Akash Mudra
The middle finger, seat of ether, meets the thumb. Where there is congestion, compression or a sense of being closed in — in the ears, the chest, the heart, the mind — this mudra makes room.
Meaning of the name
The seal of space. Ākāśa is the element of openness — the room in which everything else is able to occur.
How to practise
- 1
Sit comfortably with the spine erect and the crown of the head lightly lifted.
- 2
Touch the tip of the middle finger to the tip of the thumb.
- 3
Extend the index, ring and little fingers, keeping them soft.
- 4
Rest the hands on the knees with the palms upward.
- 5
Breathe slowly into the upper chest, and imagine the space between the ribs widening on each inhalation.
Benefits
- Relieves ear-related complaints: blockage, ringing, pressure and mild hearing loss
- Opens a tight chest and eases the sensation of not being able to take a full breath
- Reduces palpitations and the physical tightness that accompanies grief
- Improves bone strength and calcium assimilation over long practice
- Loosens the jaw, throat and neck, and helps the voice
- Widens perspective when the mind feels trapped in a single problem
What happens in the nervous system
The middle finger is served by the median nerve, whose fibres share spinal segments with the sympathetic supply to the head and neck. Practitioners consistently report an easing of aural fullness and jaw clenching — both mediated by the trigeminal and facial nerves, both highly responsive to reductions in sympathetic drive.
