Yoni Mudra: Developing Pratyahara

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In Yoni Mudra, the ears, eyes, nose, and mouth are closed with the fingers to develop sensory withdrawal, or pratyahara. Pratyahara combined with dharana, concentraction, are the two components that make up dhyana, or meditation. To withdraw from our senses, we disallow outside distractions such as sight, sounds, and smells to take us away from our point of concentration. I also define it as allowing ourselves space and time to meditate. 

Before I dive into this mudra, I want put a disclaimer on it: this is a powerful mudra that works quickly; if you're claustrophobic or have a very busy mind it may be a overwhelming at first. You can start with just a few breaths and build up to longer. 

My initial reaction to Yoni mudra, was "holy crap I can't breathe!" Duh, my nose and mouth were closed off! So, please let me get that out of the way for you. I am slightly claustrophobic and I found that challenging for the first couple of times I practiced it. To help alleviate tension before taking Yoni, I take several deep breathes to soothe myself . 

Also, in the spirit of full disclosure here, if you love makeup like I do, do this prior to putting mascara on.

As for breathing while in Yoni mudra, the middle fingers are used to retain and release the nostrils for inhale and exhale. My preference is to use nadi shodhana, or alternate nostril breath, as opposed to opening and closing both nostrils at once. For me opening and closing both sides at once is a jarring. Do try both ways and see what is best for you.

The purpose of this mudra is to deeply listen in: you will hear your heart beating and your breath amplified. Over time, you may hear music or sounds of the Universe such as OM. I liken the experience to living inside a conch shell.

Now that I have been working with it for a couple of weeks, I have found that Yoni mudra produces a jump start to my meditative state and is very soothing. I notice a heightened awareness and clarity in my hearing, yet sound is not distraction during my seated meditation afterwards.

To practice Yogi mudra, prepare a quiet space where you are comfortable with cushions and/or blankets to sit on. Move through your spine, shoulders and neck to loosen up. Take several deep belly breaths exhaling through the mouth then move into a more natural rhythm.

• Thumbs: close off your ears blocking out sound
• Index fingers: place your finger tips over your closed eyelids
• Ring fingers: place your finger tips right over your upper lip slightly pressing down
• Pinky fingers: place your pinkies just under your lower lip slightly pressing upwards.
• Inhale and place your middle fingers on the sides of your nose closing the nostrils. Retain the breath for as long as is comfortable.
• Release the middle fingers and gently exhale, replace the middle fingers on the nose retaining the exhale for as long as is comfortable.  
• Repeat the inhales and exhales for as long as you can remain relaxed. Focus on the sound of your breath and your heart beating. Listen.
• To end, release your middle fingers and exhale deeply. Release your hands to your lap, keeping the eyes closed, and simply sit with your breath for as long as you like.

I have gone very slowly building up my endurance with this mudra: I started with working through 3 breaths, now I can sit with it for several minutes. Even though that doesn't seem like long, it is profoundly effective and gets me to a meditative state much more quickly.

If you try Yoni mudra or already use it, please reply with your results, I'd love to hear your experiences.

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