I tell children when they are feeling overly stressed and tense, that it is just a sign that we need to release some stuck energy and re-establish calm feelings. One way to do that is through hand yoga or mudras. These are easy hand signals that can be used at any time, even inside your pockets to help you feel better. Hand yoga is especially easy to do when you are taking some time to yourself. It doesn’t take very long and you can do it anywhere. The ancient science behind mudras suggests that placing our hands in these positions stimulate meridians in the body that in turn help us to optimally balance our energy. By doing these simple poses our energy is naturally balanced. We can’t get too much energy or too little energy by practicing hand yoga. Homeostatis of energy always occurs when we practice.
Activity: Elephant Hands
1. Place your left hand in front of your chest, palm facing out.
2. Face your right palm in front of the left facing inward.
3. Connect the two hands by clasping the fingers together.
4. Breathe out and pull the hands apart without releasing them. (This tenses the arm and chest muscles).
5. Breathe in and relax the pull, allowing the tension to melt out of the hands.
6. Repeat this tense/pull six times then reverse the hands and repeat an additional six times.
I call this activity elephant hands because the mudra is in honor of the hindu elephant god Ganesh. Ganesh has the body of a boy and the head of an elephant. Ganesh is known as the remover of obstacles. While practicing elephant hands, think of anything that you don’t want in your life or something you would like to move out of your way so that you can experience more success. Imagine that this obstacle is evaporating as you hold the elephant hand pose. For example, if you are feeling nervous for a test, imagine that your nervous thoughts and feelings are simply floating away out into space as you are holding the hand pose. Remember to replace the nervous thoughts and feelings with powerful, strong thoughts about how calm you feel about the test and how easily you will remember what you need to know. Hold the pose until you feel better.
the names given to these poses and techniques hook kids in in a wonderful way. i appreciate that!