Today’s session of creative mindfulness “It’s in Your Hands” focused on women as a celebration of International Women’s Day.
Our practice invited a mindful reflection on the hands of our female ancestors and how we have been touched by the hands of women in our lives. A mother, a grandmother, a friend, a carer. We explored what arises in the mind as we considered where hands of the feminine have made contact with us in our lives.
Mindfulness invites us not only to consider the positive but also the negative – giving both types of experience the same gentle and kind curiosity. The shadow side of the feminine was also explored. Where might these hands have harmed or caused distress? Where was a lack of touch or contact detrimental in some way?
Arising from this reflection and shown in some of the images below from participants, came insights about how feminine skills, knowledge and wisdom have been passed down through the hands of our sisters from generations past.
For some, this might be a memory of baking a cake with a grandmother, knitting or sewing. The hands of care, wiping our brow or bathing us when we were sick. For others, the hands of a friend or sibling who helped you to learn to drive, or sail, or play tennis, or sculpt or code. Someone who’s hands gently guided you as you played or learnt – this, not that – here, not there. A memory of an auntie with a missing finger (the result of a shotgun injury). Hands worn rough from manual labour, manicured nails fresh from the salon. All of these are women’s hands.
Not only that, we went back – way back. To the hands and the tasks and tools of women over the ages – all the way back to our sisters who lived in caves and made their mark with a hand on the wall. Check out this article below sharing research from the ancient cave painting in France and Spain that suggests the majority of the hand prints were from women. These early mark makers letting us know “I have been here”. “Do not forget me”.
Were the First Artists Mostly Women? (nationalgeographic.com)
Contact admin@drtamararussell.com if you would like to join our weekly Wednesday session (1pm UK time) of “It’s in your hands”.
