Scriptures talks about Moses having so much power in his hands that when he raised them up, the Israelites won in battle, but when he lowered his hands, they would experience defeat. God’s hands are used to hold us when we need comfort, but also “turn against” us when we are treating others poorly. Jesus healed the sick with the touch of his hands. The Holy Spirit made her presence known in the book of Acts after the laying on of hands. Hands bless. Hands hold the power of healing. We float through our days unaware of what we are doing with these powerful tools.
For the past month, I focused attention on my hands. I yearn to hold a handstand or crow pose or any type of inversion where the hands are holding me up off the ground, but on my own I could not figure out how to put all the right ingredients together to cook up that kind of magic. During one of our classes, a special guest came to share with us her secret recipe for inversions. Guess what? The first step is working on cultivating awareness of the power in our hands. I learned that my fingers are the break that stop me from falling feet over head. Ok, sometimes, I still go feet over head , but I practice my fall so that the fall holds no fear. I learned to apply pressure evenly from fingers to wrist. I played with my hands feeling their power as I gripped the earth like a steering wheel during rush hour traffic.
I took this practice home. I really wanted to lift my legs in the air, but I first concentrated all my attention on my hands. What I realized is that I had very little awareness of my hands as I placed them on the earth and it took unnatural amounts of focus to keep thinking about the power of my hands. Today, in class, my teacher offered the opportunity to explore side crow. I twisted my body so that my hip and knee rested on my forearms and I leaned all my weight into my hands. I dug my fingers into my mat to apply the breaks so that my face did not smash into the floor and my feet lifted off the ground. Magic!
You have power in your hands, but we all begin with practicing awareness. Maybe set your intention to take a day becoming aware of your hands. Notice what you use them for. Notice what your hands do when they are not being used. Notice how they feel when they are comforting someone and when you are angry with someone. Notice your hands as you sit and think.
Let me know how it goes!
Amber Mattingly 