Hi folks,
I hope you are well. I have been thinking about you all as the situation with regards to covid-19 develops. Circumstances such as this can cause us to feel rather unsettled and it is now more than ever we can use grounding practises such as Yoga and meditation to help us cultivate more calm amongst the chaos.
With more and more of us more choosing to self-isolate or work from home, our access to yoga classes may be limited (subscribe to my YouTube channel to check out my free Yoga classes). This can mean more time hunched over a laptop/computer and can put strain on our lovely hands and wrists. Give them a bit of TLC and spend 5-10 minutes stretching them out using these simple yoga techniques below:
1. Palm Rotations
Extend arms out in front of you
Inhale rotate the palms up - palms facing up to the sky
Exhale to rotate the palms down - palms facing down
Repeat for 5 cycles of breath
2. Wrist Flexion & Extension
Extend arms out in front of you
Inhale to push palms away - fingertips extending up to the sky
Exhale to bow hands down - fingertips drop towards the ground
Repeat for 5 cycles of breath
3. Free Wrist Rotations
Make a fist with both hands
Start rotating the wrists in one direction - remembering to move slowly and breathe
Change the direction of the rotation when feels right for you
4. Finger & Palm Stretch
Make a fist with both hands
Extend one finger out at a time pausing in between each finger to check your hands are relaxed (try to minimise gripping of the fingers into palms)
Reverse the action and re-bend each finger back into palms
Repeat for 5 cycles
5. Circle of Joy
Come to seated
Inhale interlace fingers in front of chest
Exhale to push palms away and allow spine to round, chin can drop towards chest
Inhale extend arms over head keeping the fingers interlaced
Exhale to release the palms and allow shoulders to glide down the back
Please do let me know how you get on if you try the stretches out. Look after yourslves and hopefully see you all soon :-)