Home Mudra Ashwini Mudra Practice and Its Benefits

Ashwini Mudra Practice and Its Benefits

By Denis on May 22, 2012
Ashwini Mudra Meaning
Before we talk aout the ashwini mudra !ractice, lets define its meanin"# Ashwa means
$horse% in Sanskrit, and mudra is a $gesture% or $sign% ut this doesn&t say much aout
what ashwini 'as(ini, ash(ini) mudra is# *he real meanin" of it lies in its definition+ the
!ractice of a rhythmic contraction of anal s!hincter, which allows directin" the !rana
'a!ana) flow u!ward the s!ine throu"h the main ener"y channel called sushumna# In yo"a
ashwini mudra is a e"inners techni,ue, which means it&s relati(ely easy, and !recedes
some other techni,ues such as mula andha or (a-roli mudra#
Mudras are used alon" with andhas to enhance the !ractice of yo"a#
*he asic techni,ue for the mudra is !retty sim!le, ut it ne(ertheless is !owerful and
makes the mudra one of the essential !arts of many internal yo"a !ractices, such as mula
andha or (i!arita karani mudra. it is not uncommon to see !ractice of ashwini mudra
and (a-roli mudra done to"ether# *he (ery similar techni,ue is used in /i"on" 0 Iron
1hirt to fill the internal or"ans with !rana to make them healthier and more resistant to
the e2ternal influences and dama"es#
How to Do Ashwini Mudra
3irst of all you need to take an asana or yo"a !ose#
4hile the est !ose for such !ractices is considered to e the lotus !ose or !admasana,
you can also do well with some sim!ler !oses# 3or e2am!le, it can e siddhasana or
(a-rasana. you can e(en use sukhasana as an ashwini mudra asana#
5nce you "ot into the !osture, rela2 for a minute, reathin" freely and dee!ly# *hen
inhale fully 'es!ecially fillin" the lower !art of the lun"s), hold your reath, and contract
the anal s!hincter muscles with a 162 seconds inter(al# 3or men there should e 7
contractions, and for women 0 8# *his is due to the differences etween men and women
!hysiolo"y# *hese numers desi"nate the a(era"e ,uantity of anal muscles contractions
re,uired to !ush the !rana from the !el(is to the head# *ry to com!letely rela2 the anal
muscles etween the contractions#
4hy you need doin" this and what enefits you can "et from this horse !ose, I&ll descrie
later# 9ow we&ll e talkin" more on ashwini mudra reath and other details#
5:, you are holdin" your reath, and ha(e made the re,uired numer of contractions.
now, !ress your chin a"ainst the ottom of the neck, touch the !alate with the ti! of your
ton"ue and start releasin" your reathe 'e2halin"), then release the mudra, and after that
slowly raise your head# *he success in this !ractice comes when your feel like shi(erin"
wa(e "oes throu"h your ody# *his wa(e is actually the !rana which has een stimulated
y your !ractice# ;ou can re!eat it <68 times or as much as you want 0 -ust don&t
o(erstress yourself, as the alance is the key to success in e(erythin"#
Ashwini Mudra Benefits
How im!ortant ashwini mudra in yo"a= How can you enefit from it=
*he mudra works oth e2ternally and internally, or, in other words, on the le(el of the
!hysical ody and on the ener"y le(el#
In a !hysical !lane the asana stimulates the adomen and !el(is area includin"
re!roducti(e and di"esti(e or"ans# *his sim!le !ractice can hel! you "et rid of
consti!ation, deals with diseases of the rectum and hemorrhoids, and can im!ro(e your
se2ual health# 1ince it stimulates the !rana flow toward the u!!er !art of the ody, it
slows down the a"in" !rocess and im!ro(es the health in "eneral# It also makes your
ody more resistant to diseases if you !ractice this yo"a mudra re"ularly#
5n a more sutle le(el, it increases the awareness, makes your mind more !eaceful, "i(es
more ener"y, and can e(en im!ro(e your mood#
If you are thinkin" aout doin" ashwini mudra durin" !re"nancy, then it is !ossile to
some e2tent, ut I cannot "i(e you a clear ad(ice here, since it may re,uire the !ersonal
attendance and a conclusion of your doctor on your current condition#
Anyway, the !ractice of ash(ini yo"a mudra is sim!le, safe and (ery effecti(e so there is
no reason why you cannot do it or start learnin" this wonderful yo"a techni,ue
Asvini Mudra
Meaning + As(a 0 horse.
