Calm Your Nervous System With Gentle Hand Movements

In this soothing somatic exercise, you'll practice small, slow, gentle movements of your hands in order to regulate and calm your nervous system. If you're experiencing chronic muscle tension or are stressed or anxious, this Feldenkrais exercise is designed to help you feel overall muscle tension relief, as well as emotionally calmer, regulated, and safe.

In this exercise, you will be lying on your back. You'll need a bed or floor with padding, and a warm layer or a blanket in case you get cold.

Transcript

Welcome to Restore with Awareness.

This lesson will help you calm and regulate your nervous system and help you let go of unconscious muscle tension that you may be holding in your body.

We all hold tension unconsciously either because of stress or its leftover compensation patterns that were put in place after an injury or just because of everyday life habits.

In this lesson,

You'll notice the most benefit if you follow these four guidelines.

Number one,

Move very,

Very slowly.

The nervous system moves at a very slow pace and when we move slowly,

This gives your brain time to take in the sensory information and to integrate it.

Number two,

Make the movements very small.

We're all used to thinking we have to do more,

Stretch more,

Or that more movements are better.

But when working with the nervous system and brain,

Less and smaller is better.

Number three,

Avoid any and all discomfort.

If you feel any stretching,

Strain,

Or pain,

Make your movements smaller and slower.

We're not working our muscles.

We're interested in the quality of each movement.

And number four,

Please rest whenever instructed to do so.

If you feel tired or get confused with the instructions,

Rest even when you're not instructed to do so.

During the rests,

Your brain processes any sensory information you've been observing and tension is released almost spontaneously.

And I'll remind you of these guidelines throughout the lesson.

If at any point during the lesson you feel discomfort in your lower back,

Feel free to bend your knees and stand your feet if you're not doing so already.

Okay,

And now we'll begin.

So observe how you feel as you lie on the floor.

Notice where your body is lifted away from the floor,

And where you feel you're in contact with the floor.

So some areas to observe are the back of your pelvis,

Your lower back,

Does it feel lifted?

Or is it in contact?

The back of your ribs,

Your shoulder blades,

Does one side feel heavier,

Or like it's more in contact than the other side?

And very gently roll your head a little bit to the left,

The right,

And just notice if one direction is easier or smoother than the other.

Notice if you feel any resistance or bumpiness as you roll your head in either direction.

And just see if you can only roll your head in a range that feels very smooth.

And now pause your head and just notice your mood.

Notice your level of mental tension or stress.

So this is your baseline,

And we'll come back to observe these things at the end of the lesson to see if there's been any improvement.

Stretch out your right arm in line with your right shoulder.

So that means your arm is perpendicular to your torso,

And your palm is facing the ceiling.

And then bend your elbow in such a way that your lower arm is perpendicular to the ceiling.

So in this way,

Your lower arm and your upper arm are making a letter L.

And just let your hand droop at the wrist,

Bend your wrist.

And now very,

Very slowly begin to raise your hand a little bit so that your fingers go towards the ceiling.

And then you slowly let your hand drop again.

And when your right hand goes towards that hanging position,

Do you just close your hand a little bit,

Whatever feels easy.

So not completely,

Not like in a fist,

But maybe the fingers and the thumb begin to touch very gently.

And then you open your hand like a flower opening,

But not completely,

Not with any stiffness or any stretching.

And then again,

You let your hand fall and your fingers come together.

And you can feel that your thumb comes to touch the pads of your fingers.

And then you open your hand,

But it's not a complete opening,

Just what's easy.

And then you let your hand fall again very slowly.

And you let your wrist droop.

And you just continue like this doing just what's easy.

Moving very,

Very slowly,

Very simply.

And your lower arm is vertical to the ceiling and your wrist bends as your fist closes.

And then as you bring your fingers towards the opening,

Your wrist extends a little bit.

So when you open your hand,

Your palm faces the wall that's below your feet.

And when your hand closes,

Just that gesture of closing your palm is covered by your fingers.

See if inhaling as you open your hand and exhaling as you close your hand helps this movement to feel a little bit easier,

Or a little lighter.

And again,

Just do what's very,

Very easy for you.

