Hakini Mudra: Expand Your Breath

May 20, 2025 by Fitness On Earth

This entry was published on May 20, 2025 by Charlotte Bell.

There is power in your hands, more than you think. I was first exhibited at Hand Mudras during the Irest training (Yoga Nidra) with Richard Miller, PHD, decades ago. While I knew that our hands are very edgy and that I order a lot of real estate in the body cards of the brain, I did not know how different positions of the hand result in effects in the rest of the body. In Miller’s formation, I learned Mudras for Pranayama, meditation and positions intended to “light up” each chakra. However, we did not practice Haiki Mudra.

Often called “Power Mudra” or “Mudra for the Spirit”, Haiki Mudra would improve brain power. According to the tradition of yoga, the practice of this Mudra improves concentration, memory and concentration. I learned Haiki Mudra from the yoga teacher Jenny Otto, as a position that can give us access to different areas of our “respiratory space”.

Why extend your respiratory space?

According to an article from Magazine Massage & Bodywork“The science of the mouth against the breathing of the nose” by John Douillard, the rib cage becomes a literal cage for our lungs and our diaphragm over time. Excessive base, shallow breathing and sedentary lifestyles all contribute to this problem. When the rib cage becomes rigid, the diaphragm can no longer contract completely when we inhale. As a result, our breathing becomes less deep.

Here’s how Douillard explains:

“When the diaphragm contracts, it attracts oxygen into the lungs, forcing the rib cage to develop. Over time, as the rib cage becomes more rigic, the diaphragm weakens and cannot fully contract on inhalation and relax at the expiration.

“During shallow breathing, 75% of the oxygen that we inhale is expired unused. The shallow breathing also forces us to expire an excessive carbon dioxide. Chronic blood rates of low oxygen and carbon dioxide increase the body’s Srus response, the increase in carbon dioxide blood levels has actually a sedation effect on the body. “”

I strongly recommend that you read the entire article (linked above). It gives vital information on the importance of diaphragmatic breathing. It’s a must for yoga teachers!

How to practice hawing mudra to extend the breath

Haiki Mudra can give us access to lower, medium and higher breathing spaces, simply by the way we contact our fingers.

Start by finding a comfortable sitting position. Make sure you have enough support under your hips so that your spine can rest in its natural curves. Here is an article with suggestions to determine the best meditation cushion for your body. You can also train on a chair if sitting on the ground does not work for your body.
Place your fingers together. Touch slightly; Make sure your fingers don’t press hard. At the same time, your fingers should connect solidly – not too hard, not too soft.
Take 5 deep or more breaths, adjusting your posture to adapt to deep breathing. Make sure that your rib cage and your abdomen develop outwards while you are inspired and contract inwards while you are exhausting. Inspire completely, but without tension. Exhale completely, without tension.
Now press your pink fingers slightly and slightly sound the other fingers. Continue to breathe and notice where you feel the “center” of your breath in your chest. Take 5 to 10 deep breaths.
Let go of your finger and sound their fingers, touch them slightly again. Then press the middle fingers slightly more firmly than the others. Take 5 to 10 deep breaths, noting where you feel the center of your breath.
Let go of the middle fingers, touching them slightly again. No pressure on the thumbs and indexed a little more firmly than the others. Take 5 to 10 deep breaths, noting where you feel the center of breathing.
Now contact your fingers evenly, slightly, and take some additional breaths before returning to regular breathing.

While you train, do not hesitate to switch between 4-6 steps to help you feel differences in the way in which contact the finger influences your breathing. Practice it at any time to help keep your rib cage and your flexible diaphragm, and your breathless and easy breath.

About Charlotte Bell

Charlotte Bell discovered yoga in 1982 and started teaching in 1986. Charlotte is the author of Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyding Practice and Yoga for Meditators, both published by Rodmell Press. His third book is entitled Hip-Healthy Asana: The Yoga Pratitioner’s Guide to Protect of the Hips and Avoid Si Joint Pain (Shambhala Publications). She writes a monthly chronicle for Catalyst Magazine and is online Yoga U publisher. Charlotte is a founding member of the board of directors of Greentree Yoga, a non -profit organization that brings yoga to poorly served populations. Musician for life, Charlotte plays an oboe and an English horn in the Salt Lake Symphony and the Sextuant Folk Red rock Rondo, whose DVD won two Emmy Awards.