Modern Rishi

Yoni Mudra (attitude of the womb or source)

Assume a comfortable meditation posture with the head and spine straight.

Place the palms of the hands together with the fingers and thumbs straight and pointing away from the body.

Keeping the pads of the index fingers together, turn the little, ring and middle fingers inwards so that the backs of the fingers are touching.
Interlock the little, ring and middle fingers.

Bring the thumbs towards the body and join the pads of the fingers together to form the base of a yoni or womb shape.

Benefits:

The interlocking of the fingers in this practice created a complete cross-connection of energies from the right hand into the left and vice versa. As well as balancing the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Placing the tips of the index fingers and thumbs together further intensifies the flow of prana.

This mudra makes the body and mind more stable in meditation and develops greater concentration, awareness and internal physical relaxation.

It redirects prana into the body which would otherwise be dispersed through the hands and fingers. The elbows naturally tend to point to the side when performing this mudra which helps open up the chest area.

Variation: Yoni mudra may also be performed by interlocking the middle, ring and little fingers without turning them inward. The thumbs may be crossed in front of the outstretched index fingers, or outstretched with the pads touching towards the body.

Note: The word yoni means ‘womb’ or ‘source’. Yoni mudra invokes the primal energy inherent in the womb or source of creation.

Jnana Mudra and Chin Mudras

Jnana Mudra (psychic gesture of knowledge)

Assume a comfortable meditation posture.
Fold the index fingers so that they touch the inside root of the thumbs. Straighten the other three fingers of each hand so that they are relaxed and slightly apart.

Place the hands on the knees with the palms facing down.
Relax the hands and arms.

Chin Mudra (psychic gesture of consciousness)

Chin mudra is performed in the same way as jnana mudra, except that the palms of both hands face upwards, with the backs of the hands resting on the knees.
Relax the hands and arms.
Sequence: One of these two mudras should be adopted whenever practicing meditation, unless otherwise specified.

Benefits: Jnana mudra and chin mudra are simple but important psycho-neural finger locks which make meditation asanas more powerful. The palms and fingers of the hands have many nerve root endings which constantly emit energy. When the index finger touches the thumb, a circuit is produced which allows the energy that would normally dissipate into the environment to travel back through the body and up to the brain.
When the fingers and hands are placed in the knees, the knees are sensitized, creating another pranic circuit that maintains the redirects prana within the body, In addition placing the hands in the knees stimulates a nadi which runs from the knees, up the inside of the thighs and into the perineum. This nadi is known as gupta or the hidden nadi. Sensitizing this channel helps to stimulate the energies at mooladhara chakra.

When the palms face upward in chin mudra, the chest area is opened up. The practitioner may experience this as a sense of lightness and receptivity, which is absent in the practice of jnana mudra.
Variation: Jnana and chin mudras are often performed with the tip of the thumb and index finger touching and forming a circle. Beginners may find this variation less secure for prolonged periods of meditation, as the thumb and index finger tend to separate more easily when body awareness is lost. Otherwise, this variation is as effective as the basic position.

Practice note: The effect of chin or jnana mudras is very subtle and it requires great sensitivity on the part of the practitioner to perceive the change in consciousness established. With practice, however, the mind becomes conditioned to the mudra and when it is adopted, the signal to enter a meditative state is transmitted.
Note: The word jnana means ‘wisdom’ or ‘knowledge’, and thus jnana mudra is the gesture of intuitive knowledge. Chin, on the other hand, is derived from the word chit or chitta, which means ‘consciousness’. Chin mudra, therefore, is the psychic gesture of consciousness.
Symbolically, the small, ring and middle fingers represent the three gunas or qualities of nature: tamas, stability; rajas, activity and creativity; and sattwa, luminosity and harmony. In order for consciousness to pass from ignorance to knowledge, these three states must be transcended. The index finger represents individual consciousness, the jivatma, while the thumb symbolizes supreme consciousness. In jnana and chin mudras the individual (index finger) is bowing down to the supreme consciousness (the thumb), acknowledging its unsurpassed power. The index finger, however, is touching the thumb, symbolizing the ultimate unity of the two experience and the culmination of yoga.

Moon Breathing:

Moon breathing or Chandra Bhedana Pranayama, vitality cooling breath, is the complementary opposite of Sun Breathing. Its effects on the body are cooling and calming, both physically and psychologically. A physically overactive system can be soothed and tempered, the mind quietened and encouraged to become more introspective. Chandra Bhedana has its primary effect on ida nadi.

The procedure and technique are the same as for Sun Breathings except that the hands and nostril directions are reversed.

Sit in a comfortable meditation posture, such as Padmasana, the Lotus, or half Lotus, with your base vertebra directly on the floor or supported by a cushion. Otherwise, sit comfortably on a straight backed chair. If you wish, rest your right hand on your knee in chin mudra, the psychic gesture of consciousness.
Raise your right hand and place the thumb gently against your right nostril closing it. Inhale slowly and fully through your left nostril. Inhale slowly and fully through your left nostril. Gently close the left nostril with the ring finger of your right hand. When both nostrils are sealed, retain the breath for as long as is comfortable. When you are ready, release the seal on the left nostril and still, closing the right nostril with the thumb, exhale slowly and fully through the left nostril. This is one round.

If you are a novice practitioner, complete ten rounds. Extend this to three to five minutes as you become more proficient.

Safety:
These two pranayams (sun breathing and moon breathing) should not be practiced together on the same day. They exert very different physical, emotional, mental and psychic effects, so should only be applied to address a particular need.

Aims of Yoga🧘‍♂️🧘‍♀️

The practice of Yoga aims at overcoming the limitations of the body. Yoga teaches us that the goal of every individual's life is to take the inner journey to the soul. Yoga offers both the goal and the means to reach it.

When there is perfect harmony between body and mind, we achieve self-realization. Yoga teaches us that obstacles in the path of our self-realization indicate themselves in physical or mental disposition.

When our physical state is not perfect, this causes an imbalance in our mental state, which is known in Sanskrit as "chittavritti".

The practice of Yoga helps us to overcome that imbalance. Yogic asanas, or poses, can cure "vyadhi" or physical ailments, and redress "angamejayatva" or unsteadineas in the body. "Shvasa-prashvasa", which translates as "uneven respiration " - an indication of stress -- is alleviated by the practice of Yoga.

Asanas tone the whole body. They strengthen bones and muscles, coŕrect posture, improve breathing, and increase energy. This physical well-being has a strengthening and calming impact of the mind. Yoga activates all the muscles, bones, and organs of the body. 🧘‍♂️🧘‍♀️

Balasana(Child's pose)

Balasana, release the hips back toward or to the heels, draping the arms onto the floor along the sides of the legs. Bringing the knees wider apart creates an easier release through the hips, easing pressure in the lower back and the knees. Among the most relaxing asanas, Balasana is a place of rest and inner calm. Encourage students to stay with the breath while completely letting go and relaxing deep inside.

Mantra Meditation:

Mantra is the means of energizing healing methods on a subtle or spiritual level. Through mantra we place an energy of Divine sound into healing. We also energize healing methods on a mental or spiritual level with the energy of consciousness. Such mantras can be used energize herbs, to direct Pranayama or to simply encourage healing at a deeper level.

Generally a mantra should be done on a regular basis for several months for its desired effect to take place, which is to alter the nature of the mind and prana, particularly the subconscious mind and it's impulses and instincts which are behind most of our problems in life. One hundred thousand repetitions are recommended for full energization.