According to ancient Vedic wisdom your health is literally in your hands .
This is because four fingers adn thumbs represent the five major building blocks or the 'Panchamahabhootas' which the entire universe is made . Diseases emerges when these five elements are out of balance .
Thumb - The fire (Agni)
Index Finger - The air (Vayu)
Middle Finger - The ether (Akasha)
Ring Finger - The earth (Prithvi)
Small Finger - The water (Jala)
| Six Words of Advice | |
| First short, literal translation | Later long, explanatory translation |
| Don’t recall | Let go of what has passed |
| Don’t imagine | Let go of what may come |
| Don’t think | Let go of what is happening now |
| Don’t examine | Don’t try to figure anything out |
| Don’t control | Don’t try to make anything happen |
| Rest | Relax, right now, and rest |
From the Natya Shastra, a text on the arts, this beautiful quotation and translation is often quoted by classical dance instructors:
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- "Yato hastastato drishtihi"..."Where the hand is, the eyes follow"
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- "Yato drishtistato manaha"..."Where the eyes go, the mind follows"
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- "Yato manastato bhavaha"..."Where the mind is, there is the feeling"
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- "Yato bhavastato rasaha"..."Where there is feeling, there is mood/flavour, sweetness
Types of Pranāma
There are six types of Pranam
Ashtanga (eight parts) - Uras (Chest), Shiras (Head), Drishti (Eyes), Manas (Attention), Vachana (Speech), Pada (Feet), Kara (Hand), Jahnu (Knee).
Shashthanga (six parts) - touching the ground with toes, knees, hands, chin, nose and temple.
Panchanga (five parts) - touching the ground with knees, chest, chin, temple and forehead.
Dandavat (stick) - bowing forehead down and touching the ground.
Namaskara (adoration) - folded hands touching the forehead. This is another more common form of salutation and greeting expressed between people.
Abhinandana (congratulations) - bending forward with folded hands touching the chest.
Yoga Asanas
Yoga Mudras
Types of Yogas