Customer Reviews

Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I originally purchased Sabrina Mesko's book Healing Mudras, but I was very disappointed. As much as I wanted to learn about mudras, I found the book annoying to read due to the layout, font choices (lots of italics) and red-colored print. I also found the mudras impossible to decipher from the photographs. So, with much disappointment, I put the book on the shelf along with others that collect dust. Then I discovered Gertrud Hirschi's book Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands, and I was thrilled. This book is so comprehensive but easy to read. The text is clear (black on white), the meditations are fantastic (and there is an incredible array to select from), and the line drawings are simple, direct, and very understandable. I was able to immediately dive in and make good use of the countless mudras and meditations. There are even mudras included to assist with healing physical ailments. I was highly skeptical of these from the outset, but I tried the bronchial mudra, and to my enormous surprise (and delight!), I was able to forego my allergy medication and could breathe freely through the night.

If you want the BEST book on mudras -- with a lifetime of exercises and meditations -- THIS is the one to get. It's clear, concise, and complete, and an absolute joy to read and use.

It is a joy to read Gertrud Hirschi, a well-known Swiss yoga teacher and author of Basic Yoga for Everybody, who presents her material in clear, concise terms and uncomplicated pictures, along with suggested affirmations and meditation.

In Buddhism and Hinduism, mudras are a ritual of symbolic gestures, postures and body movements designed to aid one in preventing physical and emotional illness and in promoting spiritual development. It is believed to lock intensive and dense psychic energy into the body by engaging certain areas of the brain to exercise an influence on it. Our body language clearly reveals our attitudes and moods; whether we are slouching in defeat or head held high in victory. If that is so, then why not reverse the procedure and use these gestures to promote fearlessness, energy, sexuality and serenity? That is the theory and the effectiveness of this work. Just as athletes visualize their games in their minds before they play, so Hirschi will show you how to perform even greater miracles with your mind and body. Furthermore, you can perform these anywhere: at a stressful business meeting, sitting in a sauna, or commuting on a bus or train. (No, you can't drive a car, talk on your cell phone and do mudras at the same time.)

Gertrud Hirschi includes herbal and nutritional suggestions in appendices, and even suggestions for creating your own mudras for whatever purposes you desire.

After a year of growing in my physical yoga practice, I became interested in exploring more of the meditative aspects of yoga. I picked up Yoga in Your Hands, and have found this book to be an excellent tool for a beginner.

Hirsch clearly lays out a wide variety of hand positions, along with accompanying affirmations and herbal remedies, that can be used for a wide variety of purposes. The illustrations are focused directly on the hands, to show the correct positioning of each finger to make the mudras successful. The text very accurately describes both the position itself, the uses of the mudra, and when or how it should be performed.

Since purchasing the book, I have tried several of the mudras, with varying degrees of success. Overall, this book is an excellent introduction to this age-old method, and is recommended for anyone with an interest in the subject.

It is always a pleasure to find practical books where one actually feels like doing the exercises. This is one of them. In this book, mudras are simple yet powerful. Mudras are hand combinations which have various effects on the body. Although they are often used in yoga those presented in the book can be done anywhere (at work, commuting, sitting in the hot tub...). Experimenting with mudras does not take much time. The descriptions of each mudra are very informative and provide you with they are supposed to do for you. As with everything, hearing about things is never enough; try and experience! Enjoy!

This is a wonderful introduction for the beginner. The photos are large enough to see what the model is doing, and are accompanied by clearly written, easy-to-understand instructions. There is also an overview of the subject that tells how mudras fit into the discipline of yoga, healing, and metaphysics. 52 mudras for attaining physical, mental, and spiritual well being are described in this book.

I've checked out several books on mudras and I found Hirschi's book to be the best and most informative (mind you, I speak only of those that I've reviewed, which I'm sure is not an exhaustive list). She explains what mudras are, where they come from, how to integrate them with other practices and modalities (including breathe work, color therapy and meditation), and even what a mudra cannot do. Each mudra description includes at least one sketch of the hand position, how/when to use it (including specific physical and emotional ailments), an affirmation and some even include herbal remedies.

The mudras are well categorized. You will find them separated into three specific groups: Mudras for the Mind, Body and Soul; Spiritual Mudras; and Mudras of Hatha Yoga. The appendices are also very thorough and useful, covering such topics as: Nutrition, Using Herbs for Maladies, the Chinese Five-Element Theory, and Chakras.

I can attest to many of the results Hirschi claims are attributed to these mudras. I've felt headaches melt in minutes and asthmatic breathing lessen with only a mudra and 10 minutes of meditation. I am also writing a review for "Healing Mudras, Yoga for Your Hands" by Sabrina Mesko, and I can say here that it is a book for the less technically minded...

As an exponent of Indian dance, I have been taught hand mudras very systematically and thoroughly over a very long period of time, based on the ancient Indian text Natyasastra. Never have any of my masters mentioned the healing power of mudras (only once when my teacher told me not to cross my thumbs in Anjali because it would be bad for my heart). Mudras have become second nature to my movement, and I was sure they were great energy releases, but wanted more specific information. This book gives basic knowledge, which I appreciate, but not enough in-depth information about the source of mudra theory. Was it developed out of ancient texts or sastras or an oral tradition passed down by teachers to students? I recently have taken the study of healing mudras very seriously, and keep referring back to this book for information. The author also mentions chakras, colors, etc. It's nicely put together, with generally clear illustrations, though a few of the illustrations are a bit confusing and I wonder if photos would have worked better than drawings. This book gets you started on some basic healing/energy releasing, non-exertive mudra exercises. Very good for beginners.

This is a great book!! It contains not only the explanation of how to perform the hands yoga (mudras) but also the benefits you will get with the practice and the affirmation you should use along with it to improve the benefits. Excellent!

The best book on Mudras I found. It is nice for people who'd like to get to the point and start practising it.

As an exponent of Indian dance, I have been taught hand mudras very systematically and thoroughly over a very long period of time, based on the ancient Indian text Natyasastra. Never have any of my masters mentioned the healing power of mudras (only once when my teacher told me not to cross my thumbs in Anjali because it would be bad for my heart). Mudras have become second nature to my movement, and I was sure they were great energy releases, but wanted more specific information. This book gives basic knowledge, which I appreciate, but not enough in-depth information. The author also mentions chakras, colors, etc. While my original review was a bit cynical, I've come back to this book again and again, and now am studying it seriously, and it has reconfirmed a lot of what I already knew, and has given me new insights as well, which has inspired me to come back to my review and change my original four star rating to five stars. It has initiated a quest for greater knowledge on the topic of healing mudra. I will seek out Keshev Das, one of Gertrud's techers, next time I am in India and thank her for stimulating my interest in a unique healing art.