As a child when I felt the blues I always felt like hugging my mother and trust me after hugging her I felt warm and cozy and not to forget, better. As I grew up I would always find solace after hugging my parents. After, marriage snuggling up next to my husband after a bad day comforts me and also giving or getting a hug from my daughter works wonders for me. When I sit down and ponder over a jaddu ki jhappi now, I realize that it rejuvenates and invigorates, requires minimum energy from the giver and most of all does not work on batteries.
Hugs, which have been renamed jaddu ki jhappi in Hindi courtesy Munnabhai MBBS is a powerful way of healing disease, sickness, loneliness, stress, anxiety and depression. Virginia Satir, a respected family therapist, states, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth.”
A hug can work wonders and benefit us in one of these ways:
- Hugs lead to an honest and open communication as these build a sense of trust and safety.
- The level of oxytocin or the love hormone or the trust hormone increase thereby healing anger, isolation and depression.
- If the hug extends for some time then serotonin hormone is released which raise the happiness quotient.
- While hugging we experience gentle pressure on the sternum which creates an emotional charge in turn activating the Solar Plexus Chakra. This strengthens the immune system as the thymus gland is stimulated which is responsible for the production of white blood cells.
- Hugs are believed to take away tension, aches and pain from the body as they relax the muscles and increase the circulation of soft tissues.
- When giving or receiving a hug electric responses are generated which lead to a balance state of the nervous system
- Hugs teach us to live in the moment as they encourage forgetting about the sadness and depression and enable to flow with the energy of life.
- By hugging we learn to receive and give as there is an equal part of being receptive and receiving warmth. Love definitely flows both ways while hugging.
- Hugs are believed to increase self-esteem and ability towards self love. Since the time we are born touch is one way which communicates that we are special. The endless cuddles from our parents while we are growing up are embedded in the cells and hugs remind us of those moments. Thus we learn to value selves more.
- Hugging increases the value of a relationship as it encourages understanding and empathy. Hugging has a synergistic effect which just leads to a win-win situation all the times.
Hugging is thus a very human thing and whatever may be the type of the hug (a bear hug to a spoon hug to a body hug and many more), it has the ability to calm a person. Moreover these are not reserved for any particular age group and can be used freely in any age group as they bring out the best results.
Image source