A Simple Gesture For Calm

From Buddha to Jesus, hand mudra’s have been used for 1000’s of years to express the sacred.

Hand mudra’s have also been used to generate a certain feeling in the body and mind. They are most used in everyday life for calm, to facilitate a sense of connection, and to enhance awareness.

Even if you don’t believe this to work or exist, consider for a moment that the hand and fingers take up as much room in the sensory motor aspects of the brain as the lower extremity. And that these structures lie directly above the limbic and basal ganglia, both areas implicated in pleasure and awareness states.

Here is a simple hand mudra for calming that can even be done with kids…my son calls it “hot dog”.

Place your thumb in the center of your palm. “Hot dog”
 

 

Curl the fingers over the thumb, “bun over hot dog”

 

Turn fist so that palm faces downward, and place them on your knees or thighs. 
 

 

You can rest for 5 minutes, following your breath. Placing the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth behind your front teeth will further enhance the effect. 

It’s also good to do in a stressful interaction when you must interact and speak.