The gesture is readily recognizable
The palms meet, the fingers point upward, and the hands are held together. A British Museum sculpture record explicitly identifies joined hands as Anjali, a gesture of devotion. The Common Yoga Protocol’s prayer illustration also shows joined hands. These provide a visual and cultural basis for the form shown here.
Look at the person and the setting
The same visible gesture can belong to a greeting, prayer, or a figure represented in a devotional scene. The surrounding action tells you how to read it. A museum label is evidence for the object it describes; it does not establish a single origin date or an identical meaning in every tradition.
An invitation to attention
You may recognize a familiar gesture before learning its Sanskrit name. That familiarity can be the beginning of looking more closely: where are the hands held, toward whom is the figure turned, and what does the scene ask of them? The library’s diagram explains joined palms without adding a breath hold, pressure, repetition count, or claim about bodily energy. Hands at rest remain an equally available choice for the introductory breath practice.
Sources and scope
Main edition
Passage for this reading
- Anjali: a joined-hands figure
Collection object 1919,0717.80: kneeling figure with hands together.
British Museum, collection object 1919,0717.80, description of a kneeling figure in Anjali.
- Common Yoga Protocol (2026)
Prayer, printed p. 12: joined-hands illustration.
Ministry of Ayush, Government of India. Printed-page coordinates are 15 lower than PDF-page numbers. Modern teaching protocol.
What this edition covers
An original explanatory guide to this named hand form, with source comparisons and a schematic diagram.
Limits and differences
The prose above identifies material differences. Traditional explanations and promised attainments are attributed to their sources; they are not clinical evidence. Review date: September 11, 2026.