Opportunistic repurposing is life’s recurring theme, as our own evolutionary story demonstrates. Our flexible, upright S-shaped spines, and mobile shoulder-blades, evolved for holding onto branches above and below, repurposed for walking on the ground. Our strong, mobile arms and hands repurposed for cradling, throwing, pounding, digging, defending and attacking.
“Those with open hearts, always have open hands”
Rumi
When we are stressed, when we are angry, blood flows to the hands; when we are fearful to the feet; the fight or flight pathways expressing themselves with or without our awareness. The Yogins, those masters of self-observation, discovered that the effect of thoughts and emotions on the body did not flow in only one direction; acting on the hands with purpose could have powerful effects on mind and heart. They discovered that mudras(hand postures), rich in symbolic meaning, combined with asana (posture and movement), pranayama (breath practices) and meditation can bring strength and lightness to the heart. And they found safe ways to invert the body and strengthen the wrists, in poses such as Adho Muka Svanasana (dog pose), challenging the circulation using gravity, helping reduce the likelihood of neurovascular disease, as modern research has uncovered.
Come and free the hands and heart with me!
Sources:
De Silva, Jeremy. First Steps. Harper, 2021
Ekman et al. (1983). Autonomic nervous system activity distinguishes among emotions., Science, Vol. 221, p.1208-10
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1038/jcbfm.2015.49