Yoga of the Hands & Songs of the Soul: Light Me Up

Yoga of the Hands & Songs of the Soul

Week 4: Light Me Up

Vajra Mudra & Hanuman Mantra

"God is not a judgmental giant sitting up in heaven, it's the force within us all - we are lightbulbs in the electrical system of the Universe."
~ Sarah Macdonald quoting an elderly woman, Gayatri, in her book Holy Cow (pg144)

After I read this quote I had to put my book down and sit for awhile ~ this is exactly how I've tried to describe my spiritual belief but never had heard it put so perfectly.  Whether you come to Yoga for the spiritual or purely the physical, there is no denying the light, the energy, and fire within that lights us up.

We start to access that electricity when we arrive in the 3rd chakra, Manipura, which is our personal power company. Most of the time the Manipura is heating the upper chakras encouraging our heart to open, our voice to be heard, our intuition to be keen, and our spirit to soar. When we invert the Manipura turns it power to heat our digestive juices, encourage elimination, enliven our sexuality, and heat our home fires. Through the work of chakra three we are liberating our personal fire to create our light in the grid of the Universe.


These words illustrate the Manipura Chakra: lustrous gem, solar plexus, fire, agni, plasma, will, will power, personal power, laughter, joy, anger, pancreas, adrenals, muscles, ulcers, diabetes, hypoglycemia, yellow, Ram, iron, starches, "I can", gut feeling, summer, karma, amber, topaz, and rajas. (Wheels of Life)

Vajra Mudra, the Gesture of the Fiery Thunderbolt

Curl the middle, ring, and pinky fingers toward the palm, extend the index finger, press the thumb side of the middle finger nail.

The thumb represents the solar plexus, fire, vitality, the will, and instinctiveness. The Vajra mudra stimulates drive and lifts listlessness.  Use as needed up to 3 times a day for 5 minutes. Pay attention to your reactions to gauge the correct amount.

I would recommend Vajrasana, Thunderbolt Pose (kneeling) as an excellent seated pose for this meditation. If knees are an issue place a block under your seat for comfort.  In Vajrasana the chakras line up with the greatest of ease. While seated lift the waist up out of the hips to open the solar plexus nicely, don't squelch your fire by collapsing through the middle. 

And who better than to help us build personal power? None other the mighty Hanuman whose great leap of faith carried him over the ocean to save his Lord Rama's wife Sita:

OM Ham Hanumate Namah
(alt version: OM Shri Hanumate Namah)

Here's the breakdown:
OM: being the sound of the Universe serves as Hail
Ham or Shri: A title of reverence like your honor, your highness.
Hanumate: a derivation of Hunuman requesting the essence of his being for our being (see qualities below) 
Namah: a salutation, a verbal bow.

Hanuman represents the divine force, Prana, the energy carried by the breath that gives us life. This mantra protects against negative energy and dark forces that want to put out your fire.

(Resources:Chakra Mantras: Liberate Your Spiritual Genius Through Chanting, Chakra Tonics: Essential Elixirs for the Mind, Body, and Spirit, Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands, and The Sivananda Companion to Meditation: How to Master & Achieve Transcedence)