Spend
some time each day Palming.
To palm is to cover
your closed eyes with your hands in such a way that
there is no pressure on your eyeballs. The palms of
your hands are slightly cupped over each eye (left
over left and right over right), and usually the
fingers are partly interlaced on your forehead. There
should be no light, or as little as possible, allowed
to enter the eye. Once you are palming, open your
eyes and look around to see if you can adjust your
hands in such a way as to exclude as much light as
possible. Close your eyes.
Note:
Palming is supposed to
be relaxing, but you may end up being tight in your
hands and arms in order to exclude light. Don't
overdo it, and if necessary compromise. The next time
you palm you may find a better position for the
hands. Palming in a darkened room can be useful.
Palming
positions
1. Sitting in a
dining-type chair in front of a table with a stack of
cushions, (or foam pads) on it. The cushions are for
resting your elbows: there should be enough cushions
so that you are able to easily bring your palms to
your eyes without stooping forward (too few
cushions), or having to look up (too many cushions).
Rest your elbows on the cushions and bring your hands
to your eyes. Close your eyes, rest with the
darkness, and don't forget to breathe!
2. Lying on your back,
with a few books under your head, and your knees up
and feet flat on the floor. Bring your hands to your
eyes, and start palming. The disadvantage of this is
that you have to hold your arms up, which can be
difficult if you want to palm for a long period.
How
long should I palm?
There is no fixed
answer to this question. Some people enjoy palming as
soon as they first try it, while a few people never
find it enjoyable. As a result there is a different
answer for each person, and it can vary from day to
day for the same person - it would be
counterproductive to force any strict rule: vision
rebels against this.
For the first
time, try setting your alarm clock to ring at the end
of five or ten minutes. Palm, and after the alarm
goes off ask yourself if the ringing alarm left you
feeling relieved.... or annoyed! If you felt
relieved, then palm for less time; you can benefit
from palming for just fifteen breaths at a time. If
you felt annoyed, then ..... throw the alarm out the
window.
If you one day find
yourself happy to continue, then do so: you can't do
too much palming if you are feeling happy.
How
often should I palm?
1. If you quite like
palming then find at least one time in each day that
you will be able to palm without disturbance. Make a
mental note of any feelings you have ( e.g. happy,
sad, confused, spaced out...) and also note what your
other senses are receiving: listen, be, feel the
support of the chair and floor, breathe.
2. During the day take
regular short breaks and have mini-palms. You don't
have to set yourself up in one of the "palming
positions", just start palming as soon as you
think of it. As you have a mini-palm, notice how your
breath rises and falls. Count each breath cycle until
you get to fifteen or so, and then stop.
This second method can
also be used if you find palming unenjoyable. Don't
palm for long, but do palm often, up to as much as
twenty times in one day.
Some
questions to ask yourself:
Do you see nothing, or
shapes, lights and colours?
How do you feel when
you palm?
Do you feel relaxed
after palming, or do you feel anxious?
... there are so many
things that you could notice - even not being able to
palm is interesting and gives you valuable
information for further work. The only rules are
those you make up for yourself!
So now it's your turn.
Start palming today, and do it every day for a week.
Send your responses back to us clicking here, putting
"Palming Week " in the subject line and we
will print the best ones.......
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