Hi,
My name is Tanisha and I'm an art psychotherapist and mental health counsellor.
Today we're going to be doing the compassionate hand exercise.
This exercise is one of my go-tos.
It's easy for us to do no matter where we are and no matter what we need.
We're able to allow ourselves to experience the full-bodied feeling and warmth of nurturing compassion for ourselves.
So get yourself into a comfortable position.
You can be sitting or lying down and I want you to begin by taking three deep breaths in.
One through the nose,
Into the belly and slowly out through either the nose or mouth.
Your choice.
And again in through the nose and out through either the nose or mouth.
More time through the nose and out through the nose or mouth.
So if your eyes aren't closed already,
Feel free to close them.
Settle into the body and just notice how the body feels in this moment.
The feeling of contact whether you are lying or sitting with the surface beneath you.
Have any awareness of any tension,
Sensations or feelings stored in the body today.
As you make space to check in,
How is the body feeling?
How are your energy levels in this moment?
If there are more than one spaces or spots in the body that have some tension,
I want you to see if you can see if you can fish out which area today is perhaps storing the most tension or feeling.
You don't need to change anything,
Just have awareness.
If you're getting distracted,
Just come back to the breath.
Breathe in and out.
So once you've sussed out where the area of tension or the most sensations or feelings might be placed within the body today,
I want you to take the palms of your hands,
Put them together and begin to rub them against one another up and down.
Almost as if you're trying to start a fire,
It should start to sound something like this.
As you begin to generate some heat in between the palms there,
Notice how that feels and once it feels sufficient enough,
I want you to place one palm on that area that is storing the most tension,
Maybe the most feeling,
And the other lay gently on top of the hand and really feel and experience that heat slowly melting its way into that area.
Feel that warmth of those loving hands creating space and nurturing to that area of the body today.
No matter what might be stored in the body today,
Our loving hands accept,
Welcome and invite this in for a warm embrace.
As you hold yourself lovingly,
Feel the heat as it spreads around the body,
Slowly filling up heat,
Warmth,
Light into other areas of the body as well.
Just notice what the heat and warmth from the hands is doing to the feelings or sensations that were placed in this part of the body today.
Is the feeling starting to shift at all?
Is it starting to change?
Really feel the contact of the hands on the body today.
You're welcome to press a little firmly with the fingertips,
Really welcome that embrace.
If you need to take a deep breath,
If you need to sigh,
Allow yourself to breathe into that space where the hands are.
Notice any shifts and changes in the body as you sit lovingly holding yourself after this meditation.
Move and shift the body,
Stretch if you need to in any way that feels natural.
These little shifts,
Changes,
Yawns,
Whatever the body's telling you that it needs lets us know that something has been processed.
The body and the nervous system has shifted into a more relaxed state,
So allow it.
Thank yourself for showing up to do this exercise.
Today,
Thank you for joining me in guiding you in this practice.
Use compassionate hand whenever you need to and as often as you need to.
Take care,
See you next time.
