How Observing Your Hands Can Spark Mindfulness

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You don’t need a lot of time to be aware of the present moment

Remember that time you were writing and feeling stressed out? Perhaps, you thought of taking a few deep breaths to calm yourself down. Great idea. I love breathing exercises, but I’ve added one more practice to my “instant mindfulness” routine I’d like to share with you.

Observing your hands.

It’s as simple as it sounds. When I feel overwhelmed or stressed, I look at my hands and appreciate whatever they happen to be doing.

Watching your hands and appreciating your actions

Let me tell you how this hand observing idea came to me. I enjoy doing a few yoga poses in the morning, like upward and downward-facing dog and warrior poses. I noticed how focused on my hands I needed to be for proper form.

Why not pay attention to my hands while doing other things in my day? Like, when I write something with a pen, a rare activity nowadays. Or when I’m holding hands with my wife.

This tiny bit of gratitude ends up expanding and going further than you can imagine.

As a teacher, cartoonist, and writer, there’s so much to get done and keep up with each day. I have trouble slowing myself down sometimes. Even though I love it, I don’t always have time to do yoga. When I get a chance, I appreciate it more and see how my hands move and support me while holding poses.

Accepting that, as a parent, I’ll get very little quiet time for myself at home, finding quick ways to experience mindfulness is vital.

Getting in the mindset of “Even a little time for being in the moment is better than nothing.” helps lift away stress. You don’t need to spend twenty minutes meditating or thirty minutes of yoga to be mindful. Just noticing what your hands are up to can pull you back to your center.

Observing your hands leads to gratitude

If I’m at my laptop writing an article, I watch my hands typing for a few seconds. Then stop to give thanks for this opportunity to write and be a creative person.

Opening up this type of awareness often leads to breathing slowly and deeply and feeling gratitude for other blessings in your life. Your mood can change instantly. A smile might slide across your face. Become aware of the truth. You’re practicing mindfulness.

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it. (21)”

― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Believe it or not, even folding laundry can be a time for taking note of what your hands are doing. You’re taking care of your clean clothes, and having those clothes and the ability to wash them with relative ease is a blessing. Folding for your family could lead to a flood of emotions as you feel gratitude for being able to provide and care for them.

Rarely are we paying attention to all our hands can get done in a day. Using this “Observe Mindfulness Skill,” you can expand to other parts of your body. Notice where your feet are walking during the day. How they look without socks as you wiggle your toes.

In short, pay attention. It takes very little time and even less effort.

Final thoughts

Clearly, observing your hands is a great way to turn inward for mindfulness throughout the day, but how do you remember to do it? This may seem childish but, write something on your hand.

It could be a word like “Breathe” or “Relax” written in big black letters on your palm or on the outside of your hand. This will get you into the habit of paying attention — and possibly embarrassing you enough around others — to remember to make time for mindfulness observation.

I know you’re thinking about all the tech gadgets that can send you alerts to remember to be mindful. Go ahead and use those if it works for you. The low-tech reminders tend to work better for me, like putting post-it notes all over. Try to make it fun, so you enjoy the idea of finding peace in your day.

Remember, taking time for gratitude and mindfulness doesn’t have to be a chore. All you have to do is look at your hands.