Menstrual pain can be debilitating. Often, in order to avoid the pain and not have it obstruct important work, we resort to anti-spasmodic pills, which may not be the best thing for our health in the long run. But what possibly is the alternative? The answer or the relief lies in the ancient science of Mudras or hand gestures, which is part of Yoga.
These very simple hand gestures or Mudras are extremely simple to practice and they do not demand you to sit in a lotus posture and meditate upon them. Most Mudras can be practiced while lying down, sitting or even listening to music. It has very few rules. It goes without saying, that these mudras are even more effective when practiced along with breathing practices like Ujjayi breath or deep breaths. But even in a normal breath, it shows results.
Mudras are a healing modality. The Sanskrit word mudra is translated as a gesture. A mudra generally involves the tips of the fingers and placement of the fingers in a certain fashion to give the desired result in balancing the three Doshas. Mudras, when used with breathing exercises, increase the flow of life force in the body, leaving you feeling energized and relaxed even after a long haul.
Nadis Or Energy channels As The Circuit And Mudras As The Switches
Human body is known to have more than 1,72,000 Nadis or energy channels. It is similar to an electrical circuit. According to ancient texts and treatise on Yoga, when these Nadis, pathways of Prana or life force, get blocked, we feel different kinds of emotional and physical pain. So how can we free these blockages? Here, Mudras can be our greatest friend in bringing relief from the pain most naturally without necessarily having to pop pills at the slightest rise in pain.
According to Dinesh Ghodke, a very senior Art of Living faculty, youth icon, author and a Yogi, “Mudras are like electrical switches,” Just how when we put on the switch, the fan or light comes on because the current goes in a different circuit, similarly changing the positions of the hands makes the Prana flow in different parts and open up those nadis, says Ghodke in this talk, So the pain is automatically relieved.
There are 5 most prominent mudras which are known to help substaintially during the menstrual pain. A group of 400 girls and women tried these mudras for a given duration of time and the results have been conclusive. They reported better flow, reduced pain and also they did not need to take anti-spasmodic pills.
Few Rules That Can Be Followed While Practicing The Mudras-
- Sit or be in one place while doing mudras, ideally.
- You don’t really need to meditate while doing mudras. Just observing the breath and the sensations is good enough, if possible.
- You can be doing anything while doing mudras-watching TV, movies, or listening to music. But relax the hands and keep them loose.
- Hold each Mudra for 4-5 minutes.
- Should be practiced twice a day during your periods and once a day during PMS days, to have more regular, smooth and pain free periods.
The Five Mudras For Menstrual Pain Relief
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Vata Naashak Mudra
For this, we put the tips of the index and middle finger at the base of the thumb and the thumb gently sits on the folded fingers. Stretch out the little finger and the ring finger. They are together and we gently place them on the thighs and relax.
2. Surya Mudra
We gently fold the ring finger, and we rest the thumb on the nail of the ring finger and putting the palms on the thighs we relax.
3. Shakti Mudra
Fold the first two fingers over the thumb, and touch the tips of the ring finger and little finger and place the hands in front of our navel.
4. Maha Sacral Mudra 1
We join the tips of our thumb and the little finger and then we join both of these together and again place them in front of our navel.
5. Maha Sacral Mudra 2,
For this, we bring the tip of our thumb and ring fingers together and we join both the thumbs and ring finger and place them in front of the navel.
Additional Ayurvedic Tips That Can Be Useful To Reduce Menstrual Pain-
A) Right food– During these three days, avoid meat. It could aggravate emotional turbulence.
B) Do away with White sugar. It can create havoc for the system. Avoid them during these three days most definitely. It is likely to be slightly tougher to follow this because the craving would be more. It is advisable to have jaggary or dates or other dry fruits to douse the sugar craving.
C) Mantra chanting like Om Namah Shivay or Ram Chants help keep your mind calm and stable during the periods, giving your nervous system deep meaningful rest, since the body tends to be generally more tired than the other days.
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