Just what's comfortable.

If you feel any stretching of your fingers,

You just do less.

There's no right or wrong.

And as you do this,

Just notice if your eyes are watching the opening of your hand that's not really an opening,

Or if they're watching the closing of your hand that's not really a closing.

Okay,

And now please stop for a moment and rest your right arm on the floor.

And just observe if you feel a difference in the sensation of your right hand compared to the left.

And is your right shoulder blade lying on the floor a little differently than your left shoulder blade?

Is it a little flatter,

Or a little softer?

Okay,

And now please bend your knees and stand your feet comfortable distance apart.

And stretch out your right arm in line with your shoulder and bend your elbow so your lower arm is perpendicular to the floor again.

You're making a letter L with your lower and upper arm.

And now begin again to make that very simple,

Soft,

Unhurried movement of your right hand,

Opening but not really opening,

And closing but not really closing.

And as you close your hand that little bit,

Begin to turn your head and eyes a little bit to the right.

And as your hand opens that little bit,

Turn your head and eyes back to the middle.

So slowly turn your head and eyes to the right as your hand closes.

And then you turn your head and eyes towards the middle as you open your hand.

And you can have your eyes closed as you do this.

And again,

You just make the smallest movement of what is comfortable for you.

So your head and eyes turn towards your closing hand.

And as your hand opens,

They turn back towards the middle.

And now let's do the opposite.

So now try turning your head and eyes to the right when your hand opens,

And then to the middle as your hand closes.

And just see if you can feel that when you turn your head to the right,

When your hand opens,

It's different than when your hand closes.

Just notice if the sensation in your neck or your hand is different when you turn your head to the right when you open your hand than when you turn your head towards your closing hand.

So your hands are connected to your entire body through your brain.

Your whole self moves in relationship to your hands.

So see if you can feel is it easier to turn your head towards your closing hand or towards your opening hand.

And if it feels that they're equal or the same,

That's fine.

Okay,

And now lower your right arm on the floor.

You can lengthen your legs and rest.

And observe if your perception of your right hand and your right arm is different than your perception of your left hand and left arm.

Please bend your knees and stand your feet a comfortable distance apart.

And now lengthen your left arm on the floor so your arm is perpendicular to your torso.

And then raise your lower arm so that it's perpendicular to the floor.

And you're making a letter L with your upper arm and lower arm.

And very slowly,

Again,

Begin this movement,

But this time with your left hand.

You very slowly open your left hand.

And then you slowly close your left hand,

But not all the way closed.

You allow your wrist to relax,

Your hand droops.

Then you slowly open your left hand just to the degree that it feels comfortable and easy.

You avoid any stretching,

Any forcing.

And as you do this movement of a little bit of opening and a little bit of closing,

Just feel where you can reduce the effort.

Where can you make the muscular work to open and close your hand less?

Maybe you can relax something in your neck or your jaw or your wrist,

Your eyes.

Maybe you're contracting your tongue in some way.

Are you pressing your tongue into the roof of your mouth or into the backs of your teeth?

See if you can let your tongue be resting and soft.

Okay,

And let that go.

Lower your arm and rest your arm on the floor.

And now bring your left arm back to the place.

So make that shape of the letter L between your upper and lower arm.

Relax your wrist,

Let your wrist,

Your hand droop.

And now slowly,

As you inhale,

Open your hand a little bit.

Just so it's easy.

And as you exhale,

Let your hand begin to close.

Just notice that although it's not required to breathe in this way,

That there's something soothing about inhaling as you open your hand and exhaling as you close your hand.

Very slowly.

When you open your hand,

Your fingers separate from one another,

But your fingers and palm are relaxed and soft.

And as you bring,

You close your hand,

You're not trying to make a fist,

But you're just,

Maybe that your thumb and the pads of your fingers softly touch each other.

And now slowly begin to turn your head towards your hand as you close your hand.

And as you open your hand,

Turn your head back to the middle.

And as you close your hand and you bring your hand,

Your head to look towards your hand,

You exhale.

And then as you turn your head towards the middle,

And you open your hand,

You inhale.

Very nice.

