Thread by @RibbonGirl428, Hello for a new Nelcya's thread ~Today topic is Marika's hand gesture [...]

Hello for a new Nelcya's thread ~

Today topic is Marika's hand gesture !

At this point, no one should be surprised that I can write anything about Marika, right? lol

This one is quite long so good reading!
(hope I didn't do a lot of typo lol)

If you look at Marika's pics you can see she does this same hand gesture quite a lot!

(image : one of her first official illustrations, Merm4id first single jacket, First Mix episode 12, Towa's birthday illustration)

So as a Marika oshi, I was like why does she keep doing that ?? Especially it's not a usual gesture that you do all the time!
The 1st time I searched for its meaning I didn't find anything so I dropped this theory lol but I tried once more and well hard work/perseverance paid ~

For no particular reason this time I searched "hand gesture against stress" why? Simply because I had a flash (lol) reminding me that Marika loves to go to cafe because she doesn't have to worry about anything else there! So what if there's a relation ? Worry.. Anxious.. Stress..

And oh boy, I found it and it's quite mind blowing

This is called : Hakini Mudra !

And as you can see it's really similar to what Marika does!

So first some definitions!
"A mudra is a hand gesture that allows the free flow of energy in the body. It also helps to apply pressure to certain acupressure points present on the hands, which in turn activates certain organs to produce the desired effect." (thehealthsite)

Meaning of the Hakini Mudra?
"The Hakini Mudra is a yoga gesture in which you join the tips of the fingers on your right hand, with those on the left. This gesture is thought to be named after God Hakini and is used to assist thinking, focus, and concentration."
(blog.anaheart)

Now the most important information is what are the benefits of doing the Hakini Mudra and from what I could find :
- Hakini mudra is particularly useful to relieve stress, fatigue and anxiety!

- But it can also improve memory, concentration, clarity, develop creativity, or make the brain sharper and efficient!
- Also it can create a sense of calmness which is excellent to calm down when you are stressed at work!
(yogapedia)

Also interesting point is the fact this is a gesture easy to do and you can do it anywhere and anytime ! Which perfectly matches Marika who does it a lot

What can these informations add to Marika as a character? (it's mostly conjecture so yeah feel free to disagree or to propose something else)
1. It fits her, after all Marika is described as a soothing character so her knowing soothing/meditation/yoga techniques is not surprising

2. Like her reason going to cafe, it pretty much implies that Marika can be anxious/worried/stressed (even if she is a cheerful character!), tho we can't tell how much she can be

3. One of the benefits is against fatigue.. Imo it makes sense that Marika can be tired more easily-

than others after all she worked as a pro model, she can work overseas and can be absent for days, also it can explain why she fell asleep quickly during the Maid event (if I remember well just before coming at home and found how chaotic her home was she had her model job)

4. She may used this gesture to counter her own stress/fatigue and it could be the reason why we never saw her being stressed/fatigued because she's already taking good care of herself as we can see her doing this hand gesture during her work or free time! Sasuga Marika-sama!

Now the only thing which can be against this theory is the fact that we didn't see her doing it as there's more than just joining your fingers but well even if it's not really that, the chances that her hand gestures aren't a reference of the Hakini Mudra are quite low tbh

Now for the conclusion : As you can see, Marika doing the Hakini Mudra seems the most likely outcome and it makes perfectly sense as why she do it in the first place (ngl it scares me how it fits perfectly LOL)

And it's really interesting that it used against stress/fatigue since it can be another proof that Marika isn't just a cheerful character but she has her own worries too but no one seems to know them as she takes good care of herself

(cafe, yoga gesture)

We have come to the end for this thread~ Hope you enjoy reading this!

Thanks for reading and as always feel free to discuss with me!

Bibliography (and yeah I'm such a diligent student lmao) :
https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/7614/hakini-mudra

https://blog.anaheart.co.uk/what-is-hakini-mudra/#:~:text=The%20Hakini%20Mudra%20is%20a,boost%20brain%20power%20and%20concentration
https://www.thehealthsite.com/fitness/the-only-mudra-you-need-to-do-away-with-stress-at-work-t1217-545610/

What is Hakini Mudra? - Definition from Yogapedia

This definition explains the meaning of Hakini Mudra and why it matters.

https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/7614/hakini-mudra

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