5 New Ways to Use Your Hands For Recovery
When was the last time you looked at your hands and thought about their crucial use in your recovery process?
As untraditional as it may sound, your hands can be one of the biggest helpers in reconnecting you to your primal instincts: to survive, thrive, enjoy, relax, travel, experience sensuality, and just have fun!
Something I notice our culture is doing more and more is stressing the importance of going hard day in and day out. We take ourselves so seriously.
Most of us thrive off of being, looking and appearing busy.
Take a minute to close your eyes…take a deep breath…fill your entire belly with air and hold it for 3 seconds….let it out slowly….
How does that feel?
Do you feel a calming wave of pleasure wash over your mind, body, and spirit?
Believe it or not, it’s possible to walk throughout your day with that feeling pulsating through your veins moment by moment.
Ignoring intuition, staying busy, working hard regardless of the hour, and forcing ourselves into little cubicles, all contribute to why many of us have disordered eating and exercise addictions.
I believe one of the reasons we have these issues is because we have lost touch with our primal selves.
Human beings are not supposed to be robots. We’re supposed to live intuitively and do things in a instinctual and primal way in regards to everything, including sexuality, food, play, rest and yes, even work.
When I was just beginning to accept my body, I realized that I was taking myself so freaking seriously. Every moment, I carried around pressure to be perfect, look perfect, and consistently work myself into the ground.
I felt guilt and shame for more than just my food choices, but also for taking rest and breaks from work. I still do this from time to time, but these days I have a secret weapon.
My secret weapon in moments of exhaustion is to realign my intentions with my primal instincts. How can I enjoy whatever feeling I am currently feeling, guilt-free? Typically, the answer is simple: just express myself…period. I allow myself to do this, and one of the ways I express myself is by unlocking the door to my primal self by doing things with my hands.
Playing with my hands connects me to life and intimacy in a way that my mind can’t always do, especially when it needs help turning off.
For example, my fingers are typing out these words on a blank Word document, but it feels almost as if my fingers know what to say more than my mind does. Thinking about all of my other go-to methods for reconnecting to my intuition, I realize that most all of them use my hands.
Well fancy that.
Here are 5 ways I use my hands to express my primal nature, reconnect with life and therefore, allow myself to recover in a way that feels expressive
1. I wash my body with my hands.
Once upon a time I was a loofah girl, but I found myself washing fast and furiously when I did this so that I didn’t have to feel and accept my “curves.” Ditching the loofah forced me to caress my own body in the shower, touch my stomach, feel my thighs, and scrub every beautiful crease and crevice. At first this was weird, but the more I did it, the more I realized how intimate showers can be. For the longest time, I didn’t want to “know” my body like that. I felt like it was wrong, or that it was inappropriate to enjoy touching my own skin, even if it was just for a shower. I believe this contributed to the disconnection I felt with my body image. Once I began to allow myself to enjoy washing my body with my hands instead of a loofah, I experienced a new level of intimacy with my unique and beautiful self.
2. Sometimes I eat with my hands.
As I learned from reading Mindful Eating, many time we lack intimacy with our food, which is why we’re still hungry after eating a meal. Have you ever sat down to eat a meal, only to realize you finished the last bite without actually enjoyed a single forkful? Eating with your hands automatically creates intimacy with your meal without you even having to think about it. If you’re feeling overworked, stressed, or just flat out exhausted with life, try this one at home for dinner. It may surprise you just how much love you feel with your meal by simply connecting with it in a new way.
3. I create art with my hands.
This one goes back to what I talked about in my last post. Lately, I have been thoroughly enjoying coloring in my new mandala coloring book because I am creating art with my hands in a new and different way. At its core, it’s just fun to try something you haven’t been doing day in and day out. You can try painting, drawing, playing music, journaling, weaving, knitting, sculpting, wood carving, and a great deal of many other things. The options are endless. Try something that requires your hands to do the expressing, so that your mind can finally zone out, recharge and recover.
4. I do handstands!
Not everybody is up for this move, so any type of physical movement will suffice, such as planks, stretching, foam rolling, or swimming, but personally handstands have been my go-to. Why? Not only is it a challenge for me, but it’s intimate and empowering for me to hold up my body with just my hands. My entire body is relying on the aid of the placement and structure of every individual finger. I’m grateful for my hands to be so strong, for my belly to be able to strengthen, for my legs to extend and lengthen, and for my courage to flip upside down for a minute or two. The entire experience is out of the ordinary. Try this one if you haven’t yet, even if it’s just in a corner of your bedroom (but please, work your way up safely!).
5. I touch my own body…and other’s!
Does it feel weird when you touch the shoulder of somebody you barely know? Do you often shudder away from the hug of a friend? Accept and embrace the touch of other individuals when you can. Try hugging more! Touch parts of your body that don’t often feel the warmth of touch….(ummm hello, knee pits!) No but seriously, express yourself by loving all of your body, and try connecting your warmth with other people when you can. I wasn’t much of a hugger when it came to people that weren’t close friends or family, but once I started hugging people more, I felt a much deeper connection with all other beings around me. Another thing I do is take off the pants when I get home! Who cares!? I’m by myself! This allows me to inherently touch my legs and feel the little body parts that don’t get much lovin’ when I’m all dressed up and out in about.
Learn 5 new ways your hands can help you reconnect with your intuition and help with recovery.
Hopefully some of these points resonate with you and you’ll give them a try. Do you have any unique ways you use your hands to express yourself and reconnect with your primal instincts?
Share them in the comments below, I would love to know!
If you find yourself still over-thinking food and clinging to your dieting ways, you’re NOT going to want to miss this free upcoming webinar I’m hosting on June 11 called How to Stop Obsessing Over Food and Exercise. Get the details and register HERE.
See you there!