Breathing exercise

Hand Meditation

Anxiety is a natural human response that we all feel in response to a threat or stressful situation. Our brain reacts with the flight/fight/freeze response and our body reacts to this in different ways. One of the ways our body reacts is that our breathing speeds up, so to return to calm we need to slow the breathing down. There are many great breathing exercises out there that can help to reduce anxiety, but the hand meditation is one I particularly like for several reasons:

• It can be done discreetly, in most situations without being noticed
• It’s an easy, fun mindful exercise for adults and children
• It engages the senses of, touch, sight and sound, not just breath
• It is great for those who struggle with the stillness of other breath exercises

In this exercise you focus on your breath while slowly tracing the outline of your hand in sync with your inhale and exhale. At the same time, watch your index finger as it moves over the outline of your hand. You can then start to focus on what it feels like, as your index finger moves over your hand. Notice the texture and temperature of the skin, the bumps and creases over the knuckles. Work from the base of the thumb to the base of the little finger and back to the thumb. This is one round. Do two rounds, then check in and notice if you are feeling any calmer.