We are all born with a need to be physically touched (see first article). And then most cultures train us not to touch each other. Some years ago researchers conducted an experiment. They went to different countries and just sat down in a cafe or restaurant and observed how often people touched each other. The results varied widely. Brazilians and Italians touched over a dozen times per hour, Americans a couple of times per hour at best, in England not at all.

If you break the touching rules of a culture, people will see you as strange or even threatening.  Unless you are with good friends, family, or you are in a profession like massage therapists, touching is often taboo. However some people break all those boundaries and with their enthusiasm infect others to come out of their shells and exchange heart felt hugs. Read the rest of this entry

Heavenly Head Massage

There is a lot of information available about the benefits of massage. It has been scientifically established that massage is good for your body.

I am lucky to live in a place where massage is not a luxury. At about $5.- an hour there is little reason  not to indulge regularly. My personal measure for good massage is being able to fall asleep during the session.

In my many years as  a massage therapist, I have seen a lot of people fall asleep during my sessions. It became very clear to me that this was not normal sleep, but another, much deeper state. Image you are sleeping in your bed at home and someone starts to rub you, move you around, and squeeze your muscles. You would instantly wake up. Read the rest of this entry

touch feels great!

Language is sometimes not sufficient to convey meaning. Let’s look at ”love”. You can love your wife, your children, your job, your cup of coffee in the morning, your new hunting rifle, God, or your country.

Clearly loving God is a very different concept from loving your job.  Loving your wife is a totally different emotion from loving your new hunting rifle. We use the same word “love”, but its meaning changes depending on the context. The word by itself  does not have meaning.

Now let’s look at “touch”. Your laptop has a touchpad. That’s a very mechanical, non-emotional concept. You can touch someone’s body. That could be anything from friendly to sensual to sexual to painful to lethal depending on the kind of touch. Read the rest of this entry

Thai massage is part of a family of Asian healing arts – Japanese Shiatsu, Chinese Tui Na, Indian Yoga Therapy. They all share common elements which distinguish them from Western Swedish massage.

• They are performed fully clothed, generally no oil is used. Therefore the technique has to be different from oil massage. Instead of long massaging strokes, pressure is applied by thumbs, hands, knees, forearms, or feet.
• Asian healing arts all incorporate the principle of  ‘energy’ – “Ki” in Japan, “Lom” in Thailand, “Prana” in India, “Chi” in China. The idea is that the physical manipulation affects a subtle energy flow which in turn aids the healing process. Western massage is more focused on anatomical principles like structure, muscles, and tissue.
• Asian massage techniques incorporate much more physical manipulation than Western Swedish massage.  There is stretching , bending, twisting, and traction. Thai massage is often quite similar to yoga poses.
• Unlike Western style massage which is done on a massage table, Asian massage is mostly done on floor mats. Read the rest of this entry

Once I was traveling in Mexico, and I met a girl from Spain. Like me, she was backpacking around the country and we spent a few days hiking and sightseeing together. Then we both continued on our separate ways. When we said our good byes, she kissed me on the cheeks, and I hugged her. Both of us were a little surprised and uncomfortable.

In those days I did not know that kissing on the cheeks is a normal way of greeting in several European countries. And she did not know that hugging is quite a normal exchange among friends in the US. However in the US we do not kiss on the cheeks when we greet someone and in Spain people don’t hug casual friends. So I was a little surprised by her kiss and she was surprised by my hug.

Now I live in Thailand, and touching is an interesting subject here. Girls often walk around hand in hand, and men sometimes put their arm around the shoulder of an another man in a casual way. In social gatherings Thais often have body contact, but  only in a casual way.

Read the rest of this entry

Does this Thai bus station look like a place where magical things occur? Why not, it happened to me. There are some events in life which we never forget even though they happened a long time ago. It might have been a little thing, a kind word, a helping hand, a truly happy or beautiful or magical moment. In my case it was a simple heartfelt touch. Read the rest of this entry