'It is hard to touch the heart without being willing to touch the person'. Curtis Tyrone Jones

For thousands of years healers have somewhat mystically used touch to heal. Now through extensive research, the amazing physical and emotional benefits of  positive touch and massage are becoming better understood. Equally exciting is the fact that we do not have to be ‘trained healers or massage therapists’ for touch to be beneficial.

Gentle touch with pure intention is in itself healing. It also provides a powerful form of communication and connection. Safety is found in connection.

Simply holding another person’s hand, touching their shoulder, giving a hug or a simple hand massage when done with positive intention promotes emotional and physical wellness.

Touch is our first sense to develop and I believe may well be our last to leave us. It is also the one sense we can't live without.
Physical benefits of touch include boosting our immune system and increasing our Oxytocin production.  Oxytocin known as the 'calm, kind, connect' hormone helps us feel calm, loving and connected to other people.  More recently it has also been coined the 'cardioprotective' hormone. because it is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and stimulates the production of Nitric Oxide.  Nitric Oxide's myriad of cardiovascular benefits include, keeping arteries smooth, clear and elastic thus protecting them from becoming hard, calcified, clogged and brittle.

It turns out that the gentle touch which nourishes our emotional heart is good for our physical heart too.
To fully understand the depth of emotional and physical benefits that touch provides  I really recommend watching this stunning documentary . 

Luckily if we live on our own it is still possible to reap some of the benefits of touch for ourselves through self massage, havening, stroking a pet, and of course through our community 'A Touch of Gentleness'..

In the below video Louise Mckay one of the world leaders in 'havening' kindly explains more about the amazing benefits of 'havening touch' and how we can give it to ourselves.  For more information about Havening and Louise please take a look at her website  www.havenit.co.uk

For more information on how you can train to be a volunteer with us and learn more about the power of touch  click here.

‘People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel’.
Maya Angelou

‘Touch has a memory’
John Keats