Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the theme of new beginnings and re-emergence. Amazingly, there are many mudras to help us move into new beginnings with grace and an open heart.
What I’m sensing at this time, for myself and others – since the relaxation of pandemic restrictions – is that life has gone up a notch. There are more demands than ever on all of us. Was it like this pre-COVID? Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, it feels to me that like never before, we are being pulled in many different directions, no matter what life stage we find ourselves in.
Apan mudra is a beautiful, multifaceted mudra that assists and nourishes us as we move into a new phase of our lives…
Our re-emergence has also brought us much joy. We have celebrated reuniting with friends and loved ones. We can travel again and are free to do whatever we wish. It’s a time of refocusing the charter of our life, and acting with fresh impulse and energy.
Symbolically, I feel this current phase is like we are butterflies splitting the chrysalis and unfolding our wings. Having endured a period of restriction and preparation, we are beginning to fly free. We are filled with possibility and unlimited potential. With enough focus, work and patience, our dreams can now become a reality.
Apan Mudra
Apan mudra is a beautiful, multifaceted mudra that assists and nourishes us as we move into a new phase of our lives. The key themes of this mudra include: Springtime, new beginnings, balancing opposites, serenity, clear vision, energy, removal of toxins.
How to perform the mudra: using both hands, bring your thumbs, middle and ring fingers together and extend the remaining fingers. As part of a meditative practice, this mudra engenders a deep sense of peace. Ideally, hold the mudra for between 5 to 15 minutes.
Infuse Apan mudra with a conscious breath. Even just one breath with awareness, activates the vagus nerve. The longest cranial nerve in the body, it bolsters the immune system, reduces inflammation and improves mental health. By activating the vagus, you switch on your parasympathetic nervous system, which in turn slows your heart down, sending signals throughout your body to relax and settle. It counteracts your fight / flight response. Working with this nerve is vital to build resilience in your body and mind.
Image by Jkwchui, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Read more about yogic practices for vagal toning HERE.
How to Breathe into New Beginnings
Take a deep, relaxed breath into the belly; hold for a moment, then release the air, visualising it moving up the body, all the way out through the top of your head, like a fountain of energy releasing into the atmosphere above, beyond and all around you. Do this a few times before you return to your normal breathing.
The conscious breath is a tool that will support your exploration of mudras. Working with the breath and Apan mudra, you open yourself to intuitive messages guiding you forward on your life path. From this inner space, view your life from a fresh perspective. A recalibration is taking place on many levels of being.
In truth, we each have the ability to emerge anew each and every day.
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below, about how you’re dealing with re-emergence at this time, and if anything I’ve shared resonates with you.
Love and mudras,
Explore more mudra goodness:
- How do Mudras Work?
- What are Mudras?
- Yoga Mudras for Immunity
- Energy in your Hands
- Mudra for Focus, Intuition & Balancing Energy
- Sign up to my newsletter
Please note: mudras are simple ancient tools for exploring energies of heart, mind and body and are not presented here as an alternative to professional medical advice.
2 Responses
Dear Emma,
How wonderful to see you ‘re-emerging’ with your latest blog post and newsletter. It is very timely, as you have said, we are all still in the process of returning to ‘normal’ life, after a challenging, enforced period of ‘time out’ on many levels.
Apan mudra feels fantastic to do, and is so right for this time of new beginnings and rediscovering ourselves and what we are to do and achieve with our lives.
Thank you!
Hi Steve! Thank you for taking the time to comment on this post. I’m really happy to hear that ‘Apan’ mudra is speaking to you. It’s such a beautiful mudra to work with at times of change and new beginnings 🙂