During meditation while doing certain mudras, we are require to touch nose, eyes and face. As a healthcare professional, should I be doing this mudra during this pandemic as CDC recommends not touching your face and washing our hands frequently? I do wash my hands thoroughly before starting my meditation. Thank you for your time and clarification.
—PS, USA
Dear PS,
There has been some discussion of this topic here at Ananda Village with Ananda’s spiritual directors, Jyotish and Devi, and our physician, who is a Kriya minister and directs our local medical clinic. Because you are a healthcare professional, you bring quite a bit of knowledge about infection control to this question.
First, let me clarify that we are under self-quarantine at Ananda Village, so there are no group meditations, except online, and we are all meditating individually in our own spaces. It is my understanding that it is essential that we wash our hands thoroughly before using meditation techniques that involve touching the face. Once the hands are clean, you need to go with your own comfort regarding techniques. Some of us do the techniques as usual after good hand washing.
If you would like to avoid touching your face for a mudra, consider placing your hands in the position for the mudra but not touching the face at all, and doing the other aspects of the practice. A mudra is primarily an energetic rather than a physical technique. Tune in to see if you can feel the direction and flow of energy as you do the mudra in this way. I have done this and have found I can take the technique deeper, precisely because my concentration has shifted from the physical plane to the energy plane. See if this stronger focus on energy enhances your experience when you are able to use the mudra physically again.
During this pandemic, we are called to dive even deeper into our spiritual life, which is the only place where we can find true safety and peace. Our expectations and daily routines are disrupted. Even our meditation routines may have to change for now. God has been defined as Satchitananda, which Yogananda translated as ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new bliss. These times challenge us to discover this ever-new bliss right now, at this moment, in these circumstances — for where is God but right here, right now?
Many Blessings,
Nayaswami Mukti
