Our hands are sacred tools as receptors and givers of life force energy, Prana. Through intuitive touch, we can engage with our body, energy field and emotions, allowing us to tap into the deep wisdom that our body can teach us about ourselves and our wellbeing. Your body’s main purpose is to offer a home for your soul. Intuitive self touch will enhance our ability to self soothe, relax the nervous system and embody our soul with authenticity.
Pain and Remembrance
We are often are aware of when we are in pain, but overlook or ignore the subtle imbalances in our body. Pain is a message that there is something deeper that wishes to be explored. Before we feel pain, our hands can help us notice subtitles in our bodies that reveal precursors to pain such as stagnation and accumulation of toxins, Ama. Our hands are conduits of sacred remembrance, reminding us of our ability to channel intuitive knowing through them. This is clear in our natural reactions to pain– when we have a stomach ache and clench our stomach. Instinctually, your body reminds you of the tools you already have to address discomfort.
Slowing down
Scheduling intentional moments of slowness is crucial to creating space for deeper listening. Early in the morning upon waking and in the evening as you wind down for bed are optimal times for opening yourself up to sacred pauses. These moments of slowness give us time to acknowledge and explore discomfort while appreciating our body for giving us messages. When we consistently practice intuitive touch on a daily basis, our hand to mind and soul connection becomes fine tuned and we can ground ourselves in moments of distress throughout the day with a simple yet profound touch.
Techniques for Touch
Starting the day with a meditative touch makes each day unique and precious. Offering our body gratitude invites radical acceptance of exactly where we are, giving us insight on how to move forward. Similar to Ayurvedic Abhyanga practices of self oil massage, intuitive touch is a tool to move energy and invite Prana to flow within your body. Taking 5-15 minutes in the morning to honor your body with a intuitive touch practice can transform your day.
During a intentional intuitive touch practice, focus your mind on the sensations and parts of your body that you feel. Listen to what your body is telling you to find where tension is held and consciously release it. Understanding where subtleties of pain are manifesting in the body can provide a map to areas for focused self healing during Abhyanga, self massage, and yoga. The foundations of these practices help us follow signs for taking a sacred pause to hold ourself. We may notice that when we have a desire to fill a void with an external object, food, a special person, or any other attachment, intuitive self touch can be a useful tool to help us listen to the root of our desire, self soothe, accept and love exactly where we are.
This practice is good to start with the top of your head and move your hands down to the soles of your feet. Using a firm yet gentle touch, place one hand on the top of your head and your other hand on the back of your head. You can breath into the space where your palm meets your body to enhance the flow of Prana. Move one hand to your forehead and listen. This is a common place for holding tension, send your breath and energy to release any tension held there. Then place your hands on your cheeks, then jaw, another location where tension is often held. Continue to pause as needed for self healing in areas of tension. Move your hands to the front of your neck, then the back of your neck. Reach your right hand over your left shoulder to reach your back, then left hand over the right shoulder. You can take a moment here to give yourself a hug, breath into it. From here touch your shoulders, upper arms, elbows, forearms, wrists, hands, and fingers. As you hold each part of your body, place your palm on the outer surface of your arm, elbow, and hand. Then move your hands to your armpit, now focusing on the inner surface of your arm, proceed down the arm to the palm. When you reach your palm take a moment to gently trace your fingertips in your palms to sensitize their receptors. Repeat with the other arm. As you move your hands to the chest and abdomen, keep your hands laying flat and breath deeply into those parts of your body. Move to your lower back and press into the upper part of the lower back before moving downwards. For the hips, butt, thighs, knees, calves, ankles and feet continue practicing touch on one side at a time, with both hands on the same location. The toes can hold a lot of tension as well, give yourself time to hold each part of your body down to each toe. If you are interested in self massage, our article Abhyanga 101: Everything to Know About Ayurvedic Massage goes more explicitly into how to practice Ayurvedic self massage.
Article by Eliana Nunez and Kaylee Vinson
Published 07/13/2025
