Maria Arpa
Maria’s Midweek Mindfulness Moments
The author Ken Wilber once said that “for every knot in the mind, there is a corresponding knot in the body.”
Western medicine has always kept the mind separate from the body, creating divisions between parts of the body itself. Our medical experts are referred to as ‘specialists’ of the heart, the kidneys, fertility, the knee etc. This idea is finally being challenged.
I’ve just read an article which analysed a study claiming that touch from a loved one may ease physical pain.
The study proposes that this happens because of something called “interpersonal synchronisation”. It’s an adaptive ability of our mirror neurons that reflect changes in other people we are in close proximity to. We can observe it amongst close friends and family members who spend a lot of time together, as they often begin to mirror each other’s subtle mannerisms without being conscious of it.
The study went on to say that when our partners touch us, or look into our eyes, it actually begins to change our body’s response to pain. Just being in the presence of someone we trust and love can have a positive effect on our overall health, moment-to-moment, and in couples with a higher empathy for one another, the effects were even more profound.
The evidence indicates that positive social touch increases interpersonal skills and may contribute to the analgesic effects of the autonomic nervous system.
Those of you that know me personally know that I love to hug people and it is my preferred form of greeting and saying goodbye. As a Reiki Master, I have always had an intuition about this being therapeutic not just for the ‘hugee’ but for me as well.
Imagine it, a hug that can make everything better in an instant.
Who will you hug today?
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