Ashwini Mudra - Practice and Benefits

The Ashwini Mudra came from the word "Ashwa" means Horse.  There are many spellings for this mudra : Asvini, Ashwini, Ashvini.  The most common one is the last one.   The meaning of Ashwini Mudra is a Horse pose or Horse Gesture.,

Ashwini is not an asana in full sense, because this mudra is performed in Padmasana or the Lotus pose.  Also this can be done in Viparita Karani,  when practiced within the frame work of Kriya Yoga.

The real meaning of Ashwini Mudra lies in its definition:  the practice of a rhythmic contraction of anal sphincter ( a ring shaped muscle), which allows directing the prana (apana) flow upward the spine through the main energy channel called Sushumna Nadi.   Ashwini Mudra is a beginners technique in Yoga.  So it is relatively easy to perform.

The basic technique for the Ashwini Mudra is very simple and makes the mudra one of the essential parts of many internal yoga exercises such as Mula Bandha or Viparita Karani.  It is a common practice to perform Ashwini Mudra and Vajroli Mudra together.

How to perform Ashwini Mudra

Ashwini Mudra practice is a rhythmic contraction of anal sphincter.  Even though it may look simple, it is an important part of many advanced yoga practices.  Ashwini mudra can serve as a mudra for beginners  before they proceed to mula bandha, maha mudra or similar.    The purpose of Ashwini Mudra is to pump prana into internal organs to prepare them for higher techniques of Yoga.  Ashwini Mudra makes your organs healthy and more resistant to unfavorable conditions.  Now let us see how to practice Ashwini Mudra.

• First of all take a comfortable asana, the best pose would be the Padmasana or Vajrasana
• Relax for a minute after getting into the posture, breathe freely and deeply.  Now inhale fully, hold your breath, and contract the anal sphincter muscles with 1 - 2 seconds interval. For men 4 contractions and 5 contractions for women.  These are average quantity of anal muscles contractions required to push prana inside the body.  
• Try to completely relax the anal muscles between contractions.
• Ok,  you are holding your breath and made the required number of contractions.  Now press your chin against the bottom of the neck, touch the palate ( The roof of the mouth, separating the cavities of the nose and the mouth ) with the tip of your tongue and start releasing your breathe ( exhaling ), then release the mudra and after that slowly raise your head.   

The success in this practice comes when you feel like shivering wave goes through your body.  This wave is actually the prana which has been stimulated by your practice.   You can repeat this mudra 3 to 5 times or as much as you want.

Benefits of Ashwini Mudra

The mudra works both externally and internally.  Here are the list of benefits of Ashwini Mudra.

•  Ashwini Mudra stimulates the abdomen area including digestive organs.  
• The practice of Ashwini Mudra helps you to get rid of constipation, deals with diseases of rectum and hemorrhoids.
• Since this mudra stimulates the prana flow towards upper part of the body, it slows down the aging process and improves the health in general.  
• This mudra makes the body resistant to diseases
• It increases the awareness, makes your mind more peaceful and gives you more energy.

Here is a video showing how to practice Aswini Mudra.