*he mo(ement of anus is -ust like a horse
Procedure:
1,uat on the floor. kee! the !alms and knees se!arated y shoulder distance# 1lowly and
dee!ly inhale# As you e2hale com!letely, contract the anal re"ion, hold it for fi(e counts
and release# 1lowly inhale# >e!eat the ste!s fi(e times
Benefits
Awakens the kundalini shakti
Destroys all diseases of rectum
It "i(es stren"th and (i"or
Ashwini Mudra: Practice and Benefits
*here are (arious s!ellin"s for this mudra+ as(ini, ash(ini, ashwini? It seems that the
most common is the latter one# *he meanin" of ashwini mudra is a horse "esture or si"n#
It is not asana in the full sense, thou"h the mudra is usually !erformed in !admasana or
the lotus !ose# Also it can e done in (i!arita karani, when !racticed within the
framework of kriya yo"a#
Ashwini Mudra Practice
In essence, the !ractice is a rhythmic contraction of anal s!hincter# Althou"h it sounds
sim!le, ne(ertheless it is an im!ortant !art of many ad(anced yo"a !ractices. also
ashwini mudra can ser(e as a mudra for e"inners efore one can !roceed to mula
andha, maha mudra or similar#
What it does?
It is a kind of u!stream !rana re"ulator# It is a common
!ractice for many oriental systems, like /i"on" or *aoist yo"a# But whiche(er !ractice
you take, the !ur!ose of the mudra is usually the same+ to !um! !rana into internal
or"ans to !re!are them for hi"her techni,ues or !ractices# Also ashwini mudra can make
your or"ans healthy, and more resistant to unfa(orale conditions and dama"es#
Ashwini Mudra: How to Do It
Ashwini mudra is a !art of mula andha and it forces
!rana to come u!ward the s!ine ecause of se,uential contraction and rela2ation of anal
s!hincter# 4ith each !ush 'contraction) !rana raises to a certain le(el# *he !rocess is
somewhat different for men and women due to the difference in their !hysiolo"y#
In order to rin" the flow of !rana to the to! of the head, women need to com!lete 8
contractions of anal muscles. men should do 7 contractions# 5nce you "et e2!erienced
enou"h, you can do it with a sin"le contraction, it does not matter man or woman you are#
1o for women it is recommended to do 8 contractions 0 this would e one cycle 0 and for
men 0 7 contractions#
How to judge you did it right? *he feelin" of u!stream flow of !rana is the si"n. you
will feel that shi(ers run from the ottom of the s!ine and alon" it to the to! of your head#
1o, you inhale, hold your reath, do the re,uired numer of contractions, then you rela2
the anal muscles, ut do not release the ashwini mudra yet after you done the last
contraction. kee! it for a little while instead, then e2hale, and while releasin" the mudra
try to feel how !rana after reachin" the to! of your head, "oes down throu"h your
muscles, ones and or"ans, and as it "athers in the areas a little elow the na(el#
If you cannot feel the stream of !rana clearly, do nahi mudra 'touchin" the !alate with
the ti! of your ton"ue)# ;ou can also do some forward circle mo(ements with your
shoulders to increase the feelin" of the !rana flow# >e!eat the whole !rocess se(eral
times#
Ashwini Mudra Asana
Any asana or yo"a !ose where the s!ine is u!ri"ht and the ody is free from stresses, is
"ood for ashwini mudra !ractice#
Ashwini Mudra Benefits
In addition to the ao(e6descried !sycho6ener"etic action, Ashwini Mudra is (ery
effecti(e as a thera!eutic a"ent for diseases of the rectum, hemorrhoids, etc# In
con-unction with other e2ercises or yo"a asanas Ashwini6mudra hel!s eliminate
uro"enital diseases, as well as many "eneral disorders#
Ashvini Mudra
@ A2cer!t from The Science of Yoga, !a"e 12B C
In the 1anskrit lan"ua"e, ash(ini means Dhorse6like#D 1o this techni,ue is known as the
D"esture of the horse#D
*he name deri(es from the fact that, after e2!ellin" faeces, the horse contracts and
e2!ands its anus forcefully se(eral times# Ash(ini mudra imitates this "esture, forcin" the
anal s!hincter to contract and rela2 in like fashion#
Ash(ini Mudra in(ol(es the ti"htenin" of the anal s!hincter as well as the contraction of
the !el(ic floor# It rin"s aout an im!ortant awareness and stren"thenin" of the muscles
