This exercise can help you feel calm by focusing and paying attention to your breathing and the movement of outlining your fingers. When you focus your attention on something like breathing, it can be a tool for calming your mind.
As you do The Calm Palm exercise remember that it is about using your breathe (in an out breathing) as you move around the outline of your hand.
Hold your hand up with your fingers held comfortably apart.
Take the pointer finger of your other hand and begin to slowly trace the outside of your thumb.
Breathe in as you trace up to the top of your thumb.
Breathe out as you slowly trace down the other side of the thumb
So, you’ll be breathing in on the upward trace and breathing out on the downward trace.
Keep breathing in and out, tracing up and down each finger for a total of 5 breaths until you have totally traced all of your fingers and reached the other side of your hand.
The combination of your focus on tracing and your breathing create a mindfulness tool that can be used any time you want to feel calm.