Mindfulness, the Answer for Dry Hands

Since March 2020, we’ve been washing our hands more frequently which means our hands may be dryer. During a typical day, you’ll squirt an amount of lotion into one hand, rub it in within 60-seconds and head off to do whatever. In counseling, I like to use exercises you do each day to give you plenty of opportunities to practice at home to help strengthen your mindfulness muscle. Today, I’ll use the lotion exercise. This exercise will use four of your five senses. Go grab some lotion and let’s get started.

Squirt an adequate amount of lotion into one hand but don’t rub it in. Observe the following: 

• What type of sound did it make coming out of the bottle or jar?

• What does the lotion look like? What color is it? Are their particles in the lotion?

• How does the lotion feel in your hand? Is it a dry lotion? Is it oily?

• What does it smell like? Which essential oils do you smell in the lotion? What is the most prominent fragrance?

Now, slowly rub the lotion in observing your hands, your fingernails, cuticles, hairy knuckles, any cuts, moles, or anything unique to your hands. Once you finish rubbing in the lotion for 5-minutes, observe how your hands feel. Just think if you took 5-minutes once a day to care for yourself by caring for your hands.

Next time you apply lotion, don’t squirt, rub, and go, instead, slow down and intentionally give your hands a 5-minute massage. You’ll appreciate the massage and you’ll strengthen your mindfulness muscle.