How Observing Your Hands Can Spark Mindfulness

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

Photo by Emilio Williams on Unsplash

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.

Meditation is amazing but, what if you hate being with yourself? 3 powerful ways to tolerate time alone with your thoughts

Life can be stressful. People say, “Make time to meditate. Quiet your mind, and it will melt all your worries away.” That’s nice and all but, what if you can’t stand being with yourself?

I’m serious, what if you feel like a jerk inside and want nothing to do with that person?

Let’s say you sit down, in that awkwardly uncomfortable folded legs position—lotus I think it’s called—puff your chest out and close your eyes. Your annoying mind keeps yelling at you.

Not even about important topics. Just dumb stuff, like what to eat for breakfast and which podcast you’ll listen to on the way to work.

Annoying.

You’ve heard some of those benefits of meditation; a focused mind, inner peace, and more patience to approach the challenges of daily life. It’s estimated that stress is the cause of 90% of doctor visits. That is insane.

We all definitely need more time for mindfulness in our lives. How can you shut off the mouthy jerk inside your head and focus on that sought after quiet? 

1. Accept that your emotions want all of your attention and will try and distract you while you meditate.

This is normal. You’re not doing it wrong.  

Let yourself be who and what you are at that moment. Be present. Even if all the mess in your head is driving you nuts. 

Make peace with the anxious, emotional, and overly fearful part of yourself. It only wants to be heard, felt, and acknowledged.

2. Make those emotions stronger

If you have a lot on your mind, sit there and listen to yourself. If you notice strong feelings, pay attention to them. In fact, amplify them and make the emotions stronger. 

Give each emotion and thought inside your head some of your time, notice where in your body the feelings are, and they will gradually dissolve away. 

You’ll see that by sitting with your annoying voices and negative emotions and giving them your full attention, it will help you release and move on to the more positive ones.

When I started meditating regularly several years ago, this was tough for me.

I knew that I was never going to get rid of feeling crappy sometimes. Having the courage to sit with the mess of my thoughts was no easy task and I’m still no expert. 

I have found, though, that giving all of those thoughts and their emotions, time in the spotlight then shining several other lights directly on them, helps them to disappear. 

Meditating is generally pretty simple. Sit in a comfortable position with your legs folded, or on a chair with your hands in your lap. Breathe slowly, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Focus on your breath. 

When the thoughts start flooding in, treat them like that annoying coworker you barely know, who likes coming up and telling you all of their problems. You smile politely and nod, give them their time, until they finish and go away. 

Know that you don’t have to be in total control. Even though it’s hard to let go and tune in, do your best to stay present.

3. Meditate for at least ten minutes 

There’s something magical about getting to the ten-minute mark.  

Give yourself time to move through emotions and reach calm. I’ve read that twenty-minutes of meditation is ideal, but I know for me, reaching ten minutes is where I begin to melt into the moment.

You’ll find those annoying voices will dissipate, and it will be easier to be in a state of tranquility.

You will begin to focus on the moment. You will find yourself. The true self that is always there but buried under all that mess.

Believe me, you’ll like how the “true you” feels. You want to make sure to meet.

What if you can’t spend 20-30 minutes meditating most days? Don’t worry about it. 

If you can only do ten minutes, that’s what you do. Paying attention to yourself is the key.

Scheduling meditation time—making it a routine—is what keeps me on track. Every morning, it’s one of the first things I do.   

I have grown to like my inner thoughts more, and I believe you can too. 

When you go out and face the world, you will notice how much easier it will be to pay attention to one task at a time. You will feel less rushed. Anxiety will take a backseat, and you’ll gain more confidence and acceptance with the process of your regular daily life. 

Do your best to sit in meditation for ten minutes every day. Experience all of your emotions fully. 

Over time, you will understand and love yourself more, and the magic within each day will transform your life.