We use our hands a lot during the day, especially our fingers for typing and texting and as a result more and more people are experiencing tension and pain in their wrists and fingers. Take a few minutes several times a day to move away from your computer or smart phone.
In Feldenkrais practice we strive to sense all parts of our body, sometimes in its entirety and sometimes as components. We explore the effects of freedom of movement or of strain in one area on the rest of our self. If we overwork our fingers and hands, the rest of our body, and mind, will be less able to sense, move, act and think.
Try these small sequences to increase the sensitivity in your hands:
- Sit comfortably on a chair, your feet uncrossed and on the floor. Place your hands gently in your lap. Close your eyes.
- Notice your breath and feel how your body responds to each inhalation and exhalation. Shift your attention from your breathing to your right hand and then back to your breathing. Then pay attention to your left hand. What do you notice about each hand and fingers and wrists? What else comes to your attention?
- Keep your eyes closed and gently and loosely interlace your fingers, feeling the connection between the fingers of both your hands.
- Slowly and easily slide your fingers closer together, letting each finger slide along its companion on the other hand. Feel the side of each finger. Then draw the hands apart but keep them loosely interlaced. Repeat sliding your fingers together and apart. What do you notice about each hand including the fingers, palms, and knuckles?
- What does the rest of your body feel like when you move your hands together and apart?
- Slowly release the hands and rest them on your lap for a few moments.
- Then interlace them the other way – e.g. if your right thumb was closest to your body switch to have your left thumb closer. Repeat the slow sliding of the hands together and apart.Increase sensitivity in your hands and fingers
