A comprehensive guide to Shambhavi mahamudra

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 What is shambhavi mahamudra?

It is a mudra described in ancient hath yoga texts which focuses on enhancing the functionality of your pituitary gland. Ancient masters of yoga analyzed people while in deep sleep and they found that eyeballs automatically rolled upwards in a deep sleep and eyes slightly open but this was not the case when one is dreaming or just lying flat. They decided to imitate this to benefit from this in a sitting posture, giving birth to shambhavi Mahamudra.
According to traditional masters, shambhavi means eyes like shiva which are half shut and rolled upwards while some say shambhavi is the feminine of shambhu.
Ancient texts have spoken very highly of this mudra considering it the best among all.

How to do Shambhavi mudra?

  • Sit in a comfortable position keeping your spine straight and your head in line with your spine.
  • Take a few deep breaths and relax.
  • Now, exhale completely and gently inhale.
  • Roll your eyes upwards while keeping your head straight
  • Focus on the third eye center or in the middle of your eyebrows.
  • Stay in this position for a few minutes and then close your eyes and relax.
There is a lot of confusion regarding eyeball position and head position in this mudra. One should always follow the advice of a guru in this context only a guru knows what is best for his student. Some masters of yoga teach the head should be slightly upwards while others say it should be straight. One reason behind the idea of a slightly lifted head position might be that eyeballs roll upwards more easily. One should not force the eyes to come towards the corner too much as it is an unnatural position, just try to mildly focus on the eyebrow center and let things happen naturally and do not strain. Eyes can be opened or closed while focusing. Some masters ask their students to keep their eyes half closed and half shut.

Precautions:

  • Do not strain the eyes too much, it can cause harm instead of benefits.
  • If you are facing daylong headaches due to this mudra then you are doing it wrong or doing it more than your capability, and it will cause problems. Just realign yourself, start again, and do not use force, you will be fine.
  • Seek a qualified master to learn the secrets and minute techniques of this mudra as emotional and mental alignment is different from person to person.

Benefits:

  • It increases memory power.
  • Instills mental calmness.
  • Improved quality of sleep
  • Increased alertness and awareness
  • Improved self-confidence
  • Enhanced mental clarity
  • Improved emotional balance
  • Increased coherence between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.
  • Activates the pituitary gland and releases hormones that take us on a blissful journey.
Note: Mudras are very powerful and should be practiced with care and under proper guidance.

 

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