“People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them” (Mark 10:13).
“A cheerful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22).
Hippocrates acknowledged touch as one of the oldest healing remedies. Touch is probably older than any other healing tradition. The oldest written records of touch as massage go back 3,000 years to China, but it is much older than that, of course. Touch and the laying on of hands are human tendencies that are inherent. Physicians and healers of all forms and from all cultures have used hands-on manipulation throughout history as an integral part of health-care practice. In the former Soviet countries, Germany, Japan, and China, massage has continued uninterrupted, as massage therapists today work alongside doctors as part of the health-care team. Today the healing power of touch is an expanding area of research within scientific circles.
Importance of touch
Exercise, meditation, laughter, touch –all these are known to cause the body to release those wonderful endorphins, those stress-relieving hormones.
For many years, research has documented the affect of touch in infants. Infants who have adequate nutrition and no physical problems but do not grow properly are sometimes diagnosed as having nonorganic failure to thrive. Failure to thrive in infants can come from improper feeding or diseases like cystic fibrosis, but research has shown that neglect alone can cause failure to grow and thrive. That is why mother/baby bonding is so important. Recent research has shown that infants and even premature babies who receive infant massage gain more weight, have less gastrointestinal problems, and sleep better than infants not massaged.
Physicians are now beginning to diagnose failure to thrive in nursing homes and extended- care facilities. Massage therapy has been shown to also reduce the physical and psychological symptoms of stress of those with failure to thrive and enhance the quality of life for all residents. Touch or massage has been shown to increase blood circulation, improve the lymphatic system, release toxic by-products in the muscles, reduce stress, relieve tension, and increase energy. Touch or massage therapy has also been used successfully in hospice care. In fact, there is a general correlation between the therapy and longer length of life for many patients in hospice care.
So, who have you hugged today?
Cultivate affection
By observation, I have noticed that there are touching families and there are non-touching families. If your family is in the non-touching category, I challenge you to find some family therapy or self-help. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman is an excellent resource for increasing the number of hugs and kisses in your family.
In Tools for Raising Responsible Children, James and Constance Messina describe family affection this way:
“Bonding with children means helping them have a sense of security, being wanted, self-worth, and self-esteem. Bonding is accomplished by hugging children, either physically or verbally. Bonding is the mutual emotional attachment between parents and their children. It is the way in which unconditional acceptance and love are transmitted between them. It creates an emotional connection which provides the sense of security and trust in the family relationship. This sense of being wanted is demonstrated in their mutual on-going physical and verbal hugging. Bonding is the emotional intimacy with parents which is the basis for their children’s future healthy intimate relationships. Appropriate physical touching, holding, caressing, cradling, kissing, massaging, and hugging are all external non-verbal ways of connecting in a bonding way. Verbal recognition, encouragement, reinforcement, statements of gratitude and appreciation, verbal expressions of acceptance, love, and closeness are just a few of the verbal forms of hugging which create a bond with children. Amen to that! In Latin America the “abrazo” is the hug for everyone- not just your family. If your cultural background is not touchy feely, family affection can be cultivated.” (James J. Messina, PhD, and Constance M. Messina, PhD, Tools for Raising Responsible Children)
Amen to that!
In Latin America, the abrazo is the hug for everyone – not just your family. If your cultural background is not touchy-feely, don’t give up; family affection ca be cultivated.
As a helpful resource, I have lots of articles on healthy ingredients and recipes that you can implement into your daily life.
If you’d like to dig deeper into my journey of discovering God’s plan for health and wellness, check out my book, Made For Paradise: God’s Original Plan for Healthy Eating, Physical Activity, and Rest.
