As we know, yoga is not confined to only the poses and the postures we do. It is truly a way of life and a holistic practice. Yoga itself is completely related to mudras and the chakras that they open. Every human being has main seven chakras in the sublime body or the Sukshma body. There are many great ways to open and unblock your chakras. We have written the ultimate guide for unblocking chakras here. We highly recommend it if you are new to the chakra system, yoga, or meditation. Chakras and mudras are connected and related, and when we do the mudras we inadvertently open up the chakras.
One of the best and easiest ways to open your chakras is to pair them with the correct mudras. The following is the list of mudras to do as a discipline, when we want to open up our chakras.
- Gyan mudra
- Apana mudra
- Shoonya mudra
- Prithvi mudra
- Surya mudra
- Vayu mudra
- Varun mudra
- Prana mudra
Learn the best mudra (or mudras) to open your chakras in this guide!
The 8 Best Mudras to Unblock and Open Up Your Chakras below
The internet is full of information about many mudras to practice that also match the chakras. It is like saying some ailment has many remedies. If we follow all the remedies, we will never be able to arrive at any specific answer for anything. Hence, we need to remember that following one person’s advice (especially a qualified instructor and avid practitioner for decades) often has a lot more efficacy than following general advice or common guidelines. The latter affords no clarity, and then we are left at sea.
The chakras are not visible, but are an understood component in many Eastern schools of thought and philosophies. There are seven main chakras contained within our subtle bodies. They are energy centers that are palpable and felt, although not really seen. This chakra system has been taught for centuries by Gurus, saints, Siddha purushas, and other ancient masters and sages.
To check out our article on building self-esteem through opening and balancing your third chakra, go here. In there we’ve included quite a few practical tools – yoga poses and meditation techniques – to help you do just that.
The chakras exist in sublime form – open them with the right mudras!
The chakras exist in sublime form in the following areas of the body and the spirit. Starting from the base, the root chakra, the sacral chakra, the solar plexus chakra, the heart chakra, the throat chakra, the third eye chakra and the crown chakra. Each one has their respective Sanskrit names too, which are as below:
- Root chakra (muladhara)
- Sacral chakra (svadhisthana)
- Solar plexus chakra (manipura)
- Heart chakra (anahata)
- Throat chakra (vishuddha)
- Third eye chakra (ajna)
- Crown chakra (sahasrara)
While one can practice other mudras to open up your chakras, the ones listed above are popular, simple, and highly effective. It is easier too, to be able to recall in an instance, the mudras, that we are familiar with, that we can connect to the chakras opening up. Let us start with the mudras that we will become familiar with, along with their respective chakras.
Let us start with the mudras that we will become familiar with, along with their respective chakras.
1. Gyan Mudra
The Gyan mudra is nothing new for experienced yogis. It is perhaps the simplest of all the mudras. It is universally well-known as well, because, most yoga experts advise us to do the Gyan mudra or the Chin mudra as it is called, when we sit in meditation. The Gyan mudra is perhaps the most popular mudra for increasing focus and calm. It calms our mind and eases the tension in our hearts as well. On the whole, it is a mudra, associated with the mental well-being of a person.
Practice the Gyan mudra by holding the mudra in both the hands. Touch the tips of the thumb and the index fingers together, and stretch the remaining fingers. This mudra has a whole lot of benefits: When we keep our hands in this mudra during the meditation, it can help to increase mental strength, sharpen concentration, and also improve focus.
It enhances a calm state of mind, helps to have a perfectly balanced nervous system and all gland functions, throughout the body. The Gyan Mudra (or Chin Mudra) is best for opening up the crown chakra.
2. Apana Mudra
The Apana mudra is also a widely popular mudra. To practice, touch the tips of the thumb with the tips of the middle and ring fingers. The little finger and the pointer are straight. This mudra is important for the third eye chakra. As with all the chakras, the most important position is to sit with a calm frame of mind. Sit comfortably in the sukhasana which is (the swastikasana or the comfort pose).
You can also sit in the padmasana (the lotus pose) or the vajrasana (the thunderbolt or the diamond pose). From this position, we are to take the hands and join the thumb to the ring and the little finger at the tips. Place your hands on the respective thighs and the time frame for the meditative state must not be less than ten minutes.
Practice the Apana Mudra for at least 12-15 minutes to Activate the Third Eye Chakra
To activate the third eye chakra, practice the Apana mudra for at least 12-15 minutes. Experienced practitioners may want even more time. Then, stay in this state for some time to enable the mudras and the chakras to get intertwined and activated. Visualization is imperative to the activation process. We need to visualize the energy flow as well, whenever we sit doing any mudra in the meditative state with the chakras.
Although you can practice every mudra for the chakra activation at any time of the day, it is important to maintain consistency. Practice at the same time everyday if possible. You will fall into meditation easier and deeper, over time. This will maximize and speed up your results, and you can feel the difference.
