अञ्जलि मुद्रा
Also known as: Pranam Mudra, Namaste Mudra, Prayer Position
Anjali (अञ्जलि) means 'offering' or 'to honor'
The hands have a disproportionately large area of representation in the brain's sensory and motor cortices, a concept visualized by the cortical homunculus.
A mudra holds the fingers in a specific, sustained posture, creating a stable and precise pattern of neural input from the hand to the brain.
This focused neural circuit influences brainwave activity and helps regulate the autonomic nervous system, allowing you to consciously shift your psychological and energetic state towards a desired quality like calmness or focus.
Both palms pressed together at heart center
Hold during prayer or as needed
Beginner
Highlighted fingers indicate active contact points
HAND(LEFT) PALM(INWARD) WRIST(STRAIGHT) T: STRAIGHT 1: STRAIGHT 2: STRAIGHT 3: STRAIGHT 4: STRAIGHT FINGERS(TOGETHER) HAND(RIGHT) PALM(INWARD) WRIST(STRAIGHT) T: STRAIGHT 1: STRAIGHT 2: STRAIGHT 3: STRAIGHT 4: STRAIGHT FINGERS(TOGETHER) # Both palms pressed together at heart center
This is humanity's most universal gesture of reverence, appearing across cultures from Christian prayer to Buddhist namaste to Hindu anjali. Bring your palms together at heart center with fingers pointing upward. Let your thumbs lightly touch your sternum (traditional texts associate thumbs with the 'fire' element at your heart center). Keep your shoulders relaxed and feel the natural symmetry between left and right hands....
Traditional texts describe this as "harmonizing the nervous system" and "creating centered awareness" — their terms for how pressing palms together activates the parasympathetic nervous system's balancing functions. Practitioners often report that this universal gesture helps develop what ancient sources called "reverent consciousness" — a calm, centered state that can support genuine respect, gra
Bring your palms together at heart center in prayer position, thumbs lightly touching your sternum. Keep fingers straight and naturally together, pointing upward. Let shoulders settle away from ears. Notice immediately how this simple gesture centers your attention at the heart. Feel the symmetry between right and left sides of your body. Observe how your breath naturally deepens when palms connect. Many people experience increased calm within 30 seconds. Silently sound OM NAMAH ("I bow to the divine within") as you hold this position. Stay for 1-5 minutes, then gently separate palms and notice the warmth that remains between them.
Traditional texts describe this as representing the balance of opposites - receptive and active aspects of consciousness meeting at the heart center. Ancient practitioners used this gesture to create what they called an 'energetic balance' between the hands while centering awareness at the heart.