Practice 1

The sense of touch

Watch the video for instructions here:

Sit with your dog or on your own in a comfortable seat.

on your own:

• Take a few deep breaths, resting your hands on your body, for example, your heart or/and belly

• Bring one hand to the top of the opposite arm with a gentle yet firm touch. Start stroking down the arm. Slow, gentle, soothing strokes. As if you could calm down and soothe away any unnecessary stress or tension. It’s not a deep massage. Rather a relaxing touch

• Do the same on the other arm

• Repeat on your legs. From the top of your legs and down

• To finish, rest your hands on your body again for a few breaths

In Ayurveda we stroke in the direction of the hair to release tension and move with our energy, or Prana.

with your dog:

Only do this with your dogs’ full consent. If they don’t like to be touched or they move away, then just practice on yourself!

• Rest your hand on your dog and enjoy slow, relaxed breaths

• Have a soft touch. No pushing or deep massage!

• Gently and slowly stroke from the neck down towards the tail. Repeat with no rush.

• Either continue the stroke down your pup’s leg or from hip to paw.

• To finish, rest your hands on your dog’s body and breathe

Bonus: when you stroke yourself or your dogs, you can explore by stroking slowly with a long, relaxed exhale. Every stroke down, with the hair/fur, is a long exhale. And then a natural inhale... repeat

Watch the video above for more guidance