in this area#
Techniue
4hen tryin" to feel which muscles are in(ol(ed in the ti"htenin" of the anal s!hincter,
sim!ly ima"ine the same sensation that you would feel if tryin" to resist a stron" ur"e to
defecate#
*he techni,ue in(ol(es two distinct efforts, the first ein" the contraction of the anal
s!hincter as a forceful ti"htenin" and !ullin" u!ward of the surroundin" muscles# *his is
followed y a rela2in" of the anal s!hincter muscles and a conscious !ushin" downward
of those same muscles#
*he est !osition to learn this mudra is lyin" on your ack with your knees ent and feet
flat on the floor#
In this !osition, !erform a rhythmic contraction and rela2ation of the anus and
surroundin" muscles of the !el(ic floor in unroken succession, with the minimum
duration of three seconds each for the contraction !hase and the rela2ation !hase#
5nce you ha(e de(elo!ed an awareness of the muscles in(ol(ed, try to !ractice this in a
seated !osition such as (a-ra asana, or sim!le cross6le""ed sukha asana#
Be"in !ractice with a series of fi(e each 'contractions and rela2ations) and increase the
numer and duration as you !ro"ress in the !ractice#
!sing Ashvini Mudra
Ash(ini mudra can e !racticed within se(eral yo"a asanas, such as the followin" tala
asana# It can also e a!!lied in "aruda asana 'to e learned in an later lesson), as well as
in many of the sittin" !ostures#
In all these asanas you can also !ractice the contraction !hase of ash(ini mudra
continuously for u! to fi(e minutes 'meanin" to contract throu"hout the duration of the
asana) with the rela2ation or !ushin" down of the anal s!hincter at the end#
*his techni,ue is more commonly referred to as mula andha, Dthe root lock,D which is
!art of the andha trayam 'the three locks), alon" with -alandhara andha,
"Continued...#
A1H4I9I MED>A A9D ABE9DA9* 1IDDHI1
*he term $Ashwini Mudra% is used ecause it asically resemles the anal re"ion of a
horse# Ancient em!erors used to do a ya"a called, $Ashwamedha ;a"a#% $Ashwa%
means horse# *hey did !oo-as to horses, chanted Fedic mantras, and attained yo"ic
!owers# *hey succeeded in all their (entures# By doin" this ya"a, they !rotected
themsel(es and their countrymen from ne"ati(e forces# *his is called $Ashwamedha
;a"a#% Practisin" Ashwini Mudra e(eryday will rin" $Ashta 1iddhis% 'ei"ht yo"ic
!owers) surely#
P$%&'D!$' :
*o do Ashwini Mudra, sit in Padmasana or 1iddhasana !osture# *hen, close your
eyes# :ee! your hands on your knee -oints# 9ow, slowly inhale and e2hale the
air#
(TA)' I :
1# In the first sta"e of the Mudra, y inhalin" the air dee!ly, you ha(e
to constrict the anal s!hincter muscle and when e2halin", rela2 the
s!hincter muscle#
2# *his is like a horse "ettin" rid of its foccus#
<# *he same !rocedure, we a!!ly here to constrict the anal muscles
for a few seconds and then rela2in" them#
7# Gike this, you can do for 10620 times#
8# *his is sta"e I of Ashwini Mudra and this has to e !ractised in
ordinary reathin"#
(TA)' II :
1# In the second sta"e of Ashwini Mudra, after two or three dee!
reathin", retain the reath, constrict and rela2 the s!hincter
muscles 10 times#
2# *his !rocess of constrictin" and rela2in" the muscles when in
retention state of reath is sta"e II Ashwini Mudra#
<# Do it as lon" as it is !leasurale without any side effects#
7# Don&t strain too much#
AD*A+TA)'(:
By doin" Ashwini Mudra, the "enital or"ans are stren"thened and
$Brahmacharya% is !reser(ed#
*he first centre of the si2 yo"ic centers in the human ody "ets acti(ated#
It con(erts the lower le(el ener"y to u!!er le(el yo"ic ener"y y rin"in" self6
control in us#
It stren"thens the s!hincter muscles of the anus#
Pre(ents !iles and cures the disease#
Brin"s the uterus "radually to a healthy condition#
By !ractisin" silence without talkin", a lot of o2y"en is sa(ed#
In the same way, the Mudra sto!s o2y"en from esca!in" throu"h anus#
It "ets rid of the waste matter y sto!!in" it from mi2in" with ody and cleans the
ody#
In this !rocess, one ac,uires a lot of yo"ic !owers#
*o attain yo"ic li"ht, do this Mudra also#
*his will ele(ate you to the hi"her le(el of consciousness#