Anjali Mudra: Sealing Your Highest Intentions

Anjali Mudra (meaning Gift/Offering and Seal) is a hand gesture that focuses our energy.

Some of the things I think about with Anjali Mudra:

1. It's a bowing inward towards the divinity in yourself as well as a bowing outward to the divine in all things around you.

2. It's a balance point between the right and left, past and present, any opposing forces.

3. It's a container, you hold the seed of your intention between your hands in front of your heart and nourish that seed by shining your heart out during the practice.

When we cultivate an intention, it might be like a desire for something in the world, but part of the practice of sealing the intention is emptying ourselves of any attachment to the outcome or need for the object of desire. When you release your desire or attachment to that thing into the world you create a container in yourself for that gift to flow back into your life.

Illustration: Like the person sitting at a table with a bunch of smokers and the smoke drifts toward the non-smoker, so the person who is not attached to something will attract that thing to them.

Seated Mediation, focusing on the light of the breath. Holding your highest self in mind. We will explore your highest intentions in various facets of your life in the practice and nourish and seal those intentions in Anjali Mudra over the course of our practice.

Surya Namaskar - Low Lunge w/ Anjali Mudra - Open to Grace

Surya Namaskar - Low Lunge w/ AM (raise back leg after twist) - think of highest and best intentions with regard to your health and well being

Surya Namaskar - High Lunge w/ AM - highest and best relationship with beloved and with your family, what gifts do you already have and what more can your bring as an offering. Cultivate the qualities you admire in others in yourself.

Vrksasana w/AM - what's your career ideal. Do you enjoy going to work every day. If not, think about what that would feel like. If you do, then how can you make work more enjoyable for others.

Utkatasana w/AM - hold someone who needs help in your heart. Someone you know may be having trouble in life or be ill.

Virbhadrasana II/Reverse Warrior - student request

Iguana Lunge
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana - Pigeon
Hanumanasana

Virabhadrasana III w/ Anjali Mudra - stand firm in your own truth. Speak from your heart. Partner demo and assist stabilizing the pose and spotting friend's alignment. Spa dog to root thighs and heals back after standing poses.

Child's pose w/ hands in Anjali Mudra - set an intention to see the world clearly, witnessing the beauty and divinity in yourself and the world around you.

Eye of the Needle
Cactus Twists

Kapalbhati Kriya Pranayama - seated with hands in Anjali Mudra - set intention to use the gifts you are given in life to set a good example for other. Ask yourself how you can lead others better.

Savasana

Closing Statement from DailyLove.com:

To often we do not say what we are feeling in our hearts and we hold back our true words of love, courage and compassion that should be said. When you become courageous enough to express the Truth of how you are really feeling you set yourself free and align with the vibration of your Truth.

This is when miracles, synchronicities and amazing things begin to happen. At first it might be a little rough because you are clearing out everything that isn't true for you.

Once you've reached a clean slate, your Truth will set you free, your Truth will make you happy and your Truth will always provide for you.

Your Truth will deliver a life greater than you have imagined. All you have to do is let go of what is not true for you and let it in what is.

Closing Anjali Mudra: I bow from the spark of the divine in myself to the spark of the divine in all of you.

Concerns: I didn't feel like the students were following my directions in the demonstration/partner pose, so I want to do a little bit better job of structuring the partner work so they're following a set up alignment instructions. Everyone still had fun though and it was Warrior III so everyone looked like they were working safely. They were supporting each other minimally so it didn't seem like anyone would get hurt by not following my instructions on looking at the alignment.

Success!: I saw a shift in the students. I received positive feedback from the class afterward. I felt less anxiety in my introduction that in some previous classes and was more at ease and spoke more slowly.