Mudras of India: A Comprehensive Guide to the Hand Gestures of Yoga and Indian Dance

For thousands of years hand mudras have been used in India for healing, storytelling, emotional expression, and to evoke and convey elevated spiritual states. For the first time, the elaborate system of mudras-as applied in yoga and Indian dance-has been organized into a comprehensive, fully-indexed and cross-referenced format that allows readers access to this still esoteric body of knowledge.

Mudras of India presents over 200 photographed hand mudras each with detailed instructions on technique, application, health and spiritual benefits and historical background. The authors have extensively researched the usage of mudras and their significance in the larger context of Indian spiritual systems, and taken painstaking efforts to ensure each mudra is rendered with correct Sanskrit name, transliteration and translation to English. A new chapter that comprehensively lists the benefits of hand mudras, covering major health concerns as well spiritual and psycho-energetic categories, has been added for the paperback edition.

The book will appeal to spiritual seekers, students and teachers of yoga and Indian Dance, scholars and lay people, and anyone interested in the rich cultural heritage of Indian mudras, and the transformative effects of these powerful hand gestures.

ISBN-13: 9781848191099

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Publication Date: 05-28-2013

Pages: 344

Product Dimensions: 7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.00(d)

Cain Carroll teaches yoga, qigong, meditation and self-healing worldwide. He has trained extensively under the guidance of Daoist, Buddhist and Indian Yoga masters. His journeys have taken him to remote areas of India, China, Nepal, Tibet, Thailand and South America, where he received private instruction in many rare and powerful practices. Cain is co-author of Partner Yoga and creator of three self-healing DVDs. His website can be visited at www.caincarroll.com. Revital Carroll has been dedicated to the study of Indian spiritual arts since childhood. Intensive study and practice of yoga and meditation in the Himalayas led her to discover her passion for Odissi Indian Dance. She is the creator of three instructional DVDs and she offers classes, workshops and performances worldwide. Visit www.shaktibhakti.com for more information.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Dr. David Frawley. Acknowledgments. Sanskrit Pronunciation Guide: Standard Academic Transliteration. Introduction: The History and Heritage of Mudras. Getting Started. The Mudras. Benefits of Hand Mudras. Appendix A: Energy Anatomy. Appendix B: The Gayatri Mudras. Appendix C: Dance Mudra Sets. Endnotes. Glossary. Bibliography. About the Authors. Index.