Hasta Mudra Therapy - An Effective Aspect of Dance Therapy

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Indian culture is wide spread and is accoladed globally. Dance occupies a unique place in Indian culture and is referred as a "unified art" as it imbibes almost everything necessary to maintain a perfect lifestyle. It is an ocean, which has boundless and inexhaustible benefits hidden in it. It promotes psychological and physical health and hence, 'Dance' can be a "Therapy', a skill that keeps you fit and good health. Though the remedial aspects of dance were acknowledged since its evolution, using it as s an alternative therapy is of a recent trend. As a drop of contribution/ to the ocean, the present study makes a modest attempt to investigate the therapeutic values of 'Hasta Mudras" or hand gestures which is an integral aspect of dance,
The Book titled "Hasta Mudra Therapy-An effective aspect of Dance Therapy" involves a comprehensive analysis of Hasta Mudras practiced in the arenas like Dance, Dance Therapy, Hasta Mudra Therapy, Hasta Mudras in Dance, Yoga, Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious practices, the domain of Acupressure, Physiology of palm and Pharmacokinetics. An attempt is made to construe an explanatory hypothesis with an analytical approach and a scientific analysis of palm is employed to experiment and study the scope of therapeutic effects of the Hasta Mudras. The aim of the present publication is to introduce the concept of "Hasta Mudra Therapy" with an analytical and scientific approach and to establish, promote and propagate it as an "Alternative Therapy".
This book discusses about a brief overview on Dance Therapy with respects to its definition, origin, history and development, organizations and universities working towards the same, the concept of Hasta Mudras in terms of its origin and reference, objectives and significance of each Hasta Mudra, body discipline, science of gestures, their benefits and scope of therapeutic benefits. It further explores on the Hasta Mudras used in disciplines like Dance, Yoga, Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious practices in terms of its various types, their reference, significance, scope and benefits of practicing them. This work also correlates and analyses the Acupressure points in the palm with that of holding the Hasta Mudras in Dance. It also investigates scientifically by studying and mapping the Hasta Mudras with the physiology of palm while explaining the human hand anatomy in terms of skeletal, muscular and nervous systems. The scientific stimulations of the skeletal, muscular and nervous systems are related to that of holding the Hasta Mudras that in turn help in mapping the therapeutic effects of the Hasta Mudras. In addition to this, the book also expounds and relates Pharmacokinetics (the life cycle of a drug after intake) to the process of therapeutic effect.
The main soul of this research work is the "Therapeutic analysis of Hasta Mudras", which highlights and examines the therapeutic analysis of Hasta Mudras comprehending them with the Hasta Mudras used in Yoga, Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious practices, Acupressure points in the palm, Physiology and Pharmacokinetics; while emphasizing on the therapeutic benefits. This book also elucidates and validates the research with the experimental study to check the scope of therapeutic effects of Hasta Mudras. It also brings out the positive results drawn while concluding on the scope of therapeutic benefits along with their recommendations.

Dr. Vijayapal Pathloth is an internationally acclaimed and leading exponent of Dance from South India. He belongs to the state of Telangana and hails from a tribal background. A versatile performer, he is perhaps the only artist from the tribal background who is expertise in both Academics and Dance performances. He is recognized for his scholarly, yet enthralling portrayal of the arts. He has his credit several performances to hist eral perform sacred to the secular. He is known for his thorough research, creative choreography, sensitive presentation s ranging from sacred to and aesthetic portrayal of arts. An exceptional artiste of today's generation, Dr Vijayapal is an accomplished, prolific and promising dancer, who aspires to reach the higher standards of perfection in the field of Art, both in academics and performances. Today, he is acknowledged as one among those few noteworthy male dancers, who have made a niche in the world of dance carrying forward this vibrant dance tradition.
Dr. Vijayapal Pathloth has a long list of his Gurus feels very fortunate to have learnt the subtle nuances and intricacies of dance from various renowned gurus both professionally and academically. Smt. Manju Bhargavec, Sri Chinta Adinarayana Sharma, Smt. Prasanna Rani, Professor Jonnalagadda Anuradha, Professor Alekhya Punjala, Professor Bhagavatula Sethuram, Sri Mahankali Mohan, Padmasri Dr. Nataraja Ramakrishna and Sri Kalakrishna to name a few. Inspired by the revived Kuchipudi dance technique, Dr. Vijayapal always considers himself as an ekalavya student of Padmabhushan Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam.