This mudra, first of all, helps in opening up the chakra. Second, it also helps in clearing the urinary tract and the menstrual cycle aberrations and infections. It therefore strengthens the pelvic areas, the hips, the intestines, the liver, the spleen and the gallbladder. It brings a sense of harmony in both the physical as well as the emotional body of the person doing it. Overall, this mudra helps in opening up the third eye chakra, and also bringing a sense of calm and ease in us. It helps keep us grounded.
3. Shoonya Mudra
The Shoonya mudra is a mudra which is one of the key mudras to open up the throat chakra. It should also be done with us seated in the padmasana pose, the vajrasana pose or the normal sukhasana pose. In the Shoonya mudra or the Shunya mudra, the middle finger is to be bent and the thumb comes over it, making sure to bend it to touch the palm.
It is also called the mudra of emptiness. Shoonya / Shunya means nothing, or complete emptiness. It is called so, because, by doing so, we help remove the emptiness or the space element in our body.
By doing this mudra, we help to open up the solar plexus in the body. This mudra helps to open up the area in the chest and the throat zone. It also helps to clear our mind, and keep it calm, when we practice this mudra for over a stretch of forty minutes, at the same time preferably, everyday.
4. Prithvi Mudra
The Prithvi mudra is another commonly seen mudra and it is simple to learn as well. This mudra helps to open up the heart chakra. When we meditate, we need to sit in a meditative state, then do elongated inhalation and exhalation. We can be seated in the Sukhasana or Swastikasana as they are referred to, or if possible, in the lotus pose or Padmasana or the Thunderbolt pose, the Vajrasana. The next step is to have mudras in both the hands, which we should place on the thigh, and the tips of the ring finger and the thumb should touch.
By practicing this mudra, we increase the earth element in the body. This mudra is the gateway to the heart chakra. This helps us with expanding our heart area and encompassing it with love. This mudra helps us with building up our endurance levels too.
This simple prithvi mudra has two other names too- People call it the Agni-shaamak mudra and the Prithvi-Vardhak mudra. One of the most powerful mudras, this mudra has the power to help a person convalesce to good health. It also helps people to put on weight in the right places and help people to overcome emaciation.
5. Surya Mudra
The Surya mudra is a lot like the Prithvi mudra, but there is a slight difference. While in the Prithvi mudra, we touch only the tips of the thumb and the ring finger, in the Surya mudra, we bend the ring finger, making the tip of the ring finger touch the base of the thumb and then press the ring finger towards the palm. This mudra is very effective for bringing about weight loss.
The most important aspect of this mudra is that it helps to open up the Solar plexus region chakra. We should remember that we should not contest the existence of the chakras, as many schools of thoughts and Gurus have already indicated that it is in the subtle level or the sukshma level. Therefore, it is not visible to the naked eye.
But, unquestionably, they exist. Not only does it open up the solar plexus chakra, it also helps to start corrective measures for other ailments. This includes diabetes, shivering, thyroid issues, problems with obesity, vision or eye related problems.
As with all mudras, we have to sit in any of the grounding poses such as the Sukhasana, the Vajrasana or the Padmasana. From here, we must start to place both our hands on the respective thighs and then the hands should be in this mudra. We can say this is the best gateway to the solar plexus area or region.
6. Vayu Mudra
The Vayu mudra corresponds to the opening up of the sacral chakra. The sacral chakra (or second chakra) is located below the solar plexus region in our body. When we sit in a meditative state, with the usual pose of Sukhasana or the Swastikasana or then the Vajrasana or the Padmasana, which are otherwise known as the Comfortable positions, the Thunderbolt position or the Lotus positions respectively, it is then good for us to go to the next step.
From this position, place the hands or the palms on the respective thighs. Bend the index finger and touch the tip of the index finger with the base of the thumb. Make sure to press it down well, and then hold the index finger with the thumb.
The Vayu mudra is best for opening the sacral chakra (also known as the Second Chakra)
This mudra is excellent for opening up the sacral chakra, say the yogic gurus of the ancient ages. It is very important to note that visualization forms an integral part of the entire process. As we get into the meditative state and sit in the position for the mudra, with eased breathing, we have to visualize that we are getting closer to the target- of opening up the sacral chakra, and also imagine ourselves surrounded by a luminous light, that will envelop us and spread healing wherever we want and also direct the energy towards the heart.
Apart from opening up the sacral chakra, the Vayu mudra also helps to heal the following: it helps the aged overcome the propensity to veer towards Parkinson’s Disease, helps one to overcome Dementia, gout, arthritis and even paralysis, by just the practice of this mudra.
This incidentally helps to cure even the partial paralysis of the face and neck(when they sometimes happen) unexpectedly. The Vayu mudra helps to overcome the presence of gas accumulation in the abdomen. In all, this is a super mudra.
