‘Vajra’ means diamond and it directs breath and energy into the third chakra called Manipura, the ‘city of gems’: I find this name gives both an amazing visual and feeling of light, sparkling radiance within my center!
“My inner jewel guides me to live my true purpose.”
HOW TO: Hands float in front of the solar area just below the ribs, with the ‘diamond’ shape pointing outward from solar plexus.
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.
FIVE ELEMENTS: Vajra Mudra activates and balances the ????Fire Element, helping you to glow with inner light, realize the vision for your life, and also aid digestive fire called Agni.
Awakens inner diamond of certainty, clarity, and life purpose.
Supports the unfolding of all one’s unique talents and abilities.
Balances 3rd Chakra Manipura.
Enhances digestion and assimilation of nutrients.
Gently energizing and stimulating – can be helpful for depression.
CAUTIONS: none
These mudras and the information provided are modified from Mudras for Healing and Transformation
by Joseph and Lilian LePage, Integrative Yoga Therapy.
It’s never easy to Begin Again. And yet, life keeps asking us to do just that. Change is also what keeps us young, alert, and has the potency to strengthen us physically, mentally and emotionally. Imagine yourself as a flexible reed, bowing and bending with the wind and its changes of direction.
Here are 7 Tips to help you embrace change, allowing you to return to ‘Beginner’s Mind’ for a fresh start.
Empty your Mind.
Let go of the need to find the answers, fix anything, and dissolve your list of ‘shoulds’. Position yourself like an open cup, ready for deliciousness to fill you when it’s time.
One Footstep at a Time.
Do not rush. Enjoy the view from where you are NOW, and each unfolding moment of this precious journey.
Allow Yourself to feel the Vulnerability of the ‘Beginner’.
This includes allowing emotions that arise to be present. Allow fears and fear of failure to be present, but not to overwhelm or flooding your experience. As best you can, ‘sit’ with what is: everything, including your emotions, will all change momentarily, like ocean waves.
Fall down three times, Get up four times.
Have you ever asked, ‘why me?’ As best you can, do not take anything personally. It took Thomas Edison 10,000 attempts to get the light bulb right! Offer yourself Compassion as you try again. “I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” ~Edison
Allow your Mind and Heart to be open to the array of Possibility
Notice with love, when you are stuck in a pattern. Patterns can make us smaller than who we actually are.
Be the Student where anything is possible, rather than the master or the expert who options are limited.
Receive each moment with Mindful Awareness and Curiosity.
Foster the Inquiry rather than the Answer.
Invite your Imagination, Creativity, and Playfulness to flow through your heart, thoughts and actions!
Trust Yourself and the Universe
Ever-present help and support is built into you and also the blueprint of the Universe: you belong and you are supported.
Appreciate and Love Yourself for who you are right now
Feeling Gratitude for yourself can help you to feel rooted, strong and secure like a tree, so that you are ready to branch out into what is new.
As best you can, have Empathy and Compassion for yourself as the wonderful and divine being you already are.
Shunya means “empty” or “zero” and is a gateway to the Beginner’s Mind—a state of openness and infinite possibility where preconceptions and attachments fall away. In this space one’s True Self may become more apparent as this shedding the layers of ego and false identity uncover the unchanging essence within.
Far from being a void, Shunya is a fertile ground of potential, where creativity, clarity, and authenticity can naturally arise. By embracing this emptiness, we can find inner peace and remember that our truest nature is not shaped by external circumstances but by the boundless possibilities of simply being.
“I Empty Out to Return to My True Self”
HOW TO: Middle fingers touch down to the center of the palm (interestingly this is also an energy point in Traditional Chinese Medicine that calms and clears the thoughts). Thumbs hold the middle fingers in place. You can hold the palms upward on your lap; or elbows into the waist and palms float upward at your sides.
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 POSE: Try practicing Shunya Mudra with Warrior, Star and Bridge poses.
FIVE ELEMENTS: Shunya Mudra activates Ether-Space Element. It instills purification as it awakens the wheel of energy in the Throat center – Vishuddha Chakra.
Shunya Can Help To:
Clear the Mind and Thoughts.
Expand ways of seeing and being.
Open you to New Possibilities and Transformation.
Release tensions through the head and shoulder area, including the sense organs.
Balance Thyroid.
Open space between thoughts and reactions.
Information provided here is used by permission and modified from Mudras for Healing and Transformation by Joseph and Lilian LePage, Integrative Yoga Therapy
Once upon a time, you too, were this new, fresh and young! Clear your inner slate to become a beginner of life again, able both receive life, and to be fully present in each moment, like this baby being bathed. (I admit, I have a difficult time not tearing up at the sweetness in this video).
Jnana means ‘Wisdom’ and this mudra allows you to open to your whole and complete self, represented by the CIRCLE of your index finger joined with the thumb. Often we are held back by limiting beliefs that no longer serve us or the world. Practicing Jnana mudra will help you to let go what is old, and open in the spirit of Beginner’s Mind, enhancing your ability to see with fresh eyes and heart yourself, others and the world to expand your possibilities and potential.
“In my Beginner’s Mind there are Unlimited Possibilities.”
HOW TO: Draw your elbows into your waist comfortably as you turn your palms upward, joining index fingers to the thumbs. Or rest the backs of your hands on your lap. 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.
FIVE ELEMENTS: Jnana Mudra activates Ether/Space Element within the Five Element system of yoga and Ayurveda. It awakens clear unified seeing and knowing with the Third Eye Center – Anja Chakra.
Clear seeing awakens.
Helps one to focus mind and attention.
Allows you to rest easily within your true Self.
Opens you to new possibilities.
Balances alertness with relaxation.
Helps one surrender the personality.
Cultivates space between thoughts.
Wisdom and bliss naturally arise.
Information provided here is used by permission and modified from Mudras for Healing and Transformation by Joseph and Lilian LePage, Integrative Yoga Therapy
