Touch life...imprint your journey...sculpt reality...feel your way through (Tina Pitts)I've actually been thinking about a blog entry such as this for a long time now. Every Monday when I go to yoga and at some point Deralyn comes to help readjust the pose I'm in or to press her hands on my shoulders as I'm in our final resting pose I think, "Ahh...the power of the human touch." And when I go to Praveeta for my acupuncture I think the same thing. Except for I always have an additional thought, "Human touch with gifted, healing hands." And when I get a hug from someone, I think how awesome and powerful human touch is.
You can see it when little babies are calmed as soon as someone picks them up from a wailing fit. You can see it when residents of a nursing home do better as the result of physical contact with others. Numerous studies have been done and articles written about the healing powers of the human touch. And while I'm no expert, I'm pretty well convinced that there's something to all of the research.
I'm not trying to get all "mushy" here but try a little experiment of your own and give an extra hug tomorrow and see if it doesn't make you feel better. Bonus - you probably made the other person feel better, too! Of course, choose who you hug carefully...not everyone likes to be hugged...or touched, for that matter. But if they are okay with it, they will probably be grateful for a bit of human touch. Yes, "reach out and touch somebody's hand...make this world a better place, if you can..."
1 comment:
I was just thinking about this when I went to see my grandmother and her sister last week. When I hugged my great-aunt (a little side-hug, as we were getting ready to sit for lunch), as difficult as it was for her to stand, instead of taking her seat, she leaned against me for a few seconds. Later, when my grandmother was sitting on the couch, I threw my arm across the back of the couch and over her shoulders. She leaned her head on my shoulder, and I thought, "I wonder how much human touch they get?" Probably not as much as they used to, especially since they are both widowed. Definitely not as much as they should.
It's important.
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