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Stress Buster: Finger Counting
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It’s time for another stress buster. Finger counting is a useful technique when you need a little help keeping your focus.
Finger counting is very simple. Place your left hand flat on your lap or on a table in front of you, palm down. Make sure the hand is fully supported, so you can keep it there comfortably for several minutes.
Use the index finger on your right hand to trace the fingers. With the tip of the index finger, touch the outside of the left hand, at the base of your little finger.
Coordinate the tracing with your breath. As you breathe in, trace up the outside of the little finger, reaching to tip of the finger at the end of the inhale. As you exhale, trace down the inside of the finger. As you inhale, trace up the outside of the ring finger, and as you exhale, trace down the inside of the ring finger.
Keep tracing the fingers until you reach the base of the thumb on an exhalation. If you want to keep finger counting, don’t start at the little finger again, just reverse your tracing. As you inhale, trace up to the tip of the thumb.
Yes, it is okay to use your left hand to trace your right hand. Do whatever feels most comfortable and natural to you.
This Week's Peaceful Moment: Duckling at Elk Island National Park, Alberta
You can continue to trace as long as you want to, or whenever you want to, you can stop tracing and bring your full attention to just breathing.
If your mind wanders to a thought or feeling, gently bring your attention back to the sensations of tracing your fingers. Return to these sensations as many times as you need to. There’s no need to be concerned or upset if your mind wanders. Just simply return to tracing.
Like the counting technique and the labeling technique, finger counting can help you focus on the breath during meditation. It’s also good for stress relief, because it helps you let go of your thoughts and focus on bodily sensations for awhile. The body is always in the present moment, so dropping out of your head (your thoughts and feelings) into your body helps you let go of worries about the past or the future. Just a few minutes of finger counting can help you get grounded and make you feel calmer. If you can put your hand on your lap under a table, you can also be stealthy and do some finger counting with no one noticing.
Try finger counting now
For a 12-minute guided meditation including the finger counting technique, forward the podcast or the video above to 2:32.
Next Week:
Next week I’m going to address more questions submitted by listeners and students. I’ll cover questions about listening to music while meditating, teaching mindfulness to kids, meditation for those with breathing problems, and more.
If you’d like a reminder email, just go to mindful15.com/subscribe and subscribe to our newsletter. I’ll let you know when new lessons are online and I’ll also send you a free deep relaxation along with a copy of Your Meditation Action Plan, our step-by-step guide to building a healthy meditation habit that lasts a lifetime.
Before you go
If you enjoyed this lesson,
View all episodes
Listen:
Watch:
Read:
It’s time for another stress buster. Finger counting is a useful technique when you need a little help keeping your focus.
Finger counting is very simple. Place your left hand flat on your lap or on a table in front of you, palm down. Make sure the hand is fully supported, so you can keep it there comfortably for several minutes.
Use the index finger on your right hand to trace the fingers. With the tip of the index finger, touch the outside of the left hand, at the base of your little finger.
Coordinate the tracing with your breath. As you breathe in, trace up the outside of the little finger, reaching to tip of the finger at the end of the inhale. As you exhale, trace down the inside of the finger. As you inhale, trace up the outside of the ring finger, and as you exhale, trace down the inside of the ring finger.
Keep tracing the fingers until you reach the base of the thumb on an exhalation. If you want to keep finger counting, don’t start at the little finger again, just reverse your tracing. As you inhale, trace up to the tip of the thumb.
Yes, it is okay to use your left hand to trace your right hand. Do whatever feels most comfortable and natural to you.
This Week's Peaceful Moment: Duckling at Elk Island National Park, Alberta
You can continue to trace as long as you want to, or whenever you want to, you can stop tracing and bring your full attention to just breathing.
If your mind wanders to a thought or feeling, gently bring your attention back to the sensations of tracing your fingers. Return to these sensations as many times as you need to. There’s no need to be concerned or upset if your mind wanders. Just simply return to tracing.
Like the counting technique and the labeling technique, finger counting can help you focus on the breath during meditation. It’s also good for stress relief, because it helps you let go of your thoughts and focus on bodily sensations for awhile. The body is always in the present moment, so dropping out of your head (your thoughts and feelings) into your body helps you let go of worries about the past or the future. Just a few minutes of finger counting can help you get grounded and make you feel calmer. If you can put your hand on your lap under a table, you can also be stealthy and do some finger counting with no one noticing.
Try finger counting now
For a 12-minute guided meditation including the finger counting technique, forward the podcast or the video above to 2:32.
Next Week:
Next week I’m going to address more questions submitted by listeners and students. I’ll cover questions about listening to music while meditating, teaching mindfulness to kids, meditation for those with breathing problems, and more.
If you’d like a reminder email, just go to mindful15.com/subscribe and subscribe to our newsletter. I’ll let you know when new lessons are online and I’ll also send you a free deep relaxation along with a copy of Your Meditation Action Plan, our step-by-step guide to building a healthy meditation habit that lasts a lifetime.
Before you go
If you enjoyed this lesson,