He has a long list of highly enthralling and appreciated performances, lectures, seminars and workshops in several prestigious National and International platforms. He has toured extensively in India, UK, USA, Europe, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Oman etc., with more than 1500 performances his credit. He is known for his winsome stage presence and enchanting presentation. His versatility as an artiste helps him to bring life exquisite performances as a solo, duet, group and dance dramas on various prestigious National and International platforms. He has essayed several lead roles different Dance drams and his ability to portray different roles and characters has won him several opportunities to perform individually and with many eminent and noted artistes and gurus of the highest calibre.
Dr. Vijayapal Pathloth is a multifaceted talented artiste, who wears multiple hats with ease. Besides being an Academician, he is a Dance performer, Art educator, Choreographer, Dance Therapist and a Research Scholar who endeavors to make an impact on the social and cultural lives by sharing his expertise in the field of art. He has published papers in National and International Journals and books and has also conducted seminars and workshops on dance at various places furthering his academic pursuit. He has been titled with various awards and few of them include Natya Mayuram, Natya Sri, Yuva Kala Ratna, Abhinaya Prathibha Puraskar, Nritya Shiromani, Natya Kowmudhi, Bharateeya Natya Mayuram, Natya Shikaram etc. Besides being a recipient of several awards and titles and a graded artiste of Doordarshan, he stands apart amongst his artistic peers for his excellence in both academics and performances. With successive Masters, MPhil and PhD degrees in Dance, he has also pursued MBA and MPhil Tourism Management. He is the recipient of a Gold Medal for his significant work in MPhil Dance and has qualified NET and JRF from UGC, Government of India. He has published a book titled "Lambaada - the unique cultural heritage". He is currently working as a faculty in the Department of Dance, Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad.
Expressing the language of soul with subtle yet powerful expressions; graceful yet stern footwork is Dr Vijayapal Pathloth - The Dancing Marvel.

The Book titled "Hasta Mudra Therapy An effective aspect of Dance Therapy" deals with various disciplines like Dance, Therapy, Dance Therapy, Hasta Mudras used in Dance, Yoga, Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious practices; Physiology of palm, Pharmacokinetics and Acupressure. This Book is the result of the PhD thesis titled "A study of Dance Therapy with specific reference to Hasta Mudra Therapy", submitted to University of Hyderabad, Telangana, India, which fetched me a PhD degree. The research involved the study and analysis of the above mentioned disciplines to substantiate the work and prove it scientifically.
The primary aspect of this book is Dance Therapy, in specific Hasta Mudra Therapy. India (Bhaarat) is a land of art and culture, a land of devotion, and a land of proud heritage and rich legacy. This wonderful land has presented a wide range of performing arts, which is the valuable heritage passed on from generation to generation since times immemorial. Dance enjoys a unique place in Indian culture and is assigned a divine status. It is considered as the most appealing form of performing arts that have been patronized from centuries in India. History shows that in almost all the ancient civilizations, dance played an important part in religious rituals. Dance holds a unique place among the fine arts, which is referred as a "unified art" as it imbibes almost everything necessary to maintain a perfect lifestyle.
Dance is widespread and represents many disciplines. Dance involves all the fine arts, it encompasses mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, management; it is closely associated to mythology; imbibes culture and tradition; involves language with technical grammar, improves communication skills & memory; cultivates discipline, social awareness and cooperation; it is a fitness health, entertainment & refreshment; imparts knowledge and above all it is divine and next to God. It elevates one's intellect by gaining knowledge in different aspects like spirituality, mythology, culture, customs, tradition, creativity, personality development, confidence building, self-discipline, communication, thought process and many more.
It is an ocean, which has boundless and inexhaustible benefits hidden in it. Dance involves a greater range of motion, coordination, strength and endurance than most of the other physical activities. It offers an avenue to expand movement possibilities and skills. Dancing involves the entire body and is an excellent form of exercise for total body fitness. It promotes psychological and physical health and maturity. Hence, Dance can be a "Therapy, a skill that keeps you fit and good health. The physical benefits of dance are widely accepted, but the emotional, behavioral and cognitive attributes have recently being appreciated.
