Healing Practice
Mahamudra
Sanskrit: Mahāmudrā
The "Great Seal" — a combined posture, lock and breath-retention practice the Hatha Yoga Pradipika presents as one of its central teachings.
- Tradition
- Yogic Tradition
Introduction
Mahamudra combines a specific seated position (the left heel pressed to the perineum, the right leg extended) with Jalandhara Bandha, a steady inward gaze and prolonged breath retention. "Mudra" here names a psycho-physical seal linking posture, lock and awareness together, distinct from the simpler hand gestures the word can also describe elsewhere. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika presents it as among its most important teachings, said to help overcome disease and transform the practitioner's inner state.
The text frames Mahamudra, together with Mahabandha and Mahavedha described alongside it, as a practice traditionally kept close and transmitted directly from teacher to student rather than taught openly. This entry is a historical and educational overview of its place in the text, not instruction in the technique itself.
Sources & References
- The Hatha Yoga Pradipika — Svatmarama; trans. Pancham Sinh, The Panini Office (Sacred Books of the Hindus, vol. XV) (1914) · Link
Public domain. Classical c. 15th-century Sanskrit hatha yoga text; this early-20th-century English translation is the standard public-domain edition consulted for these entries.