A Moment for Devotion
A Moment for Devotion
A Time Out From Our Time Out
This stay at home thing is exhausting. I need a time out from this time out. That's why I'm leaning into a lesson that I find comforting, humbling and state altering: Prayer Hands.
It doesn't matter what, if any, your spiritual practice is. Moshe Feldenkrais was downright snarky when it came to organized religion. But he recognized that the prayer hand gesture arises across cultures with universal affect.
This week's Prayer Hands lesson rearranges your emotional and spiritual vibe with grounding, self care and appreciation. It begins with the sound of one hand praying, then both. The lesson gets a little athletic as we move from sitting to kneeling to child's pose if that's comfortable for you. This lesson asks: how gentle can you be with yourself? And, because I think we all need it, I'm taking Abby from Sesame Street's advice. Watch the video, please, and get ready for a little hugging.
This lesson could be appropriate for younger people depending on their ability to sit quietly. It could be very calming.
Focus this week: Prayer Hands
How you might feel after this lesson: Appreciative; grounded; altered state - at a deeper or higher vibration; hands soft; breathing deep and relaxed; back, shoulders and neck released; ready for whatever is coming next.
The Sound of One Hand Praying
Not that anyone of us is spending much time in our cars. Maybe think of this as a "lock the bathroom door for a minute" exercise. I can attest that the prayer hand gesture alone can shift one's mood. There's a reason just about every culture uses this movement to cultivate the devotional state.
If you have 15 seconds, try this mini-lesson:
Sit comfortably with your hands in your lap.
Bring your hands together in prayer hand position. Chest level is good, but any position that's comfortable for you is fine. Eyes opened or closed - whatever feels better.
Gently draw your hands apart so that the palms are barely touching. Experiment with how gently you can touch, separate, touch. Breathe.
Now let one hand rest in your lap and continue to focus on the palm of the raised hand. Breathe. Notice if the palm moves a little bit with your breath.
Change hands. Focus on the other palm. Breathe. Notice the movement of your chest, maybe shoulders, maybe the rocking of the pelvis as you inhale and exhale.
Bring the palms back together as gently as you can. Notice how the hands rise a little with the inhale, settle a little with the exhale. Feel a little calmer? Yah.