7. Varun Mudra
The Varun mudra is a magic mudra, and helps to bring itself in harmony with the root chakra or the Muladhara chakra. This chakra is the lowest of all the chakras in position in our body. This is at the base of the spine, and this is the region for the kundalini to arise and uncoil itself and go up towards the crown and return. The Varun mudra or the Varuna mudra, as it is referred to by people, by stretching a syllable at the end, is a mudra that helps to open up the root chakra and bring about ease in other issues as well.
Although there are a hundred other mudras that help with opening up the chakras – each of them, it is difficult to outline every mudra. There would only be complete mental pandemonium. Instead, it is always better to learn and memorize mudras along with the chakras they help open.
The Varun mudra is best for opening the root (or Muladhara) chakra
If these mudras are everyday mudras that we are familiar with, it is even easier to memorize them, and link them with the respective chakra. How do we do the Varun mudra?
We have to sit in the usual pose for the meditative state, which is the first step. This can be the Sukhasana or the Padmasana or the Vajrasana. From this position, we need to start doing the proper inhalation and its corresponding exhalation.
After this, we need to place both hands on the respective thigh and then start the mudra. The minimum time for each mudra is about ten minutes. Anything less than that is of no use. After that, we can be in this steady state for over that span of time- which can be for over forty minutes. The thumb and the little finger tips should touch each other and be held together continuously for whatever timeframe we set ourselves to do it.
There should be no breaks in the mudras- as in we should not cease to do it, and then start again. This will make the effects become lax. The Varuna mudra is done with the thumb tip and the index finger tip touching each other. In Sanskrit, Varuna is water or another name for the water element.
The Varun Mudra also helps with many other bodily ailments such as dehydration or poor circulation.
This mudra is also called the Jal-vardhak mudra, or the water-granting mudra. In this mudra, we attract the presence of the water element by practicing the mudra. The water composition of the physical body gets enhanced.
Any ailment arising out of the lack of water in our body gets healed and altered in our body, by practicing this mudra. First of all, not only does it help open up the root chakra, it also helps with the issues related to lack of the water presence; we also must know that by doing this mudra, heals us of any problems resulting from dehydration. It is a preventive too- by making us not be affected by Gastro-enteritis, pains and aches resulting from nerve alignment or imbalances.
It helps purify the blood and also improves blood circulation in our body. The great yogis say that by doing this mudra, our skin becomes hydrated and starts to acquire a glow. It helps men and women in equally effective ways: It helps men overcome low semen count, and women with painful menstruation issues. It also helps men with problems associated with the prostate gland, and everyone with issues related to the urinary tract.
8. Prana Mudra
The Prana mudra is one of those mudras that has an exceptionally special value. It is not specific to any chakra, but if done with any mudra, it speeds up the propensity to open up that particular chakra. The Prana chakra is done with the tip of the thumb and the tips of the ring finger and the little finger touching together. It helps channel the flow of the precious vital life force energy, called the Prana towards the entire body, and helps to open up any chakra.
The Prana mudra or the life force energy, is also done to activate the dormant life force energy – in the sukshma sharira or the subtle body (which everyone has), and it has that rare ability or power to balance the elements of fire, water, air and space, bringing them all towards an integrated whole.
The Prana mudra is a mudra which activates all the chakras, when done while focusing on any chakra, in our meditative state. The most important aspect is to be focused on the chakra and the mudra and visualize a white luminous light enveloping us.
To perform, sit in the Sukhasana or the Swastikasana pose, or the Vajrasana or the Padmasana pose. We have to place both our palms on the thighs and then keep the mudras in our hands in the Prana mudra manner. The Prana mudra has other names too – Such as the Kapha kaarak mudra or the Pitta nashak mudra.
To Open Chakras with Mudras – Cultivate the three C’s- Consistency, Constancy and Continuity
We should always remember that our chakras and the mudras that we practice are always linked together, and when we practice them as an integrated whole, they manifest the outcome faster. Many times, people want quick and lightning fast results, which are not always possible.
These are time-tested remedies, propounded by the ancient seers and the gurus of an ancient civilization, with enough proof that they have helped us battle many ailments. We should first and foremost cultivate the three Cs- Consistency, Constancy and Continuity. These three Cs should be an integral aspect of a yoga-mudra -chakra practitioner.
A consistent yoga practitioner should also have oodles and oodles of patience and trust. Patience that the asana and the mudra that we are doing will take its own true nature and time to help us arrive at the goal. The trust factor is also just as important- to believe that the mudra that we are doing will definitely help us actualize our physical and emotional goals.
For a detailed guide to other mudras for depression, anxiety, arthritis pain, concentration, brain power and more, check out this blog. And to see how long it will take them to work and how to speed up the results, go here.
Shanti Arunkumar, Senior Contributor At L’Aquila Active
Learn more about Shanti by reading her bio below.
Click on link below to meet L’Aquila Active’s entire team of experts, including university degrees, certifications, and credentials on yoga and meditation: