Hands

Not so long ago, I looked down at my finger and one of my rings was gone!
I immediately felt a sense of loss and confusion. When, where did I lose it? 

I continued with my day only to later notice the ‘lost’ ring was located on my other hand!
I hadn’t even thought to look for it on my other hand, as my ring had been on the same finger for months. 

I was delighted, surprised, and a bit baffled too. How had my ring moved from one hand to the other? 

Thinking about this I’m reminded once again of how much we do throughout our days that’s habitual, done without need for conscious choice. I must have fidgeted and moved my ring without being aware that I’d done so.

I was reminded of how much our hands facilitate each and every day.

• Hands touch and console our loved ones

• Hands make our food to nourish ourselves

• Hands collect precious to us things

• Hands clap to celebrate and congratulate

• Hands scratch our itches

• Hands pick up and move things

• Hands clasp with other hands to silently connect or hold tight

• Hands hold 

• Hands type or write words that communicate our thoughts

• Hands clasp together to symbolize gratitude, faith, peace

• Hands are integral to our creative process and help create furniture, jewelry, cloth, drawings…

• Hands also unfortunately shoot, hit, destruct…

• Hands do so very much! 

Technically speaking, our hands have evolved to have a high density of specialized nerve endings. The skin on our fingertips have receptors that take note of pressure, pain, temperature…

“Nerve endings in concert with anatomical adaptations of the hand (muscular and bone) allow for enhanced tool use…Combined, these [nerve] receptors allow for the sense of touch and discrimination of shapes, textures, and objects and are responsible for the sensations of heat and pain, and give information on where the hand and fingers are in relation to the body.” Center for Academic Research & Training in Anthropogeny.

Hands connect to the heart in a direct way. In a past post, I wrote about when the work that I was creating started to have a connection to my heart, to my spirit, encapsulated my voice.

Today I’d like to share with you a favorite way of Self-Tuning and resetting, a way I slow down to acknowledge and cultivate this connection.

I place the palms of my hands over the front of my heart space and breathe in deeply, feeling my chest rise under my hands. I then exhale slowly and send the breath from my heart center down my arms to my hands, continuing by consciously spreading that breath through my hands and back into my heart, feeding my heart with my own touch, care and love. I then repeat this cycle until I sense myself more centered, nourished and   calm. 

Try it out:

• Feel your feet connect to the floor

• Close your eyes and place the palms of your hands over your heart

• Take a deep breath through heart lifting it towards your hands

• Slowly exhale, imagining your breath moving down your arms, through your hands, and back into your heart

• Repeat this cycle a few times, feeding your heart with your own kindness, care and love (or whatever quality it is most needing)

How do you feel?
I’d love to hear. Write a comment below to let me know.