By Megan Dickerson
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
No matter how much yoga might relax a pro, for a novice it can
be a little like new-age torture. My limbs just aren’t
supposed to bend that way, you might say. Unitards bunch and ride
up, and that whole breathing thing is just too hard.
Never fear, for mudras are here. In “Healing Mudras: Yoga
for Your Hands,” wellness professional Sabrina Mesko
rediscovers and glorifies the ancient Hindu and Buddhist art of
precise finger-positioning.
Mudras, yoga movements involving only the arms and hands, offer
the serenity of full-body yoga without the potential for muscle
strain (unless carpal tunnel syndrome is a problem). They can be as
simple as an outstretched palm or as involved as a precise,
Shiva-esque finger pinch. A mudra executed correctly can promote
health, happiness and well being.
At least that’s the premise of Mesko’s book, a
137-page primer that takes readers through the basics of the
ancient art. She answers such questions as “When should I
practice mudra?” (any time you need to) and “How long
should I practice mudra?” (you should hold the position for
at least three minutes).
Stressing the importance of full-body integration, Mesko goes
through the basics of yoga breathing and visualization, even
including a mantra pronunciation guide. When chanting “Haree
Har Haree Har,” Mesko will be the first to tell you to keep
your lips stationary and your tongue fluid.
It may sound like new age mumbo-jumbo, but Mesko’s
doctrine is strangely empowering. Soothing words and mesmerizing
pictures say that if concentrated hand movements can make a
positive impact on day-to-day living, anything is possible. Today,
the finger version of the lotus position; tomorrow, the world.
Mesko’s writing style certainly seeks to reinforce a
similar mantra of “better living through hand signals.”
In a mudra designed to ease hardship, Mesko writes:
“Challenges are an unavoidable part of life. Instead of
seeing them negatively as struggles, ask yourself to form the
intention to see them as perfectly planned opportunities for your
spiritual growth.”
It’s no revelation. In fact, she’s just restating
the obvious: turn a negative into a positive, and you’ll be
alright. If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Then do a neat
hand signal symbolizing well being.
A former ballerina and Broadway dancer who appeared in several
“European films,” Mesko should know. After a back
injury cut short her dancing career, Mesko turned to yoga for its
healing properties. Soon she realized that yoga was calling her,
and faster than you can say “Jai Guru Deva Om,” Mesko
was under the tutelage of the one and only Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar.
“I believe that we all have a mission in our life that we
have chosen to accomplish-even before we are born,” Mesko
writes in the introduction. “This book is mine.”
The book’s pictures yogi-fy Mesko, who displays an extreme
fondness for shiny unitards. Our strikingly beautiful, fearless
leader wears ensembles straight out of the wardrobe of Whoopi
Goldberg’s character on “Star Trek: The Next
Generation.” There’s plenty of room for costume
changes, since Mesko appears nearly every other page to demonstrate
a new mudra.
Photos, however, naturally become helpful instructional devices,
despite Mesko’s flashy wardrobe choices. We see each mudra in
both full-body pose and in extreme close-up. A handy chart under
each mudra description explains the chakras (body points) affected
by each position, as well as colors visualized and mantras
repeated.
There is no substitute for one-on-one training, however. Mesko
herself says it took years for her to understand the power of the
mudra.
Though that’s more time than one usually spends with a
137-page book, “Healing Mudras” does do the job of
introducing laymen to the practice. You’ve got the history.
You’ve got the charts. You’ve even got a mudra for
healing a broken heart. What more can a blossoming spiritualist
ask?
Whatever your opinion of such a practice’s validity,
there’s no denying the power inherent in the hand signal.
Flip off a fellow driver, and he knows exactly what you mean. Roger
Ebert gives a movie a thumbs-up, and people flock to the
theaters.
Mesko couples this inherent power with popular interest in the
ancient healing arts. She has her finger on the pulse, if you will.
The result of her intellectual quest may produce enlightenment
among the dedicated, and just a pleasant diversion among the
curious. In any case, “Healing Mudras” provides a
glimpse into a relaxation technique that keeps yoga in the palm of
your hand.