Hello friends and welcome to September

Even though the calendar shows fall starting this month, here in Arizona it is still very much summer. When things do begin to cool down marking our transition here in Phoenix, I will be offering my annual Fall Cleanse Workshop. A fall cleanse is a great way to release the excess heat in our systems, prep for shorter days, and strategize about the seasonal change in our diet.

Also, I am happy to announce a new workshop series on the vagus nerve that I am calling Vagus Baby. The vagus nerve is key to a happy, healthy and balanced life. I am looking forward to guiding you towards building a relationship with your vagus nerve. Keep an eye on social media for more information. I am always thrilled to share tips and techniques of ancient wisdom infused with modern practicality.

This month we continue our journey through the senses with the sense of touch. According to yoga and Ayurveda, the sense of touch is associated with the air element. It makes perfect sense as we are being touched by air all of the time. It is outside of us, within us, and what keeps us alive. Prana, our vital life energy, would not exist without the partnership of air.

The motor organ associated with touch is the hands. We touch most people or things by grasping. Not surprising, the sense of touch and the air element are both associated with the fourth chakra Anahata which is seated in the heart. Think of the many ways that we show, love, affection, compassion, and friendship through the sense of touch. During the shutdown the one thing I most craved was hugs. I missed hugging my friends, extended family, and clients. I also missed giving adjustments when teaching a yoga class. I was blessed with the benefit of living with Tyler, Noah, Joe, and Penny and could give and receive a lot of touch with them. The chickens, not so much. But that didn’t stop me from trying.

My heart bleeds for the many people who have been completely alone in isolation. The mental, emotional, and physical toll of the pandemic has been heartbreaking. We are created to be in a community, to have a tribe we share with. To be surrounded by others, feel kinship and be touched. When we lose that connection, we can experience a condition called “skin hunger”, which can also be called “touch starvation”. This has become very real since the spring of 2020.

There are many studies that show that we need physical contact. Our mental, physical and emotional health all benefit from the calming effect that conscious touching brings. Some of these include strengthening the immune system, alleviating chronic arthritic pain, and even lowering blood pressure.

A hug or conscious touch has the ability to lower the stress hormone cortisol. We want to lessen stress so we can keep our cortisol levels healthy. Another hormone that is related to touch is oxytocin. This hormone encourages us to engage in bonding and nurturing behaviors. It is also associated with empathy, trust, sexual activity, and relationship-building. It is sometimes referred to as the “love hormone,” because levels of oxytocin increase during hugging and orgasm.

The neurotransmitter dopamine increases with conscious touch. Dopamine enables your brain to communicate and control movement. Basically, it acts as a chemical messenger between neurons. Dopamine is released when your brain is expecting a reward. When you come to associate a certain type of activity with pleasure, just the anticipation can be enough to raise dopamine levels.

Ayurvedic Lifestyle Tip: Getting enough sleep, exercising, listening to music, meditating, spending time in the sun, and consuming a balanced diet will all help to increase your body's natural production of dopamine and help your brain function at its best.

With over 1,000 sensory neurons per square centimeter, our skin is the largest organ of the body. Think about this. The other four senses (taste, sight, hearing, smell) are all located only in the head. However, we are covered with skin inside and out. It is no coincidence that conscious touch offers a potent and powerful way of healing both our bodies and our minds. We can access this entire system of receptors which can then send specific messages to our body. These signals can help shift our current state of being energetically, physically, and emotionally.

There are practices in Ayurveda that help us to tune into the sense of touch. One daily practice I can never stop talking about is abhyanga. This simple act of touching and massaging medicinal oil onto your body has an extremely calming, soothing effect on both the mind and the body. The daily practice of self-oil massage is an easy way to give our nerves the extra care needed to remain relaxed and content. The oil, which feeds good microbes on the skin, has even been shown to increase the production of oxytocin.

I have several types of oils available depending on your personal constitution and/or any imbalance you may be experiencing. Please check out this informative document and give yourself a little love. I am also available to give an abhyanga if you would like to receive the treatment from someone else. Click here to explore more about abhyanga.

I hope that this information will encourage you to engage in some conscious touching, hugging and connecting with other beautiful souls around you.

From: September 2022 Newsletter