chakra – to help make my voice more resonant (sound better) before class. It is powerful. I can feel the energy in my throat instantly. I use it briefly at the beginning of class when my students are still laying to relax and breathe and then again during their Savasana. I especially like to use it then because when I am silent for awhile, sometimes my voice can be scratchy when I first start to speak again.

To do the mudra, place your left thumb across the palm of your right hand. Wrap the fingers of your right hand around the thumb. Place your right thumb on the pad of the middle finger of your left hand. Hold your hands at your heart level. Can you feel the movement in your throat?

Removing the Obstacles

“Breathing happens to us when we remove the obstacles we have erected to its free movement.” Donna Farhi

I love this quote. I read it in Donna Farhi’s Breathing Book when it was first released years ago (a fabulous book, by the way!) and it still touches me today. Such a simple, and completely accurate way of looking at our breath. It just happens when you remove all the obstacles, it isn’t something you impose on yourself. When he was carving his masterpiece, The David, Michaelangelo was reported to say that all he did was simply remove the marble what wasn’t David.

That is what we are doing in our own personal evolution. We are just peeling away what isn’t us to reveal our true selves. We aren’t changing who we are. We aren’t trying to be someone else. We just have to allow who we are to shine by removing what isn’t us.

Look at your life now. Are there habits that you have that deep down you know doesn’t represent your true self? Do you do activities that don’t represent your true self? Do you have acquaintances that don’t represent your true self? Do you do things that don’t fit who you are? Take a moment now and pretend you are Michaelangelo and remove a little bit that isn’t you. Remove a few obstacles you have to your free movement. Ahhh...freedom. Doesn’t that feel better?