Recent studies have concluded that physical contact, whatever its form, brings about profound changes in our bodies and minds. Just one simple touch changes a whole chemistry of the body. Touch can be pleasurable and sensuous without being sexual. There is great deal of satisfaction, of communication, caring and close openness that can come in mutual sensory interaction.
Physical contact can be curing, reassuring, inspire the desire, and create the peace and release. It can convey a sense of sharing, understanding and pleasure, easing away negative feelings. Touch has always been a most effective method of healing. The energy that flows through the hands can refresh, regenerate and revitalize. Different types of touch, or lying on of hands, can create great physical, mental, and psychosomatic changes.
In the hands of a person who understands, the touch can sometimes be as effective as drugs or surgery. Sensitive touching (both firm and gentle) is giving; a helping hand that creates confidence. Each person has their own touch, just as they have their own voice, signature or personality. Becoming comfortable with touch requires patience and awareness. Discover your own attitudes - how you touch - what your feelings are.
All of our senses, particularly our skin responses, are bridges between the outer realities of life and our internal experiences of them. Touch, skin, and feelings are inextricable linked to each other. The skin, the largest organ of the body, is alive with millions of sensory cells and receptors, relaying messages to the brain through a complex network of nerves. Through the stimulation and stroking of the skin sensitive nerve receptors throughout the body are set alive and emotions and the soul are nourished.
When we touch, we express something unique about being human. In the same way, we receive something unique from those whom we touch. A huge part of our brain is given over to the sensory and tactile department. To have our skin caressed with tenderness nurtures the deeper levels of our being. Without words, the calm, still presence of the hands upon the body will reassure and relax the mind and the emotions.
Touch is food for our souls, and the tactile experience is essential for wholesome development. It is through being touched with love that we establish our self-esteem and appreciation for our own bodies. These attitudes, developed early in our lives, play a large part in creating a happy and fulfilling relationship.
Being deprived of touch in childhood is one of the root causes of neurosis and unsociable behaviour. Touch is the primary sense we develop, the first one that an embryo experiences within the womb as it strokes its thumb or finger across its skin. For a newborn baby, touch is the first point of contact with a strange new world as it is cradled against the warmth and comfort of its mother's skin. The longing to be touched remains with us.
