I mentioned two methods that I use for increasing positive feelings and promoting positive personality traits/ behaviors (in my Hand-to-Heart and Hand-to-Head articles). It's important to understand that, while it might have come across as me suggesting that those two techniques are best utilized by following a strict routine, I believe that most people find the the greatest benefit from a dynamic approach of going with what feels right in the moment.
I think it's important to train ourselves with different techniques of boosting our psychological health for long enough that we get down the important points of what to focus on and what about it promotes what we're after, but, once we reach that point, I'm convinced that we gain a lot by being more loose about how we use the technique(s), allowing more room for "going with the flow" of what we feel our needs are in the moment.
Regarding my suggested methods for getting to a more "positive space" (positive frame/ mindset/ expectations), this translates to mixing up the two techniques in any way that feels right, to include things like choosing to skip on hand placement (over the heart or forehead).
Sticking with that example, should we find that it's excessively uncomfortable and/or we find that we can sufficiently focus on those two areas without needing to have our hands held there, there's a good chance that our "healing sessions" would become more potent by choosing to go the route of dropping hand placement (choosing instead to rest hands on our side, or whatever other option feels best). The only reason behind placing hands in either of those two positions is to help us develop a stronger focus on those two areas, as it's easier to concentrate on them when we have the weight and sensation of our hand(s) over those areas. Once we've reached the point of being able to reliably focus on the sensations in/ around those two areas, there's really no good reason to keep up with the added step of placing our hands there, but, again, if it feels better to go along with that option, by all means, do it.
We should aim to be led by our intuition, both as to which, if either, of my suggested techniques to use, and in what manner to go about using them.
Should we aim for doing these techniques in a dark and/or quiet room? Should we do it while having relaxing music playing in the background, or while watching a calming nature video? Should we focus on a set amount of time to focus on each technique or go for more a mix up of the two? Should we add in some time to strictly meditate (focus on silence), before or after using these techniques?
We should arrive at our answers by feeling out what feels right, in the moment. What feels right one day may not feel correct the next, so, ideally, we change up the program of which options we choose to properly fit our given mood in any given healing session. This could mean that sometimes we go with a strict routine, with everything planned out in advance, and other times we just flow with whatever seems to be calling to us, as we go.
It may even occur to us at times that some other method of meditation or of achieving beneficial insight(s) and/or boosting our own mental health is more fitting, perhaps even techniques that we've never before heard of or learned, ideas for how to amplify our health that just spontaneously pop into mind. This a very GOOD thing! This is our intuition growing to the point of awakening self-knowledge, as to how we can best heal.
This is ultimately where we want to be - in full trust that we can accurately navigate our own psychology and our psychological needs, on a moment by moment basis. In other words, it's in our best interest to keep strengthening our relationship to our own intuition, such that we develop a growing faith that it (our deeper understanding of who we are and/or what we need) knows what's best for us, and then allowing it to take the reigns over our choices.
So, the aim is to get to a point where we're solely led by our intuition - what feels right in the moment. And a solid, reliable way to achieve that end is to focus more on the "heart-space" (the area in and around one's physical heart), observing it, exploring it, diving deeper into the sensations that arise from that powerful point of contact with oneself - learning to deeply communicate with those parts of our own consciousness that just seems to know, without knowing why or how we we're so sure that we can trust it. Getting in touch with deep, self-knowledge.
Eventually, we get to a point where we don't really need other's suggestions or techniques for healing and being at our best psychological health, we'll just know what the right path is for ourselves, and we're likely to find that what works best is a very dynamic/ adaptable approach, that changes with the seasons.