You can heal your mind and your body through hugs. Yes, you heard me correctly. Studies show that hugging cures everything from emotions to illness. It is also a fact that touching triggers healing in our bodies. A great example is that of premature babies in the hospital. Babies who are not touched regularly take longer to develop or may even die. Those who are touched regularly feel the love and it blooms at full speed. Hugging keeps you healthy by strengthening the immune system. It also relieves stress and depression.
The dictionary defines hug as:
1. To hold tightly in the arms, with affection; hug.
2. To cling firmly or fondly to; to appreciate
3. Stay close.
Hugging is a way of saying that you care about someone or even about yourself. Hugging is a natural part of us as humans. How come we don’t do it more often? If you can remember, as a child, he loved to hug everyone, and as he got older, he decided that hugging wasn’t “adult.” The fact is that as we get older, the need for hugs grows with us, whether we accept it or not.
Virginia Satir, family therapist made this observation:
We need 4 hugs a day to survive. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day to grow.
Imagine that, we should hug each other at least 4 times a day just to survive. Some of you may be saying that you are single and that you work from home. So there’s no way you can get one hug a day. Oh contrary my friend. You can hug yourself. That’s right, it’s called a self-hug. You can hug yourself as many times as you want. One person even noted that it’s cheaper than getting a massage. This is where healing comes in. By embracing yourself, you connect with your spirit and center yourself. You are showing yourself love, which leads to feeling better about yourself. The benefits you get after that are innumerable.
Once you love yourself, you can pass that love on to others. Once everyone gets into the practice of hugging, there is a change in the environment. Once people start to feel good about themselves and others, they can begin the healing process to remove any disease from their body.
There are several types of hugs, I will tell you three in this article:
1. The A-Hug: This involves only each person’s head touching. It is more formal in nature and is usually used with new acquaintances or in a business setting.
2. The hug centered on the heart: it is considered to be the highest form of hug. This involves full body contact by both parties. This form of hug recognizes each other from the depths. It is usually reserved for very close friends and family.
3. The self-hug: this implies that you hug yourself. This hug allows you to show yourself love and compassion. It gives you a sense of self worth.
Here are some benefits of hugging; this list is by no means exhausted:
dispel loneliness
Open the door to feelings.
Facilitates voltage
build self esteem
cure the disease
balance your emotions
It’s fun
As I mentioned earlier, hugging is the most natural thing to do. We received our first hug as soon as we came into this world by the person who gave us. Hugs don’t have to be seen as sensual. It is simply giving support and showing compassion to one another. Think about it, when you feel bad or don’t feel good, you immediately cheer up if someone gives you a hug. I encourage you today to start practicing this “embracing lost heart(TM)”. I said heart, hugging is from the heart. You are sharing from the heart. Remember to hug yourself first.
“Each of us are angels with only one wing, and we can fly with our arms around each other.”
Lucian of Creseenzo