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Years ago I did a massage course to help manage my boy's aches and pains better. There was a lady who did touch for health at the hospital who trained us in this Healing Our Bodies Touch. It's helped calm and comfort the child as humans thrive with touch. Pets introduced to old people's rest homes have been of benefit to this extent.

This brief excerpt comes from part of my class work which summarises the essence of what we learned.

Sometimes we might concentrate so much on our spiritual/emotional or psycho-social aspects of our lives that we overlook the wonders of being present in our physical form. When we are more aware of the fact that our bodies are also important in terms of our personal growth, we may find it easier to nurture them. One of the most powerful ways to do this is through human touch, for a loving, comforting touch allows us to access the part of ourselves that yearns for a sense of oneness with the world around us. Even simple forms of touch connect us not just to our bodies but also to the energetic presence of other people.

There are so many ways to incorporate touch in our daily lives, one of the easiest being a heartfelt embrace. Just making a point to hug someone on a daily basis and really feel our energy pass between each other can strengthen the bonds that keep us together. Hugs help us heal any hurt or upset we may have recently experienced by letting us release into the moment of the embrace and realise that no matter what happens to us, we have someone in our lives who supports and cares for us.

Another nourishing form of touch is massage. While we may think of massage as a luxury, or a pampering treat, it is actually an ancient form of healing that enables us to open up our energetic pathways in order to receive unlimited energy from 'the universe'. (Brevity means I can't explain this in depth today) It doesn’t matter whether a simple massage comes from a loved one or a massage therapist, but by giving ourselves the gift of massage every once in a while, we are doing something healthy and beneficial for our bodies. Massage helps our bodies activate their own restorative powers, creating a wonderful way to engage fully in our own healing.

Letting ourselves take advantage of the healing nature of touch creates space where we can truly live in and experience the world through our bodies, allowing us to completely immerse ourselves in the loving sense of joy and wonder that is our life.

I hope all of you get the chance to enjoy this form of healing, even if you have to fork out $15 for just fifteen minutes in one of the shopping malls, is better than nothing.