Hand Massage: An Easy Way to Feel Better

As I started our MoveMindfully session on the adult mental health unit at the hospital, several of the patients looked fairly anxious. Some were uncomfortably fidgeting in their seats. One woman bluntly announced, “I don’t like yoga.” 

I assured everyone that they get to choose which activities they want to try and could always choose just to observe instead. I explained that even if they didn’t participate, people often report feeling more peaceful by just hanging out with us during the session.

Once we got started, I suggested we try massaging our hands. “Sometimes without even realizing it, we’ll clench our fists when we are stressed!” A few patients nodded in agreement. “Massaging our hands reminds us that we can let go a little and give them a break,” I explained.

As I led the group through the hand massage activity, everyone in the room, even the few who seemed so hesitant at first, joined in. You could feel the level of anxiety dropping throughout the room.

So what changed?

By introducing simple hand massage, we become more connected to each other and more present in our own bodies. From this more grounded place, we are able to move on to exploring simple BREATHE-MOVE-REST practices that can be helpful for stress management throughout the day.

Hand massage can quickly ground us in our body. There are also many acupressure points in our hands that we access through this simple practice. Hand massage is trauma-responsive because it can create a sense of safety by grounding individuals in their body while allowing them to move at their own pace. Adding slow breathing to this activity can activate the “rest and digest” (parasympathetic) part of our nervous system which creates even more of a sense of safety and connection. Explore hand massage by following these simple steps.

Directions for Hand Massage

Each Finger

Begin to massage between the long finger bones of the hand, starting at the base of the hand and massaging up between each finger. Use the level of pressure that feels right to you. If you find areas that feel sore or tender, massage them a little more to encourage those areas to release.

Off the Fingertip

Massage each finger from the base right off the fingertip. Continue to massage each individual finger right off of the fingertip. This is a great activity to do while putting on hand lotion, too, if you want to integrate it easily into your day! 

Breathe Slowly

Breathe slowly throughout this activity. By adding slow breaths to this activity, we can be fully present and feel even more grounded and connected. Try adding Hand Tracing breathing before or after hand massage and find follow along breathing routines in our Free Resources.

Why should you add hand massage to your daily stress-management/self-care routine?

• It increases oxytocin. Oxytocin is a “feel good” hormone that gets released by self-soothing activities including massage. 

• You access acupoints. By massaging the hands, we access “acupoints” or acupressure points on the body. By pressing on these points, we can help release muscle tension and promote healing by increasing circulation to these areas.

• You’ll build a stronger mind-body connection. Taking time to slow down and massage our hands is an expression of kindness toward our body. Self-compassion creates a more positive connection with our body while increasing awareness of where we experience stress. The stronger our mind-body connection, the easier it is to notice when we are getting stressed and take care of ourselves throughout the day! 

Try this simple mind-body activity for yourself and consider sharing it with a child or elder. During COVID, physical touch decreased due to fears of spreading illness. Teaching others how to practice this simple self-care strategy can help make up for lost opportunities to experience the healing power of touch. It’s a great activity to share over Zoom to increase that feeling of connection!

Have you tried a hand massage? What other self-care practices do you use?