Stress relief in the now – an instant stress relief series: Naam Yoga Hand Trick

By Vahagn (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Once again we go into the Yoga side of things even though this blog has the words “not actually yoga” in the title; but this is supposed to be a good trick to help you calm down instantly, so – oh well!

Yoga is a complicated thing. Like most exercises it has many different forms, moves and techniques, some of which concentrate on a particular body part or a particular aspect of the body.  It may or may not come as a surprise that there are certain yoga moves that are supposed to help with your mood and how you think. In this post I will talking about 4 yoga positions which are supposed to change the way you feel instantly, and the best part is you only need to use your hands to do them.  I found these hand positions in an article on businessinsider.com  titled, “Use Eastern Medicine To Trick Your Body Into Relaxing Instantly,” written by Vivian Giang. The article talks about psychologist Sharon Melnick, and some of the yoga techniques she recommends that will make you feel more relaxed and confident. Now without further ado, here are the 4 Naam yoga hand techniques that the article talks about.

1. To calm yourself: If you find yourself in a position where you need to reduce anxiety immediately, you can do so with this technique. If you move your thumb down along your middle finger you will feel a soft indented spot somewhere between your second and third knuckle. According to Melnick the psychologist by applying a little pressure to this spot you activate “a nerve that loosens the area around the heart,” this should get rid of any feeling of nervousness you may have.
2. To increase confidence: You can do this one with either of your hands; just touch your thumb to a point to the side of your index finger between the first and second knuckle. Applying pressure to this point sends a signal to the part of your brain that deals with charisma and feeling powerful. So if you feel low in confidence then use this technique and give yourself a boost.
3. Get rid of fear: You will need both hands for this one. If you find yourself getting easily afraid then you can try this: put the tip of your thumbs on the tips of your index finger like you would if you were doing the lotus pose in yoga. Now breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. When you breathe in bring your hands straight toward your chest and when you breathe out forcefully push them away.
4. Solving problems: If you find yourself unable to solve a problem then you might try this technique. With your right hand touch the tips of your thumb, index and middle finger, now bring the tip of this triangle roughly an inch above the point between your eyes. Now touch the tips of your thumb, index and middle finger on your left hand and place the tip of this triangle roughly an inch above your belly button. And now hold this position. This position is more about symbolism, it symbolises forming a connection with your gut and your head so now you can listen to your gut instincts better and come up with an answer.

So there you go, four yoga hand techniques to help you out. Now I’m sure you’re wondering whether this works. Well I tried these out myself and I am going to say kind of. The thing about these yoga positions is that half of its power comes from belief; if you don’t believe at least partly in spiritualism then a lot of the power goes out the window. Still even if you don’t believe in spiritualism but are still willing to keep an open mind the try out these yoga positions, they might surprise you, who knows.