and wait hopefully for it’s arrival — love of another person, love of life, love of one’s daily activities, or love of one’s practice. But if we wait to magically feel love before living fully with love, we may never learn love’s true wealth. The feeling of love is beautiful and life-giving, but our loving needs to come from a deeper place of trust that,
‘I am always loved, and I am already loved’
To love is to live according to the knowledge that you are infinitely loved by the Universe and called to Be Love in every thought, word and action. Being Love in the world is our task. Usually we know what the loving thing to do is, and if we follow our own inner knowledge and live with love, even if others are not able to acknowledge or return love, our feelings will catch up with our actions… And so love grows in the world.
“My Heart is Open and Spacious, Allowing Me To Be With All That Is.”
Cultivating the support within the inner refuge of the heart opens the doorway to greater self-love and acceptance. Hridaya means heart in Sanskrit and this mudra allows you to go inward through the door of your heart into the place of deep trust, support, and solace to feel the open spaciousness of the cave of the heart, which allows us to be able to ‘be with’ all that is.
The Heart Chakra wheel of energy is said to be an emerald green lotus flower in the chest, and can be imagined with petals pulsing with your breath, to expand unconditional love and support.
HOW TO:
Right hand is placed over the Heart, and Left hand on top of Right hand.
State the affirmation 3 times. Begin with 5-10 natural breaths and increase the number of breaths weekly to your practice.
Possible Effects:
Releases tightness in the chest or breath.
Balances both upward and downward flowing currents of energy.
Both breath and nourishment rises into the lungs, heart, and thymus gland to improve health of respiratory, cardiovascular and immune systems.
A greater sense of trust within oneself is instilled, creating a base of support in challenging times and full emotions.
As you sense your Heart and its truth, emotions harmonize back into balance dissolving fears, questions, and sorrows.
These mudras and information are modified and given with permission by Joseph LePage.
This is a touching and beautiful story of a loving family who support and encourage each other as a team. Even more than a team, actually, because they are living their lives in service of each other. And also have the gratitude and realization of how amazing each family member is. That service extends out into the community in their family run business.
It is interesting that in many indigenous cultures like the North West Coast and Inuit have depicted in art and told stories of hunters who had holes in the center of their palms. These openings were windows that through their hands, the spirit of the animal would be set free, thus they were taking only the animal’s physical body for their needs.
We can learn from this respect and gratitude for both what we’ve been given, and for what we need to take, makes for greater harmony within our hearts and connection with our world around us.
And speaking of hearts, the center of the palm is actually an energy point in Traditional Chinese Medicine related to the heart. This point is key on the channel for the organ that surrounds, protects and cradles the heart called the pericardium or ‘heart constrictor’.
Thus, when you activate the centers of the palms, this cradle area around the heart is able to soften, open and expand, helping you to feel more spacious, free and also can allow you to breathe more fully and easily.
Practicing Empty Hands Mudra helps me to let go my agendas of the moment to remember that there is indeed openness and freedom within me, and that I can allow my heart to be felt and to speak to me. Greater wisdom flows through me when I both open and let go. This is not an ancient or known mudra – it came to me in my meditation practice. I love how it feels, and wanted to share it here with you!
HOW TO: Hands rest on the lap or in front of the navel with the Left hand under the Right hand. Gently open the centers of your palms.
Hold for 5-10 natural breaths. State the intention statement three times out loud, then silently. Notice how you feel in body, mind, and emotions. No known cautions.
YOGA PRACTICE: Try Empty Hands Mudra with arms overhead on the floor in Child pose.
FIVE ELEMENTS: Empty Hands Mudra invites balance and centeredness withing all of the Five Elements, all of the Chakras, and all of the Vayu Energy Currents. It can especially activate Air and Ether Elements.
You May Feel These Benefits:
Instills a sense of openness to the world, other hearts, and our own deeper wisdom.
Brings expansion and openness to the chest and breath.
As the chest naturally releases tension with the mudra, it relaxes the mind and the nervous system.
Can help expand to envision infinite possibilities within life.
Reveals inherent positive qualities of the heart within like generosity, honoring, gratitude, humility, and reverence.
If you are anything like me, making a plan and having an agenda to follow can feel very grounding. Having a plan gives us a starting point, and helps us to see how we might reach our goal. How can anything happen if you don’t first imagine, then plan it? Whether walking the dog, planting a garden or flying to the moon, seeing it first, then planning to achieve your vision is vital.
Making a plan and holding an agenda too tightly, though, can be a problem. If the plan comes primarily from the ‘thinking’ mind (manomaya kosha in Sanskrit, one of five levels of the human being in yoga philosophy) then our thinking can be very limited and rigid compared to what is ACTUALLY possible.
Living life with Empty Hands means letting go of the ‘agenda’ that often comes with planning, as well as letting go of fixed ideas of how things should turn out. With Empty Hands we can be more open to receive the full richness and unlimited possibilities as we allow ourselves to flow with the rhythm of life.
How to live with Empty Hands and open to Greater Possibility
Cultivate times of inner stillness and quiet in order to LISTEN. Only from a place where we are open to HEAR, can we distill the greater wisdom that is already within us. Are you trying to determine in advance what your true Self and your Heart’s deepest wisdom is saying to you, and not taking the time to listen inwardly? Consulting your thinking mind only, the planning part of you, may lack the expansion and wisdom of your deeper levels and often creates limited and closed ended results. Empty Hands Mudra offers an excellent way to easily find quiet within also posted here in this blog.
Commit to the INTENTION to live with Empty Hands. Sankalpa means intention in Sanskrit and is an ancient yogic practice that can help us to form plans when we need them. In practicing Sankalpa we state what we want or how we want to be, in a positive statement to the Universe, and then the Universe assists in making it happen, without using so much effort and strain.
It can be very freeing to live with Empty Hands, allowing you to remain more open to the great unknown and the expanse of your UNLIMITED SELF.
MASK, Beau Dick, Kwak’waka’wakw. Traditionally, the palm of the open hand is symbolic of friendship, hospitality, peace and goodwill. It may represent the power of creation.
