Day #77: Hugs 100 Day Gratitude challenge

Day #77: Hugs
100 Day Gratitude challenge

When was the last time you were hugged by a friend? If you are living in Chennai and you are a Southie it will be a long long time back. Punjabis and several north Indian communities have a habit of hugging their friends when they meet them. 

In my community during a festive carnival day there was this group of people giving away free hugs. Most people including me tip toed around them so they wouldn’t find us and hug us. I did it because I had come without having had a bath. So didn’t want to get hugged like that. But I think even if I had had a bath I may still have done the same.

We’re shy to be hugged. But when it happens it feels really good. We feel warm and fuzzy and the world seems just right. Hugging is easy and highly theraupeutic. I hear it has healing properties too. Humans are social animals and we need to feel loved and cared for. A hug does that for us.

Hugging therapy is definitely a powerful way of healing. Research shows that hugging (and also laughter) is extremely effective at healing sickness, disease, loneliness, depression, anxiety and stress. Research shows a proper deep hug, where the hearts are pressing together, can benefit you in these ways:

1. The nurturing touch of a hug builds trust and a sense of safety. This helps with open and honest communication.

2. Hugs can instantly boost oxytocin levels, which heal feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anger.

3. Holding a hug for an extended time lifts one's serotonin levels, elevating mood and creating happiness.

4. Hugs strengthen the immune system. The gentle pressure on the sternum and the emotional charge this creates activates the Solar Plexus Chakra. This stimulates the thymus gland, which regulates and balances the body's production of white blood cells, which keep you healthy and disease free.

5. Hugging boosts self-esteem. From the time we're born our family's touch shows us that we're loved and special. The associations of self-worth and tactile sensations from our early years are still imbedded in our nervous system as adults. The cuddles we received from our Mom and Dad while growing up remain imprinted at a cellular level, and hugs remind us at a somatic level of that. Hugs, therefore, connect us to our ability to self love.

6. Hugging relaxes muscles. Hugs release tension in the body. Hugs can take away pain; they soothe aches by increasing circulation into the soft tissues.

7. Hugs teach us how to give and receive. There is equal value in receiving and being receptive to warmth, as to giving and sharing. Hugs educate us how love flows both ways.

8. Hugs are so much like meditation and laughter. They teach us to let go and be present in the moment. They encourage us to flow with the energy of life. Hugs get you out of your circular thinking patterns and connect you with your heart and your feelings and your breath.

10. The energy exchange between the people hugging is an investment in the relationship. It encourages empathy and understanding. And, it's synergistic, which means the whole is more than the sum of its parts: 1 1 = 3 or more! This synergy is more likely to result in win-win outcomes.

So how often  should we receive or give hugs? There is a saying by Virginia Satir, a respected family therapist, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth.”

I’m grateful for the people who are free with their hugs. They are helping the world heal one person at a time.