Making pompoms PRESCRIPTION: Recharge TIME NEEDED: 10 minutes MATERIALS: Wool, scissors

How to take this dose:

This practice is portable – you can do it anywhere, any time you need to keep your hands busy. It’s addictive and simple.

Take the end of a ball of yarn and start winding it around four of your fingers, securing the end with your thumb. Keep winding the yarn around your four fingers at least 30 times, or as many times as you like – the more you wind, the thicker the pompom will be. Make sure you don’t wind too tightly.

Snip the end of the yarn to release it from the ball.

Carefully slide the bundle of yarn off your fingers so that it stays together.

Cut a piece of yarn about 4-6in long. Wrap around the middle of your bundle, as if you’re tying a ribbon on a gift, and tie it once on the top of your bundle, then once on the bottom of your bundle.

You should now have a tightly knotted bundle of yarn loops. Carefully cut through the loops at each end of the bundle.

To finish, trim your pompom to neaten up the ends. You can either trim the longest piece of yarn that remains, or use it to tie your pompom to something. Repeat as many times as you like to make several pompoms.

You can hang a bunch of coloured pompoms anywhere to bring a small moment of joy – your car’s rear-view mirror, in a kid’s bedroom or beside the kitchen window.

Benefits: Keeping our hands busy helps promote a calm mind. The repetitive nature of this kind of practice has been proven to release serotonin, the key hormone in stabilising our mood, feelings of wellbeing, and happiness – it’s a natural antidepressant.

The repetitive movement also acts as a meditation, bringing a sense of mindfulness and propelling us into that zone of flow, calming our mind and body.