The Power of Touch
The content of this blog is my point of view based on my personal and professional experiences.
I wanted to write about touch because the body work, I offer involves touch. Touch can be healing and restorative. It can support an improvement in wellbeing. This is why reflexology, and Swedish massage can be nurturing and beneficial – they involve touch.
It is important to acknowledge that touch can have a detrimental impact too. We may have experienced touch without consent, and it can make being touched challenging, particularly if we haven’t received support to manage any trauma responses that the unconsented touch has created. As children, we may have been coerced into touching others e.g. giving relative hugs and kisses, when we don’t want to. This can impact how we view touch. Living on our own or with a partner who has difficulty with touch can also have an impact on us. It can leave us in need of the experience of touch from another.
As I acknowledged at the start, touch can be healing and nurturing, when offered and received openly, with consent. You may remember a time when you were offered a hug and received it willingly; and the way it made you feel relaxed, calm, and safe. Touch reminds us that we are human, and we need connection to others.
Reflexology and massage involve therapeutic touch. Research shows that massage can decrease the heart rate, reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol (1), and increase in levels of oxytocin (2). Reflexology also causes release of oxytocin (3). Oxytocin is a hormone which plays a part in how we behave and interact with others.
In my body work practice, I am trying to help my clients to become more aware of what they notice is happening in their bodies. At the start of a session, I will ask what you would like me to work on and at the end of the session, I might ask ‘did you notice anything during the treatment?’ We can work together to increase your awareness of your body and what is happening in it. I believe becoming more aware of your body and listening to what it is saying is important. It can help us improve our wellbeing and create greater sense of who we are and what our bodies need to be well.
- Lindgren L, Rundgren S, Winsö O, Lehtipalo S, Wiklund U, Karlsson M, Stenlund H, Jacobsson C, Brulin C. Physiological responses to touch massage in healthy volunteers. Auton Neurosci. 2010 Dec 8;158(1-2):105-10. doi: 10.1016/j.autneu.2010.06.011. PMID: 20638912.
- Morhenn V, Beavin LE, Zak PJ. Massage increases oxytocin and reduces adrenocorticotropin hormone in humans. Altern Ther Health Med. 2012 Nov-Dec;18(6):11-8. PMID: 23251939.
- Li Q, Becker B, Wernicke J, Chen Y, Zhang Y, Li R, Le J, Kou J, Zhao W, Kendrick KM. Foot massage evokes oxytocin release and activation of orbitofrontal cortex and superior temporal sulcus. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2019 Mar;101:193-203. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.11.016. Epub 2018 Nov 14. PMID: 30469087.