And now slowly lower your arm and rest it on the floor and lengthen your legs.

Just notice something has changed in your contact with the floor.

Maybe your left shoulder is softer.

Your left hand has something changed in the left side of your face.

And notice the quality of your breathing.

Is your breathing easy and simple?

Are you holding your breath?

Is there any place that you can let go?

Maybe relax your abdomen,

Your jaw.

Very nice.

And now please bend your knees and stand your feet a comfortable distance apart on the floor.

And now bring both arms out to the side so that your arms are perpendicular to your torso.

So you're lying with your arms in a letter T position.

And now bend your lower arms so that your both of your arms are making that capital letter L.

And very slowly begin to together open your hands very slowly and softly.

And then very slowly close your hands but not really all the way.

Let your wrists bend a little and your hands droop.

And then you alternate like this.

Very,

Very slowly opening that little bit that's not really opening and closing that little bit that's not really closing.

And now slowly begin to alternate.

So as one hand closes,

The other hand opens.

And then the other hand closes and the other hand opens just slowly.

But really remain mindful.

Still notice where can you reduce any effort to do this very simple movement of alternating opening and closing your hands.

And now as you do this movement,

As you slowly alternate,

Slowly turn your head and eyes as if you wanted to see the hand that's closing.

So as you close your right hand,

Your head turns gently a little bit to the right.

And then as your right hand begins to open,

You turn your head towards your left hand,

Which is closing.

Go very slowly back and forth,

Turning your head towards the closing hand.

You can do this with your eyes closed.

So your head is turning to the left slowly and to the right slowly.

And this coordination between your hands and eyes is something that we learned very early in life.

So you can return to these very early primitive patterns as a way to calm your nervous system at any time.

Okay,

Please lower your arms on the floor,

Lengthen your legs and rest.

Just observe the movement of your breathing in your lower abdomen.

And notice if something is different,

Something a little simpler,

A little easier.

And notice the contact of your pelvis with the floor.

Does it feel wider or narrower than when we started?

And your lower back.

And notice the back of your ribs and their contact with the floor and your shoulder blades.

And very slowly,

Very gently,

Roll your head a little to the left and a little to the right.

And just notice if that movement is easier or smoother.

Maybe it feels clearer.

And then pause your head in the middle and notice again,

The quality of your breathing.

Is it easy,

Free,

Comfortable?

Very nice.

And now if you have time to lie here for a few minutes,

Please do so.

Feel the contact of the back of yourself with the floor or bed.

And just notice if you feel wider or flatter,

Or more spread out.

And if you do,

This is the feeling of muscular contractions,

Letting go.

This is your natural state.

And when you're ready to get up,

Please slowly bend your knees and stand your feet.

And then very slowly,

Roll to one side and pause for a moment.

Allow your head to be in contact with the floor or bed.

And think about how you can allow your head to be the last thing to lift off the floor or bed.

As you come to sit,

See if you can press into your arms and hands and let your head be heavy so that you don't use your neck muscles as you push yourself up.

Allow your spine to round in the back.

And when you're ready,

Slowly stand with the same intention to let your head be heavy.

And once you're in standing,

Please separate your feet a few inches apart and observe yourself.

Does something feel different in your shoulders or your arms?

See if you can relax your lower abdomen as you stand.

Is your breathing free and easy?

And do you feel a sense of calmness?

This lesson is now complete.

Thank you for taking the time for yourself to calm your nervous system.

Reviews

This was amazing. I am struggling with a lot of stress and recently read about somatics. This is the first of these I have tried and it was so helpful!

Thank you susan ,this is great it's been 20 years since last doing some Feldenkrais work and this has reminded me of the benefits 🙏

Had been having some nervous system dysfunction symptoms, very uncomfortable, but this helped me at least not feel the discomfort as much. Good level of challenge mixed with ability by this instructor. Thank you

Hello beautiful 🍎🌺🍎🌺🍎Thank you so much for the wonderful practice 🌞🥰I’m melting like ice cream in the sun and loose so much tension 🗺️have a blessed day 🕉️Namaste

I feel deeply relaxed and calm! That was wonderful! 🩷