Dear World
Are we aware how important our hands are?
Have we thought about what they do every day?
What if we take a STOP and pause moment to have a good look at the current state of our hands –
What do we feel?
What do we see?
What are we sensing?
What are they saying?
If our hands could talk to us right now –
What message is being communicated?
Are our hands reflecting the choices we make?
In other words, how we are living in daily life?
Are our hands receiving the utmost care and attention, because we choose to take deep care of them?
Are our hands delicate and Gentle because we treat them as something very precious?
Are our hands feeling clean and fresh and super well looked after – thank you very much?
Are our hands ignored most of the time and never seem to get our Focus or attention?
Are our hands getting zero fuss and attention because our life is just way too busy for that kind of stuff?
Are our hands always grubby and dirty and we just hate the sight of them?
Are our hands a bit hard and crusty and have never seen a moisturiser go near them?
Are our hands receiving the basic nail care treatment that they need for general maintenance?
Are our hands deserving of our Appreciation because they genuinely work so hard every day?
Are our hands being used to do things that we know we should not be doing?
Are our hands being used in ways that are not help-full to our body?
Are our hands feeling somewhat dis-connected from the rest of our body?
Are our hands not being treated with respect because we wash up without the rubber gloves on?
Are our hands stuck in disposable gloves and unable to breathe these days?
Are our hands super dry because we have over done it with the panic use of sanitisers in our current climate?
Are our hands missing the nail salons who do it all for us as we are in lockdown restrictions?
Are our hands subjected to false nails, which comes with the use of chemicals needed to keep that look going?
Are we embarrassed by the damage from our false nails look?
Are we missing the detail when it comes to hand and nail care?
Are we clocking a pair of hands that desperately need attention?
Are we observing hard working hands that never get a rest?
Are we being shown the hands of someone living in self-neglect?
What if we start with the small steps presented below, stay Consistent every day and then see how our hands feel?
The following is taken from our Back to Basics Program
Washing Our Hands
Check you have some soap ready to use near the sink
Have a towel or paper tissue nearby for drying your hands
Stand in front of the sink and adjust your feet to feel stable
Relax your shoulders and take a few deep breaths
Check and be aware that you are balanced and steady
No rushing please – this is not needed for this Simple job
Pull up your sleeves gently, using your fingertips
Place your fingertips on the tap and turn gently
Check the water temperature and rinse both hands
Turn the tap off and reach for the soap and dispense
If you mind is wandering – bring it back and Focus
Lather up by rubbing both of your hands together
Use the thumb and middle finger, do circles on each wrist
Use knuckles in anti-clockwise movements on each palm
Slip fingers up and down in between fingers on each hand
Make a ball with nails inside the hand – do anti-clockwise circles
Using palm, anti-clockwise circles on tops of hands and fingers
Ready to rinse off soap – turn tap on super gently
Rinse away using movements with both hands and fingertips
Shake off to remove excess water and turn the tap off
Run the middle fingers across each wrist gently
Feel the connection as you repeat this last bit
Take the towel or paper tissue and dab on both hands
Job done
The key is to practice being consciously present when you carry out this simple task and that means – make sure your mind is with you when your body is doing the job.
This hand washing business should take a few minutes
So it really is no big deal but it is a super important job
Skipping or ignoring this basic hygiene task is a No No
Make washing your hands part of your Self-Care routine
Next
Washing our hands and using soaps usually dries our hands and most of us cannot be bothered to spend a moment to take the next step.
Get into the habit of applying hand lotion or hand cream
Nothing fancy or out of budget is required to do this job
The main message here is to Focus on the task in hand and that means your mind is to be with you when you wash your hands, dry your hands and when you moisturise your hands. No dilly dallying and no deviating.
As you practice this every single day and it becomes a way of living, it can then be applied to other areas of your life – like washing up, making your Bed and brushing your Teeth.
Ready
Apply the hand lotion or hand cream and don’t overdo it
Place in the centre of your hand and rub with other hand
Use fingertips to put the cream into each of the nails
Then in between fingers and attention on the knuckles
Massage a little more cream if needed or on dry bits
Go to the top of each hand and massage whole area
At night before bed –
Follow through above basic hand cream routine
Then use your finger pads on nails and cuticles
Anti-clockwise and pay attention to the detail
Massage small amounts gently into these areas
Use the fingertips of the other hand to massage
Use extra cream or lotion and be a bit generous
Cup the sides of the other hand gently grasping
Rub the cream in up and down movements
Go up to the tip of the small finger and back
Do the other side cupping the thumb area
Cream the skin between thumb and first finger
Massage this area with extra cream if it is dry
Use fingertips run them on the inside of wrists
Place palm of your hand on inside wrist and pause
This movement can support you with Connection
Appreciate your hands as you wind down for bed
Reminder – keep your mind focused on the task
Continue with this Simple bedtime ritual every night
Give yourself some time and space to thank your precious hands
After all, our hands do a grand job working for us every single day
Repeating this basic hand care daily will ensure it is locked into your Foundation along with other Self-Care choices you make.
When we repeat an action of Self-Care for our body, we get to feel more settled inside of us. This means we no longer need our mind to take us away into wanting more of something we do not need.
Instead we get the opportunity to feel more connected to our body and this supports us in daily life.
It makes sense to take Responsibility in this way and when we do anything that truly supports our body, chances are we will not get distracted and this improves our quality of living.
Over time, repeating this hand care ceremony will feel like good medicine and it helps to knock out some of the bad medicine we may be doing.
As we continue this, it becomes our normal standard and we will not need a reminder to prompt us because we can feel the call from inside our body that it is time for hand care.
Hand Care carried out in this way will help to develop a connection with our body to the real place inside us where we do not need or want anyone or anything else.
It is a natural place where we just feel enough and complete.
This publication is ©Copyright and the Moral Rights of the Author, Bina Pattel and Simple Living Global are asserted. Other than for the purposes of and subject to the conditions prescribed under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 as amended, no part of this work may in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, microcopying, photocopying, recording or otherwise) be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without prior written permission. Inquiries should be addressed to Simple Living Global – info@simplelivingglobal.com
