詳しいガイド（英語）
Meaning and tradition
Abhaya is Sanskrit for fearlessness, from a (without) and bhaya (fear). The gesture is one of the most widely recognized in Asian religious art. It appears in Buddhist images of the Buddha, signifying protection, peace and the absence of fear, and in Hindu images of deities. It is mainly an iconographic gesture rather than a finger-element mudra of the hasta mudra systems, and in practice it is a modern yoga teaching built on that imagery.
Because the whole hand is open and upright, it is read as balancing all five elements rather than emphasizing one.
How to practice
Sit in Easy Pose or stand in Mountain Pose. Rest the left hand on the thigh. Bend the right elbow, raise the right hand to shoulder height, and turn the palm forward with the fingers together, pointing up. Keep the elbow close to the body and the wrist straight.
Breathe slowly. Dirga Breath or Box Breathing gives a steady rhythm. Hold for a few breaths up to five minutes, then lower the hand and repeat on the other side if you like.
Settle the seat first, then raise the hand. A cushion under the hips keeps the spine tall, and a relaxed face and jaw help the gesture feel calm rather than posed. If you practice in Mountain Pose, keep the weight even across both feet while the right arm is raised.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep the shoulder down. Lifting the hand tends to pull the shoulder toward the ear.
Keep the elbow bent and close to the body, rather than pushing the hand out like a stop sign.
Know the neighbor. Unlike Varada Mudra, where the hand hangs low with the palm forward and fingers pointing down as a gesture of giving, here the hand is raised with the fingers pointing up as a gesture of protection. Both show the open palm, but the direction of the fingers and the height of the hand mark the difference.
Keep the fingers together and soft, not splayed or rigidly stretched.
Tradition vs. evidence
Abhaya Mudra’s meaning is symbolic and cultural; no research shows the gesture reduces fear. What is defensible is that an upright, open posture of the hand and shoulder can cue a more confident stance, and that pairing it with slow breath is calming in the ordinary way.