(np) The Americans - Soviet agents using ancient Indian gesture

[Kai Frederik Lorentzen]

Since this is TV, I would be interested if anybody knows whether this was REALLY practiced and, if so, where Soviet Russia learned the trick from.

Episode 2 of Season 5 ends like this:

* ... The closing scene, with Paige rubbing her thumb and forefinger together, a psychological trick Elizabeth had just taught her to help her keep control (i.e. to not blurt out that her parents are spies) when she inevitably has sex with Matthew — assuming she hasn’t already. It was the next step in her training, and Elizabeth and Philip smiled at her as if she had just gotten into Harvard or been named head cheerleader ... *

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/arts/television/the-americans-pests-recap.html

In Hinduism this gesture is known since Vedic times.

* ... Known as Chin or Vitarka Mudra. This touch of the thumb and forefinger evokes mind and mindfulness. A yogi will assume this gesture—accompanied by outstretched arms and upturned palms resting on knees—while meditating in the lotus position. Or the dreadlocked god Shiva, with a crooked elbow and a vertical palm, might use this while explaining yoga to his consort Parvati ... *

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/india-hand-gestures-mudra-180958089/