“Now join your hands, and with your hands your hearts.”

- William Shakespeare

Have you ever paused to appreciate your hands? Take a look at your hands now - your hands that give and receive, hands that nourish and feed you. They are incredible, beautiful tools that we often take for granted.

Hands that...

Create and Direct

Lately, in my practice, I’ve been paying more attention to my hands, placing them lovingly. I’m reminded that hands are one of the greatest natural conduits for sensing and manipulating.

In yoga, we tend to emphasise and work purposefully with the feet since many standing poses and balances rely on their alignment and awareness. For our postures to feel integrated, our feet need to be awakened to their inherent sensitivity and dexterity.

Like siblings to the feet, though, our hands must have similar attention.

Just as the feet inform the knees, hips and spine upstream, the hands influence how the wrists, arms, shoulders and neck feel and behave, especially as we start to bear weight through them as we do with our feet.

Hands that...

Connect and Collect

A memorable image comes to mind that I first came across in medical school and again in one of my yoga anatomy books - the slightly gross but illuminating homunculus. See the image below from The Key Poses of Yoga, Ray Long)

The homunculus is a visual representation of how a man would look if we mapped the amount of brain power dedicated to certain areas of the body. The hands, feet, and tongue have the most densely populated nerve connections, demonstrating how important these areas are for feeding information to and from the brain.

However impressive our hands are functionally, they mean more to us than being useful appendages.

Last week, my teacher described yoga as not just a mechanical practice but an emotional journey, and I couldn’t agree more. In the case of hands, it’s clear that how we express them has huge significance beyond their physical function.

Hands that...

Express and Caress

Hands can ground, soothe, support, or energise us. What we do with them can change our mood and our physiology. These connections can enliven a functional yoga practice with additional meaning.

One of the most universal hand placements is the prayer position, known as Anjali Mudra in yoga. We often use this gesture at the beginning or end of a yoga class. Bringing our hands together close to the heart carries rich symbolism, representing pause, acknowledgement, and gratitude.

How do you feel when you place palm to palm? When do you settle a hand on the heart? Or lay hands on another being?

Hands that…

Comfort and Support

In upcoming classes, we might dedicate a little focus to our hands, which will surely help us with mechanics and energetics. By opening the access of our hands, I’m confident, too, that we will be opening a direct portal to our hearts!

Also, I have a new offering for the Autumn—a short Restorative online series starting in October. Allow yourself to be placed in my proverbial hands as I guide you through a slow, supported evening practice. Join me as the nights draw in, especially if you need a mid-week dose of restoration.

Let’s practise.