Samana Vayu Mudra- Procedure and Benefits
According to the Yoga principles, the prana (life energy) is the force which makes a person alive. That’s why it is also known as life force. Prana comprises of the breath that we take in through the nostril and the energy that circulates within the body through various channels.
This life energy can be further classified into 5 categories depending upon their direction of movement, their functioning and the body organs that they affect:
- Prana vayu
- Apana vayu
- Samana vayu
- Udana vayu
- Vyana vayu
Samana Vayu- In brief
Samana is a Sanskrit word which means balance. Vayu means air or energy.
The samana vayu is the balancing air that moves from the periphery towards the center of the body and concentrated at the naval.
Samana vayu aids in the overall digestion, absorption and assimilation process as below:
- Digestion– It helps the gastrointestinal organs to digest the food that you eat. That’s why it is also known as the digestive breath.
- Absorption– It helps the lungs to absorb the air that you breathe in.
- Assimilation– It helps the mind to assimilate and digest all sorts of thoughts and experiences for inner peace, harmony and self confidence.
Read more: Vajrasana after meals to improve digestion
Read more: Apana mudra for body detox and constipation
Samana Vayu Mudra
Samana vayu mudra aims to maintain optimum samana vayu in the body. It is a simple hand yoga exercise that balances all the five elements of the body- Fire, air, water, earth and space.
As per the Yoga and Ayurveda philosophy, the human body is composed of the five elements and these five elements can be represented by the fingers of our hands as below:
These five elements further govern the doshas in our body- vata, pitta and kapha.
These five elements should remain in balance for optimum health and vitality. Imbalance in one or more of these elements is the root cause of all the health problems.
Samana vayu mudra, also known as balancing energy mudra, balances all these five elements and the corresponding three doshas.
How to do Samana Vayu mudra
All the fingertips should touch the tip of the thumb.
As all the five fingers (representing five elements) come into contact with each other, all the elements get balanced. The touching of fingertips with the thumb stimulates the body’s magnetic field and a tremendous amount of electromagnetic current flows which impart a healing effect and balances the samana vayu.
You can practice samana vayu mudra in any posture- sitting, walking, standing or lying. But, for best results, practice this mudra in the sitting position. Just sit in the sukhasana (easy cross-legged position), close your eyes, keep your spine straight and practice this mudra for 15 minutes. You can practice this mudra at any time of the day, but, practicing it around 2 hours before or after the meals bring best results.
Don’t over practice. Just 10-15 minutes a day is sufficient. For chronic problems, it can be practiced up to 30 minutes- 2 sessions of 15 minutes each.
Other names of Samana vayu mudra
- Tri-dosha nashak mudra
- Mukul mudra
- Sukri mudra
Samana vayu mudra benefits
- It stimulates the digestive fire for optimum digestion and smooth body metabolism.
- Improves liver health
- Relieves indigestion, bloating and flatulence
- Helpful to treat loss of appetite
- Improves concentration
- Balances all the five elements and the three doshas
- Makes your mind-body strong from inside to promote self confidence, clarity of thoughts and self esteem
- Touching of all the fingers and thumb together generates tremendous energy within a few minutes. So, if any of the body part is damaged or needs healing, just touch your fingers (in the samana vayu mudra pose) to that body part and imagine that all this energy is flowing in that body organ to provide the instant healing effect.
Read more: Vayu mudra for gastric problems
References
http://www.wisdom.srisriravishankar.org/what-is-prana-life-force-energy/
https://vedanet.com/2012/06/13/secrets-of-the-five-pranas/
