Hand gesture

Brahma

Two enclosed-thumb hands meet in front of the navel.

Brahma: the knuckles of two enclosed-thumb hands meet
Brahma: the knuckles of two enclosed-thumb hands meet.

A relationship between two hands

The selected hand form uses the Adi arrangement in both hands: thumbs within the fingers, the opposing knuckles meeting in front of the navel. ICYER and the DST/AIIMS booklet describe this relationship. The latter explicitly specifies upward-facing palms. The illustration identifies the meeting knuckles rather than suggesting that the hands should press into the abdomen.

What this page covers

Here “Brahma mudra” names that hand form in these breathing manuals. The page does not use the name to certify every exercise taught under it. The distinction from Adi is the paired placement, not a newly invented finger shape. Looking first at Adi and then at this diagram makes that relationship easier to see.

Keep gesture and breathing lesson distinct

The sources place the gesture within complete yogic breathing. Their explanation of a teaching use is different from proof that a hand arrangement improves lung capacity or treats illness. This page gives the source and the shape, without a new breathing ratio or duration. If the arm position is uncomfortable, the complete natural-breath entry remains available with hands resting on the thighs.

Sources and scope

Main edition

Basic Practice of Some Pranayamas

Passage for this reading

  1. Basic Practice of Some Pranayamas

    “Mudras for pranayama,” item 4, PDF p. 3.

    Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, International Centre for Yoga Education and Research. Source page numbering refers to the PDF; hand descriptions compared independently.

  2. Structured Yoga Module for Diabetes (2024)

    9.1(d), printed p. 49; do not combine with inconsistent recap wording on p. 51.

    Puneet Misra, AIIMS New Delhi; edited with Rashmi Sharma, DST. Used here only to check the named hand arrangements, §9.1, printed p. 49. Its treatment claims are outside these pages’ scope.

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.