Ushas Mudra: the dawn gesture for fresh starts

How to do Ushas Mudra

1. Sit upright, or stay lying on your back in bed when you first wake up. Relax your shoulders and jaw.
2. Bring your palms together and interlace all your fingers, so each finger rests between two fingers of the other hand.
3. Cross your thumbs, one resting on top of the other with light pressure. Keep all eight fingers folded; none points up.
4. Rest the clasped hands in your lap or on your lower belly, just below the navel.
5. Breathe slowly into the belly. With each in-breath, picture light slowly growing, as at sunrise.
6. Stay for 5–15 minutes, ideally in the morning, then release the hands and stretch before you stand up.

Ushas mudra is a simple two-hand gesture: the fingers interlace, the thumbs cross and the hands rest low on the belly. Named after the goddess of dawn, it is traditionally used first thing in the morning to wake up fresh and to start something new. Here are the Ushas mudra benefits, its meaning, how to do it and who should take care.

Ushas mudra meaning and pronunciation

Ushas is the Vedic goddess of dawn, praised in many hymns of the Rigveda, where greeting the dawn was a gesture of devotion. So the Ushas mudra meaning is "gesture of dawn". Ushas mudra pronunciation: "OO-shahs MOO-drah".

What does dawn represent? In almost every culture it stands for a fresh start: the dark is over and the day is still open. Poets find many ways to describe dawn, but the mudra keeps it simple. With your hands clasped close to the body, the dawn is at hand, and each morning is a small new beginning.

How to do Ushas mudra

Not sure which mudra is this in a photo? If all fingers are clasped and the thumbs cross, it is Ushas; the Ushas mudra images at the top of this page show it. Some practical points:

• Which thumb on top? Some books give one thumb position for women and another for men, but they do not agree on which. Choose the one that feels natural and use it every day.
• In bed or seated. Many people do it lying on their back before getting up. Seated, Easy Pose or a chair both work.
• Keep it soft. The fingers stay relaxed; the only light pressure is thumb on thumb.

Best time and how long

Morning is the classic time, ideally at sunrise; if you can, sit by a window where you can see the dawn. Some people bookend the day from dawn to dusk: Ushas mudra in the morning, a calming mudra at night. Hold it for 5–15 minutes, then move into a short morning yoga routine or a few rounds of Surya Namaskar. Pair it with belly breathing, since the hands rest where the belly rises.

Ushas mudra benefits

The benefits described in mudra books fall into three groups:

• Waking up. A few minutes of slow belly breathing with the hands on the belly is a gentle way to go from sleep to alert. It is a quiet mudra for an energy boost without coffee.
• New starts and creativity. Teachers suggest it at the beginning of a project, a new job or a fresh habit, as a moment to set your intention.
• Calm. Like most gestures held with slow breathing, it can serve as a mudra for stress relief, or a mudra to reduce stress before a busy day. For more, see yoga for stress relief.

Ushas mudra chakra link

Mudra teachers connect the gesture with the sacral chakra (Svadhisthana), just below the navel, where the hands rest. This chakra is linked to creativity, pleasure and sexuality. Read about it on our chakras page.

Ushas mudra for women and men

You will often see Ushas mudra benefits for female practitioners, and its use for hormonal imbalance, in mudra books, because of that sacral chakra link. Be clear about what this means: it is a traditional belief, not a treatment. There are no studies showing that a hand gesture changes hormones. As a calm morning ritual it can support a healthy routine, and our yoga for hormonal balance page covers poses and lifestyle habits. Ushas mudra for men is exactly the same practice, with the same traditional uses: a fresh start, alertness and creative energy.

Ushas mudra side effects

No harmful side effects are known. Stiff fingers are the most common complaint, so loosen the clasp if needed. Claims about mudras for eye health or skin problems have no evidence behind them.

Related mudras

Why do we use mudras? They give the hands a steady shape so the mind can settle; mudras in yoga and their benefits are tools for attention, and books on mudras for healing and transformation describe the same idea. Each mudra and its benefits suit a different need.

Uttarabodhi mudra benefits are confidence before a challenge, and the benefits of Kubera mudra centre on goals. Water mudra benefits (how to do Varuna mudra: little fingertip to thumb) relate to dryness, the benefits of Vayu mudra to gas, and Apana Vayu is the traditional mudra for heart health. What is Vishnu mudra? It is the hand position for alternate nostril breathing.

For a headache, the usual mudra to reduce headache is Mahasirs mudra; no mudra can stop a headache on demand, but as a mudra for headache relief it pairs well with rest and water. There is no one mudra for all problems and no single best mudra for overall health. For a list of mudras with pictures, including the mudras of the Buddha, see an illustrated guide to mudras, with all hand mudras and their benefits, on the mudras chart.

Ushas mudra benefits in Hindi and in Tamil are the same as in English; the box below sums them up in Hindi.

More mudras

Mudras are a traditional practice for focus and relaxation. Research on specific health effects is limited; use them alongside, not instead of, medical care.