Author: Randeep Singh / go to all Techniques of Yoga articles
Akash or Aakash, in Akash Mudra
stands for Ether,
or space surrounding all creation,
Thus the name Akash Mudra.
Space plays a significant role,
as one of the five elements,
in creating the form in which the life exists. For humans,
this form stands for their body.
The ultimate or universal consciousness from which
everything gets created is endless, limitless in its expanse.
One can feel this limitless nature of the universal consciousness while seeing the trajectory of a spacecraft on the TV screen. When a part of this universal space takes some form, due to reasons beyond this article, it encloses a subsection of this universal space within itself; every form – planets, animal body, human body exists in its own subspace. For any creation, it is impossible to exist in three dimensions without the space element being involved.
Both the middle fingers of the two hands represent the space element, as per the theory of basic 5 elements – fire, air, space, earth, water – building up the entire universal forms. Akash Mudra or the hands’ gesture which involves the middle finger being placed against the thumb in a certain formation is known as Akash mudra.
This mudra, or gesture as it means, is used in Ayurveda and Yoga for increasing the space within the human body. When used for medical reasons this mudra can heal, cure a lot of ailments arising due to decreasing space within one’s body. Spiritually it aids with steading the Mind during meditation. This mudra is believed to be uniting the inner space (individual consciousness) with the universal space (universal consciousness), or Atma with Paramatma.
How to do Akash Mudra
- The first requisite for doing Yoga finger mudras is to attain any sitting posture where the spine can be held erect for a longer duration, Vajrasana perfectly fits this requirement
- Bring together the tips of the middle finger and the thumb and let them touch slightly, without any extra force
- The other three fingers are stretched straight and are kept apart
- Rest the hands gestures so formed on the respective knees, with the palms facing up
- Mentally relax, keep the hands tension free and slowly close the eyes
Alignment Essentials, Precautions
- Make sure that the hands with the fingers placed in Akash mudra do not go beyond the limits of the boundaries of the bent knees
- Do not practice Akash mudra while walking or while eating food
- Keep both the hands as steady as possible
Akash Mudra – related to Acupressure
As per the science behind the techniques of acupressure which are related to the existence of Chinese meridians, the tips of the middle fingers have points, acupressure points, which are connected to the sinuses. When these tips are pressed slightly the issues related to the blocked sinuses are healed. Thus there is a correlation between the tips of the middle fingers and the spaces within the body; sinuses being one of them.
Advantages: Benefits of doing Akash Mudra
- Akash mudra creates the healing space within the body by facilitating the flow of toxins in the form of carbon dioxide, urine, feces out of the body, detoxifying it
- It does away with the feeling of heaviness in the body, helping to overcome the uneasiness caused by overeating
- Akash mudra provides comfort from conditions caused by congestions within the body: Sinusitis, migraine, ear diseases like otorrhoea, or ear congestion, or infections in the chest, Asthma etc. it should always be included in the course of yoga for healing sinusitis, and the yoga practices for healthy ears
- Hearing power improves by practicing this finger and hand mudra
- It provides relief from the pain caused by the condition of angina pectoris, normalizes the blood pressure and has a healing effect on the heartbeat
- It helps alleviate anger, sorrows, and fears, tendencies towards untruthfulness, thus cleansing the emotions and the thoughts, thus aiding in meditation
- Akash mudra enhances intuitive powers and alertness, the practitioner can experience vibrations at the top of the scalp ( Sahasrara Cakra)
- The proportion of the calcium in the body gets a boost by practicing Aakash mudra, this heals most of the ailments related to the bones or the skeleton
- Strengthens the teeth and helps with curing the teeth related diseases
- Flipping the middle fingers with the thumbs can relieve the locked jaws sometimes caused due to excessive yawning
- Persons who have lost the sense of balance while walking, climbing can benefit from practicing Akash mudra
- If performed at least for one hour while flying in an airplane, it can prevent the conditions associated with jet lag
- This mudra is good for heart’s health
- General communication, self-expression becomes more fluid by practicing Akash mudra as it impacts the visudhi ( Throat) chakra
- Since the space element gets enhanced by practicing this mudra, the other four elements – air, water, fire, earth – gets more room to expand to their healthy limits within the body, thus Akash mudra can also be practiced in a combination with mudras which positively impact these elements within the body
- Practicing this mudra generates a feeling of completeness in the practitioner
Interesting facts about Akash Mudra
- It is believed that if the beads of a rosary are rotated on the middle finger with the help of the thumb, one gains prosperity, material comfort, and power
- This mudra if practiced at dawn gives enhanced benefits
- This mudra is also known as Akash Vardhak Mudra, as vardhak in Sanskrit means an increase
Duration and repetitions
Practice Akash mudra for a minimum of 30 to 45 minutes daily at a stretch, or three sessions of 15 minutes each day.
For therapeutic reasons, Akash mudra must be practiced daily for 50 minutes.