This was the title of a book I read in my 20s when I began studying massage and I remember thinking how strong this title is, and pondering whether simply touching someone could be healing. I loved touch through massage and I had experienced deep healing through massage, but it took me many years before I really understood the power of simply touching another whilst listening.
Now, 30 years on, it’s my belief that we don’t touch enough; don’t touch each other enough, don’t touch ourselves enough. Touching is one of our 5 senses alongside taste, smell, hearing and seeing, yet where do you notice spontaneous touching in our society at large? In the not-so-distant past, we used to shake hands; this was a way to feel out another through the quality of their touch, steeping closer into their energy field, getting a body hunch about this person. Nowadays, this is rare except perhaps in the business world; we seem to connect through our eyes (sometimes) or just our words (mind) but not with our body.
Self-Touch
When I get into bed at night, I like to run my hands around my body, to remember where I begin… where I end, my edges, my boundary. Sometimes I tap all around or rub, remembering myself after the day and before my sleep. As a shiatsu practitioner I often massage my meridians… the legs, the arms, the chest… gently plodding around the body, I find this satisfying and comforting. I consciously let go what’s whirring around my mind and drop into the feeling, the spaces between the words until there is just feeling and space.
I am single and I find it empowering to be the chief nourisher of my body, perhaps you are single or in a relationship where touch is not wanted, not offered, maybe you’re in or a wonderfully physical relationship with a beloved, whatever your circumstances may I encourage you to give it a go and find your way to touch your body, yourself. You might start with hands or feet, rolling your hands around your feet, through your arches, the pads of the feet, then squeezing the whole foot, and massaging the toes. Enjoy, make it up as you go along… aim to clear your mind and if its busy, maybe add a mantra which could be as simple as I LOVE YOU!
Healing through Body Therapies.
I’ve been doing bodywork for 30 years now and I’m still amazed at how powerful it is in healing… having the capacity to change our emotional state, to move through stagnation (blockages) whilst freeing up the body for deeper, more mobile movement… clearing away old patterns, old trauma, ancestral inheritance, held in the tissues, clearing stress and tension held in the tissues… in the organs….it’s pretty amazing really… and is often deeply soothing on all levels; mind, body and spirit.
My Story into Body Therapies
I first became interested in bodywork in my 20’s because I had an unusual spine. When I was just 22, I was working in a busy bakery in Sydney. It was a stressful job; I was managing 24 staff on a 24-hour basis in the middle of the City. One day I bent down to lift a tray of bread and couldn’t get up again. My back was stuck. I had to get in a taxi, still bent double and get to my GP, who as was the case back then, cleared his surgery to take me as an emergency. He suggested 6 weeks bed rest. When I told him I was unlikely to have a job if I did this, he asked me if I knew a good bodywork therapist. Well I was lucky, I’d just done my first massage course at night school, so I called up the tutor, Trish and asked her if she did home visits... and the rest is herstory.
I spent hours on the couch howling whist Trish pummelled and stretched out my spine. I loved the strong bodywork, but the emotions took me quite by surprise and I learned a lot then about unexpressed emotion being held in the body. After a few months, possibly four or five, I stood more upright than I had ever been as a woman and the crying had abated. My back felt new... long, upright and strong. I was ready for my next steps which took me home through Asia and into the Shiatsu College in London.
As a shiatsu practitioner I’m still amazed at the power of putting your hands on a person. Sometimes it’s the “simple” that holds the “profound” The old saying “less is more” is worth remembering when we approach the body. When you drop into the “spaces between the words, and deeply listen, this seems to unleash the full healing power of touch!
Touch with a Partner
This can be fun! You might place your two hands on two parts of your partners body, perhaps each shoulder or the belly and lower back and simply listen; perhaps you listen together. … colours, sounds, images, memories, feelings, sensations….sometimes it feels like there’s a whole universe in these places. You may notice a Sense of warmth or coolness, movement or stillness, sharpness or smoothness, sometimes a general feeling of comfort and reasting back or discomfort / aversion…. If this happens simply ask your partner where to go next. Other times just the silence and the connection is present… keep going with whatever shows up, all these sensations are precious, sacred, in this moment of communion.
The Earth
When you’re feeling lonely, it can be nourishing to let the earth hold you… the earth is all powerful and the best healer we have, she is always available for connection. You might lie down with your face in the earth and listen to her (as I believe she listens to you!) This is the most powerful form of natural health that I know. If you want to learn more about how the earth energies support our bodies, go to the earthing project at earthing.com
Support for Histamine Dumping, Anxiety, Insomnia, Overthinking
A few years ago, when I was ill and experiencing huge anxiety, I worked out a way to calm my system; now called downregulating and I still do it if I’m feeling anxious, overthinking or simply can’t get to sleep.
I put a blanket on the floor, and I lie down and rock from side to side… literally allowing the ground to hold me and massage my body. I find this deeply reassuring and I recommend it for anyone who’s needing touch and physical reassurance. It’s a great support if you are feeling unbalanced or disassociated, spacey, finding it difficult to feel comfortable in your body, and so many other things… love you to try this out for a week and let me know your experience and how it has supported you.
All you dancers may like to add some soothing music… but keep the feeling of the music low and grounded if you want to get back into a solid, steady place. Heres my video from back then during lockdown.
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