Mudras: Ancient Gestures to Ease Modern Stress

Developing techniques for coping with the irritations and anxiety that are part of even daily life is an important wellness strategy, especially for parents and those who work with children. That’s why Parenting Press has introduced this book on mudras.

These simple movements, the gestures that we often make unconsciously, can help us focus on our work, calm ourselves, release anger and energize us, believes author Emily Fuller Williams, a massage therapist who began researching mudras several years ago.

Used for centuries by many different cultures, mudras are seen in Eastern dance and meditation, in ancient Egyptian friezes, even in Byzantine icons of Christ. Most of us use them today, too: we wave goodbye, we press a hand to our chest in distress, we wriggle our fingers to release energy, or press fingertips together to calm ourselves.

Easy to learn, mudras can be done anywhere, at any time: at traffic lights, in meetings, in airplanes, when we’re arguing, when we’re grieving, when we need to prepare for sleep. The word “mudra” can be translated from the Sanskrit as “that which brings inner peace,” and that’s what mudras are: a physical means of quieting our bodies.