Nowadays, going beyond these aesthetic and transcendental purposes, exploration of its therapeutic significance is gaining momentum. While few. initiatives in understanding the therapeutic value of dance were noticed in the later decades of twentieth century, an active exploration in this arena began only at the dawn of 21st century. Thus, comprehending the therapeutic purposes of dance can be assumed as the contemporary phenomena in its evolution which is steadily heading towards establishing 'Dance' as an 'Alternative Therapy".
Dance Therapy is largely referred to the treatment of physical or mental illness through remedial, curative or rehabilitation processes, usually following at diagnosis. Though the remedial aspects of dance were acknowledged since its evolution, using it as an alternative therapy is of a recent trend. As a drop of contribution to the ocean, the present study makes a modest attempt to investigate the therapeutic values of 'Hasta Mudras' or hand gestures which is an integral aspect of dance.
The concept of Dance therapy is well established and is highly acclaimed in USA, UK, Australia and European countries. Though the topic of Dance Therapy is not new to Indians and many dance therapists and psychotherapists worked on Indian dances, it took quite a long time with respect to its acceptance and implementation. Dance Therapy has very recently been fascinated in India (Bhaarat) and very few are inclined towards its effectiveness.
Dance Therapy is steadily gaining significance in the field of research and quite a few explored the effectiveness of 'Dance' as an 'Alternative Therapy. However, these studies largely concentrated on dance as a totality. Studies on the effectiveness of the individual elements of dance are scarce. Thus, the present work attempts to explore the healing properties of 'Hasta Mudras', an important element of dance; as most of the Indian classical dance (Bhaarateeya Sastreeya Nritya) forms predominantly use 'Hasta Mudras' as means of expression.
Indian classical dance (Bhaarateeya Sastreeya Nritya) can be viewed in a different and elevated position, as it has great grammar in terms of its usage and implementation of the Hasta Mudras. While exploring the gestural language of dance, the parallel streams of body disciplining like Yoga, where in certain hand gestures are used in meditation and therapeutic healing too, are studied. So also is theLookscase with Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious practices, where certain gestures are used for spiritual purposes besides certain health benefits.
Being a dancer myself and being introduced into the gestural language. I have ventured into connecting the Hasta Mudras used in Dance, Yoga, Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious practices and also explored the other disciplines like Acupressure. Physiology of palm and Pharmacokinetics to study, analyse, prove and substantiate it scientifically.
As it is a new domain in 'Dance' that can be proved effective, it inspired me in choosing this as my PhD topic "A Study on Dance Therapy with specific Reference to Hasta Mudra Therapy". Substantial works are yet to be carried out in this area to establish and popularize the concept in India, besides educating the dance professionals, educational and other institutions, individuals etc.
This book includes a comprehensive analysis of Hasta Mudras practiced in the arenas like Dance, Dance Therapy, Hasta Mudras in Dance, Yoga, Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious practices, the domain of Acupressure, Physiology of palm and Pharmacokinetics. An attempt is made to construe an explanatory hypothesis with an analytical approach and a scientific analysis of palm is employed to experiment and study the scope of therapeutic effects of the Hasta Mudras. The aim of the present publication is to introduce the concept of Hasta Mudra Therapy with an analytical. and scientific approach.
This book is broadly divided into twelve chapters.
The first chapter "Dance Therapy A brief overview" is divided into 2 sections. The first section is devoted to discuss briefly about Dance Therapy. In this section, an attempt is made to study about Therapy and its various types; Dance Therapy in terms of its definition, origin, history and development; research conducted in Dance Therapy; its principles and benefits; elements of a healthy Dance Therapy; organizations and universities working towards the same, Dance Therapy in India (Bhaarat) etc. The second section of the chapter deals with the literature on Dance Therapy, methodology aims and objectives, scope and importance.
The second chapter "The concept of Hasta Mudras" discusses about the brief overview of the Hasta Mudras in general context, their origin and reference. objectives and significance of each Hasta Mudra, body discipline, science of gestures, their benefits and scope of therapeutic effects. It also deals with the study of Hasta Mudras in various contexts and examines its therapeutic effects.
The third chapter "Hasta Mudras in Dance" discusses about Hasta Mudrast used in dance. It enlightens about Hasta Mudras, different varieties of Hasta Mudras used in dance, their reference in Indian literature, their significance and usages.