Relaxation Props for Hands: Soothe Tension and Relax Your Hard-Working Hands
-with Senior Yoga Teacher Heather Agnew
The other day I did a video about identifying what distracts you in your meditation practice, and what props or tools might help reduce those distractions. I talked about how an eye pillow was important to me, and I got a message from a tradie who was talking about how they had identified their own big meditation distraction – their hands.
As a tradie, they really use their hands all day. They said that they are distracted by the tension and pain in their hands when they try to relax, and find their hands curled inwards and holding tension through their meditations. This is often the same for artists, massage practitioners, cashiers, and folks that use their hands a lot in their work.
I have a few suggestions if this happens to you – you could do a little hand and forearm massage before your meditation, or rolling a soft ball over the tissues, and I’ll do a video on that soon.
Hand props for relaxation
For now, talking about props, you can use your eye pillows to soothe and relax your hands, or better yet get something weightier. You could make your own mega eye pillows, just take the instructions I shared in my eye pillow blog (find that here) and double or triple the size.
Want an easier hand prop?
You could buy two big flax packs at any chemist or pharmacy, the kind that people use for neck or back pain. You can even warm them up a bit in the microwave which will be even better for those tense muscles of the arms and hands. Stretch the flax packs across the muscles of the forearm, and then let the weight settle into your hands.
Want even easier hand props?
Get one large or two small bags of lentils or flax or rice from your pantry. I would recommend decanting them into in big socks or pillow cases because plastic won’t feel good in your hands.
I like giving them a squeeze a few times to release tension, and then let the weight of the pillows release your hands while you float away in relaxation.
I hope that helps.
Whether you’re a seasoned meditator or just starting your journey, I hope these tips and props will enhance your practice and help you find deeper rest in your meditation or relaxation practice.
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