Allow for at least 60 minutes. You will need five Knitted Compressive Finger Sleeves. Please refer to Somatic Act 30a for how to dress and wear the Finger Sleeves.
Begin by dressing in one of the suggested and drawn finger sleeve combinations below. Start with wearing four or five sleeves.
Follow your sensorial impulse of which combination to choose.
Each finger sleeve combination invites another way of attending to our bodies. For example, wearing the finger sleeves on the outside of the hand (little and ring finger) tends to bring attention to the outside of the arm, while the thumb tends to bring attention to the inside of the arm.
In this Somatic Act, you are invited to play with the possibilities and notice how the tactile collaborations move and awaken the felt sense of your body.
The Finger Sleeve combinations include:
- One sleeve on the index finger.
- Two sleeves on the little fingers.
- Three sleeves on one hand on the little finger, ring finger and middle finger.
- Four sleeves on the thumbs and ring fingers.
- Five sleeves with three on the thumb, middle and little fingers on one hand; and two on the middle and little finger on the other.
- Five sleeves all on one hand.
Drawings by Molly Andrews, 2025.
This Somatic Act can be done as a solo, duet or group.
Close your eyes.
Sensing your recently dressed fingers
In relationship to the other fingers.
Noticing
how these finger sleeves
together
are touching
you…
A touch collaboration.
Inviting us to attend, connect
to different areas of the body
from a finger all the way to a toe
or to an ear,
or to the belly.
Opening another quality
of breathing
or resting
or even moving.
Listening to what your body needs
in each moment.
In movement
in stillness
or both.
Allowing time and spaciousness…
In this gentle dance of attending
following your curiosity
and sense of touch.
Noticing if there is a sensorial impulse
to continue to wear the costume
or take one or more sleeves
off…
Inviting you to explore another tactile combination
it can be one suggested in the Somatic Act drawing above
or one, coming from your felt sense.
Which combination of fingers
would like a gentle
compression touch
now?
Sensing your recently dressed fingers
in relationship to the other fingers.
Allowing time…
A dance of attending
the subtle shifts from one finger
to another finger.
Noticing how some
touch combinations of the sleeves
invite movement
and others
stillness…
Allowing time and spaciousness…
Our dressing and undressing dance
continues.
Noticing
how these costumes
together
are touching
you…
A touch collaboration.
Inviting us to attend, connect
to different areas of the body.
From the fingers
to the top of the head
or the bottoms of the feet.
From the fingers
to the eyes
or the elbows
In this gentle dance of attending,
following your curiosity
and sense of touch.
Allowing time and spaciousness…
Noticing the moment when sleeves
want to come off
and another finger sleeve combination
wants to come on…
Allowing time…
A dance of attending
the subtle shifts from one finger
to another finger.
Sensing the touch imprints
gathering, constellating
into the felt sense
of your body.
Circulating through the arms,
through the centre of the body,
touching the legs
and even to the face.
Noticing how some
touch combinations of the sleeves
invite movement
while others
stillness…
Sensing your recently dressed fingers
in relationship to the other fingers.
Allowing time…
As you are ready
finding a transition
of undressing each sleeve
from your fingers
placing them on the floor,
and returning to
resting, sitting or lying.
Sensing the
touch imprints
circulating
in your body
with eyes closed.
Finding a transition
As you are ready.