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The 25 Important “Seals” (Mudra) and “Locks” (Bandha) of Hatha Yoga
- Download Traditioanl Mudra Table by Richard Rosen
(from the Gheranda-Samhita, Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika, and Shiva-Samhita)
There are twenty-five mudras, the practice of which gives success to the Yogis (Gheranda-Samhita 3.1).
The ten mudras listed in the Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika “annihilate old age and death. They have been explained by
Shiva and give eight kinds of divine wealth (i.e. the great “powers”: becoming small, becoming large, becoming
light, becoming heavy, coming within easy reach of everything, wish fulfillment, mastery and control over matter
and Nature). These Mudras should be kept secret by every means, as one keeps one’s box of jewelry, and should, on
no account, be told to anyone, just as a husband and wife keep their dealings secret” (HYP 3.7-9).
The Gheranda-Samhita describes 25 mudras and bandhas. The 10 mudras and bandhas described in the Hatha-Yoga-
Pradipika are indicated with a star (*). The 10 mudras and bandhas described in the Shiva-Samhita are indicated
with a cross (+).
GAZING (drishti) at the middle of the eyebrows is called bhru-madhya-drishti (“mid-brow gazing”) and is performed
in mudras marked with an up-triangle(▲). “WATER-PIPE SEAL” (jalandhara-bandha) is performed in the
mudra/bandha marked with a square (■).
NAME (Sanskrit) |
English |
Result |
Method |
| 1. ASHVINI-MUDRA | “Dawn-horse seal” | Invigorates the body, cures diseases of the rectum, and helps awaken Kundalini-shakti | Contract and dilate the anal sphincter muscle repeatedly |
| 2. BHUJANGINI-MUDRA | “Serpent seal” | Destroys all stomach diseases | Extend the neck a little forward and draw in air through the esophagus. |
| 3. JALANDHARA- BANDHA*+ |
“Water-pipe lock” | Closes the 16 adharas (vital parts); destroys death; “he who practices for six months, becomes an adept without doubt” | Press the chin and the top of the sternum bone together. The 16 vital parts are the: thumbs, ankles, knees, thighs, prepuce, organs of generation, navel, heart, neck, throat, palate, nose, middle of the eyebrows, forehead, head, fontanelle (brahma-randhra). |
| 4. KAKI-MUDRA | “Crow seal” | Destroys all disease | Shape the mouth like a crow's beak and then suck in air. |
| 5. KHECARI-MUDRA*+▲ | “Space-walking seal” | Destroys disease, decay and death; the body becomes divine, it cannot be “burned by fire, nor dried up by the air, nor wetted by water, nor bitten by snakes, it becomes “beautiful”; samadhi is quickly attained | Sit in Vajrasana. Close the “holes of the nostrils opening into the mouth” with the tip of the tongue (thus stopping inspiration). |
| The next three bandhas must be performed together (in the order 7, 6, 8). “These three are the great secrets” (HYP 3.30): | |||
| 8. MAHA-VEDHA*+■ | “Great piercer” | Destroys decay and death | Sit in maha-bandha and restrain the breath (after exhalation) with jalandhara-bandha. Then, with the support of the hands, lift off the ground and gently tap the ground with the buttocks several times. |
| 9. MANDUKI-MUDRA | “Frog seal” | The body retains “perpetual youth” | Press the tip of the tongue against the palette. |
| 10. MATANGINI-MUDRA | “Elephant seal” | Destroys decay and death, confers great strength “like an elephant” (Gheranda) | Stand in neck-deep water. First draw in water through the nostrils and expel it out the mouth; then draw in water through the mouth and expel it through the nostrils. |
| 11. MULA-BANDHA*✝ | “Root seal” | Destroys decay; controls prana | Press the left heel against the anus and contract the rectum (ashvini-mudra); press the intestines near the navel against the spine; press the right heel against the pubis. |
| 12. NABHO-MUDRA | “Ether seal” | Destroys all disease | “In whatever business a Yogi may be engaged, wherever he may be, let him always keep his tongue turned upwards (towards the soft palate), and restrain the breath (Gheranda). Similar to khecari-mudra (5). |
| 13-17. PANCHA-DHARANA (“Five concentrations”). These are listed in the order of density of elements, earth being the densest element, ether the most subtle: | |||
| 13. PARTHIVI-MUDRA | “Earthy seal” (also called adho-dharana) | Conquers the “Earth” and causes steadiness | |
| 14. AMBHASI-MUDRA | “Watery seal” | Destroys all sorrows | |
| 15. AGNEYI-MUDRA | “Fiery seal” | Destroys death | |
| 16. VAYAVI-MUDRA | “Air seal” | Destroys decay and death | |
| 17. AKASHI-MUDRA | “Ethereal seal” (also called nabho-dharana) | Destroys death | |
| 18. PASHINI-MUDRA | “Bird-catcher seal” | Awakens Kundalini | Wrap the legs around the neck, like yoga-nidrasana (“Yoga sleep”). |
| 19. SHAKTI-CALANI-MUDRA+ | “Stirring-the-power seal” | Destroys decay and death | Sit in siddhasana. There are two different descriptions of this seal. Rub the body with ashes and wrap the loins with a soft, white cloth, one cubit long and three inches wide. Restrain the inhalation, perform ashvini-mudra. Completes yoni-mudra (Gheranda). Sit in vajrasana, inhale through the right nostril and restrain the breath. Hold the ankles (Svatmarama). |
| 20. SHAMBHAVI-MUDRA*▲ | “Shambhu”s seal” | “He who knows this Shambhavi . . . is Brahma (GS 3.66) | Fix the gaze between the eyebrows. |
| 21. TADAGI-MUDRA | “Tank seal” | Destroys decay and death | Sit in paschimottanasana and hollow the abdomen like a “tank.” |
| 22. UDDIYANA-BANDHA* | “Flying-up lock” | The “Great Bird” forced up into the sushumna; makes emancipation easy; conquers death | Forcefully contract the abdomen and press the viscera up towards the diaphragm and back towards the spine. |
| 23. VAJRONI-MUDRA | Sometimes VAJROLI “Thunderbolt” |
Awakens Shakti, causes long life, emancipation | Sit with legs raised, hands on ground (looks like paripurna navasana with hands on floor). |
| 24. VIPARITA-KARANI-MUDRA+* | “Inverse action seal” | Destroys decay and death; yogi will not “perish even at Pralaya” (i.e. dissolution of the universe) | Perform Headstand. Sometimes describes as Shoulderstand. |
| 25. YONI-MUDRA | “Perineal seal” | Never polluted by sins | |
| 26. UDDANA-BANDHA | “Upward lock” | Destroys sins, sorrows, disease and death; purifies the navel (and thereby the “winds”), and kindles gastric fire; gives vigraha-siddhi (“power over the microcosm”) | Described only in Shiva-Samhita. The viscera below and above the navel are brought to the left side above the navel. |