Ganesha Mudra: Yoga Gesture of Obstacles Remover

Ganesha, the elephant-headed God in Hinduism is worshiped at the beginning of an auspicious event & before worshiping any other God. There are several reasons behind this auspiciousness which leads us to worship Ganesha in distinct ways.

One among several ways, Ganesha mudra practiced in yoga to show gratitude to Lord Ganesha by involving all 20 fingers or 5 elements of our body.

Ganesha is called Vighnaharta, Vighna means ‘Problem’ & Harta means ‘Destroyer’ or ‘Remover’. Hence, Ganesha mudra teaches us how we can dive within to draw strength and courage to solve any problem.

If you want to bring harmony in every aspect of life then all your obstacles can be wiped out by this simple yoga mudra.

Ganesha Mudra: Bonding Heart & Physical Body

Ganesha mudra is a gesture made using both hands (hasta yoga mudra) to strengthen the heart, both physically & emotionally. In this mudra, when both hands are clasped at chest level, it shows the meeting point of the physical and heart strength.

Holding hands together in Ganesha mudra gives:

• A sense of security
• Comfort and reassurance to the heart.
• Also, stimulates love, compassion, and courage; giving a warm feeling of inner joy

This is one of the best soothing mudras, especially when practiced during meditation. Calming mind in meditation along with awareness centered on the heart reduces the chance of heart diseases.

By the practice of Ganesha Mudra, we tell ourselves,

I am the inner consciousness, I identify with the universal life-force within, and it is all that matters.

In this way, we actually build self-confidence & vitality within which eventually helps us to tap on our unlimited strength to remove all the obstacles from our life.

Remover of Obstacles

Ganesha mudra is said to be the remover of all obstacles. It’s because of its working on the heart.

The heart is one of the mystic centers in our body focusing upon which can do wonders for one.

In Ganesha mudra, when we place hands in front of the heart, our focus, both physical and mental, come at the heart center. It can be termed as the opening of the heart chakra.

It’s considered, when the intention to do some work stems from open heart & mind (also called Sankalpa), it’s accepted by the divine. Sankalpa

is about a firm determination to achieve a specific goal which in Hinduism is taken in front of Lord Ganesha.

By the practice of Ganesha mudra, physical efforts are taken to pull chest muscles apart which opens up the blockage of the heart. This mechanism of mudra helps us to keep up the Sankalpa which eventually removes our obstacles.

Ganesha Mudra Performing Guide

Firstly get yourself an open and calm place. Begin with sitting in a comfortable posture such as Sukhasana (easy pose), Padmasana (lotus pose). Relax your body and prepare for the Ganesha Mudra

• Bring your palms together to make Anjali Mudra.
• Hold your left hand before the chest with the palm facing outward and bend the fingers
• Now grasp the left hand with the right hand with the palm facing inward.
• See that both the hands are clasped. Bent fingers are hooked & locked.
• Inhale deep and on exhale vigorously pull the hands apart without releasing the grip.
• Feel the stretch along your shoulders and chest.
• Inhale and let go of the tension.
• Repeat 6 times the entire process
• Now reverse the hand positions and again do the exercise 6 times.

You can practice this mudra for 15 minutes to half an hour daily for optimum results.

Additional Gear

If you want to add some mantra chanting while hands in Ganesha mudra, then chanting Ganesha Mantra is best for centering the thoughts. Chanting can be giving power to the throat chakra as well.

Each time you hold the mudra, Chant

Om Gan Ganapataye Namah

Ganapataye is another name of Lord Ganesha and Namah means ‘I bow down to you in gratitude’.

Visualizing the joyous Lord Ganesha smiling while doing this mudra can help in attracting positivity and removing the obstacle. Let the Law of Attraction work for you!

Affirmation

Affirmation is a process of repeating a positive statement with the cyclic movement. One can practice affirmation while doing mudras and meditation.

In Ganesha Mudra, use the following affirmation:

• While bringing the hands in the clasp position in Ganesha mudra say – “I am happy and full of life.”
• While pulling the hands away from each other say – “ I have a healthy body. I am full of energy”
• While inhaling deep say – “ My heart is full of love. I am love.”

Benefits of Ganesha Mudra

The practitioner will witness the following benefits once they start practicing Ganesha mudra regularly over a period of time.

1. Strengthening of the Anahata Chakra

Practicing of Ganesha Mudra gives strength to the heart, filling it with love, joy, and courage. It helps the practitioner to accept oneself the way they are which fills one with self-confidence.

The warm feeling which gets stimulated while clasping the hands is a point of opening of the heart chakra. The opening of heart chakra makes one more compassionate which helps one to be more humble and grateful towards life.

2. Increased Capacity of the Lungs and Chest

In Ganesha Mudra, the practitioner is exhaling and inhaling while focusing on the correct posture. This makes the lungs and chest clear of toxicity.

Ganesha Mudra helps asthmatic patients to get better. People who suffer asthma should practice Ganesha Mudra daily.

3. Increased Upper-Body Strength

While practicing Ganesha Mudra, you pull your clasped hands in the opposite direction while maintaining a good neck and upper body posture. One feels stretching of the upper body, arms, and neck which builds the upper body muscles giving strength to the arms and back.

4. Improvement in Neck Pain

Due to the stretching of the muscles of the chest, shoulders, and arms, one witnesses a significant improvement in neck pain and spondylitis when one practices this position regularly.

5. Better Metabolism & Digestion

Ganesha Mudra stimulates one of the most important of 5 elements i.e.  Fire element.  Hence, by stimulating the fire element, it also helps in activating the Manipura Chakra and so the belly fire. This helps in better secretion of digestive juices.

6. Boost in Self Confidence

Performing Ganesha Mudra brings improvement in self-confidence and improves mental health. This mudra which represents always joyous Lord Ganesha brings the effervescence of inner joy making the heart and body come into alignment with each other.

It makes the heart feel love and compassion for one own self and others. It helps one reach inward bringing peace calm and evokes self-love which in turn brings a boost in self-confidence and inner healing.

7. Improvement in Overall health

As Ganesha Mudra connects the body and heart together, this is important to achieve overall good health. On regular practice, one witness an overall improvement in mental and physical health.

Precautions – Points to Keep in Mind

To achieve the optimum results while practicing the Ganesha Mudra, you can be cautious keep in mind the following points:

1. Wear loose and comfortable clothes. Cotton clothes are advisable!
2. As you will be sitting in a meditative posture, please try to switch off your mobile phones or any other electrical gadget. Keeping the phone in vibrator mode does not help as it can still vibrate and will cause disturbance and cause hindrance in your concentration.
3. If you have long nails, then please be careful not to cause pain by tightening the grip of your locked hands that it gives pain by putting pressure on your long nails.
4. Do not strain your neck while pushing your head forward.
5. While performing the Ganesha Mudra take deep breaths and release the breath slowly. This will bring peace and calm to your body and mind.
6. Though it is advisable to do this mudra empty stomach, but if you are doing this mudra after consuming food then please keep an hour gap after consuming food.
7. After doing Ganesha Mudra please remain silent for a while.