February! Time to see all those red paper heart cutouts, red roses, and red boxes of chocolate – Red, Red, Red. We tend to think of red as the color associated with the heart chakra, but in Eastern philosophies, red is the actually color of the root chakra. (The heart chakra is associated with green, Mandy’s favorite color, which she will discuss with us next month.) The root chakra is located at the base of the trunk and spine; survival and basic needs like safety and security are addressed by this chakra.
What does this have to do with Stream Point Wellness? Well, in my area of expertise, massage therapy, I touch people all day, and touch is a basic need. We all need touch to survive and thrive. Touch is important to our development as infants as well as throughout our lives into adulthood. The Touch Research Institute in Miami, Florida is a research facility that investigates how we are affected by touch specifically through massage therapy. From their website:
The Touch Research Institute is dedicated to studying the effects of touch therapy. The TRIs have researched the effects of massage therapy at all stages of life, from newborns to senior citizens. In these studies theTRIs have shown that touch therapy has many positive effects. For example, massage therapy:
- Facilitates weight gain in preterm infants
- Enhances attentiveness
- Alleviates depressive symptoms
- Reduces pain
- Reduces stress hormones
- Improves immune function
While these finding are impressive, and it shows you some of the ways that massage can benefit you, how can you share similar results with others without having to go to school and become a Licensed Massage Therapist like me? How about sharing a hug with someone? MindBodyGreen offers these findings about hugs:
Hugging therapy is definitely a powerful way of healing. Research shows that hugging (and also laughter) is extremely effective at healing sickness, disease, loneliness, depression, anxiety and stress.Research shows a proper deep hug, where the hearts are pressing together, can benefit you in these ways:
- The nurturing touch of a hug builds trust and a sense of safety. This helps with open and honest communication.
- Hugs can instantly boost oxytocin levels, which heal feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anger.
- Holding a hug for an extended time lifts one’s serotonin levels, elevating mood and creating happiness
- Hugs strengthen the immune system. The gentle pressure on the sternum and the emotional charge this creates activates the Solar Plexus Chakra. This stimulates the thymus gland, which regulates and balances the body’s production of white blood cells, which keep you healthy and disease free.
- Hugging boosts self-esteem. From the time we’re born our family’s touch shows us that we’re loved and special. The associations of self-worth and tactile sensations from our early years are still imbedded in our nervous system as adults. The cuddles we received from our Mom and Dad while growing up remain imprinted at a cellular level, and hugs remind us at a somatic level of that. Hugs, therefore, connect us to our ability to self love.
- Hugging relaxes muscles. Hugs release tension in the body. Hugs can take away pain; they soothe aches by increasing circulation into the soft tissues.
- Hugs balance out the nervous system. The galvanic skin response of someone receiving and giving a hug shows a change in skin conductance. The effect in moisture and electricity in the skin suggests a more balanced state in the nervous system.
- Hugs teach us how to give and receive. There is equal value in receiving and being receptive to warmth, as to giving and sharing. Hugs educate us how love flows both ways.
- Hugs are so much like meditation and laughter. They teach us to let go and be present in the moment. They encourage us to flow with the energy of life. Hugs get you out of your circular thinking patterns and connect you with your heart and your feelings and your breath.
- The energy exchange between the people hugging is an investment in the relationship. It encourages empathy and understanding. And, it’s synergistic, which means the whole is more than the sum of its parts: 1 1 = 3 or more! This synergy is more likely to result in win-win outcomes.
There is a saying by Virginia Satir, a respected family therapist,
“We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth.”
I like hugs. I like giving hugs, and I like receiving them. Hugs make me feel connected and accepted. Feeling connected and accepted is right up there, and perhaps synonymous with feeling loved. It is a basic need for me. I meet with a meditation group once a month and we all hug in greeting and in leaving. It is my favorite part. If I am unable to attend, I notice that I feel like I am missing something vital in my life because of the connection I get from all the hugging. Those hugs keep me going all month long in a way that nothing else does. I also work in an environment where I can get and receive hugs on an almost daily basis, and I am very blessed by that!
So during this month of February, show your love and support for your basic needs by giving and receiving a few more hugs than you normally do. By doing so, you’ll feel good and help others feel good too.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5756/10-Reasons-Why-We-Need-at-Least-8-Hugs-a-Day.html
http://www6.miami.edu/touch-research/
*HUGS*
Mary Pat Curran, LMT
