I was reading Personal Growth - Have You Hugged Anyone? by Parveen Chopra. The last line in this very informative article is “It only takes a hug, a heartfelt and warm embrace, to change the lives of others.”  

A hug may seem simple, but it has such great power. When you allow your heart to be pressed against someone else you connect the heart chakra anahata, which is associated with compassion, love, charity and the sense of touch.

The Latin word for heart is cor. Cor eventually became the word courage, which originally meant to speak your mind from the heart. Although I am not a psychologist and I do respect people’s personal space, I have the courage to be vulnerable. If you are uncomfortable receiving and giving hugs, try this for a week: give and receive at least one a hug per day to friends and family. Write down how it made you feel. By the end of the week, I bet you feel better, physically, mentally and spiritually.

The history hugging is very interesting, Wikipedia describes a hug as "a near universal form of physical intimacy, in which two people put their arms around the neck, back, or waist of one another and hold each other closely. If more than two persons are involved, this is referred to as a group hug.” Primates are also known to have hugging and grooming rituals with each other to form social bonds among groups and to ease tension. If heads of state of every country greeted each other with a warm hug and hugged before departing, I think the world would catch hug fever.  

To embrace and touch each other is a human need. On a cellular level hugs, heal. Well-known family therapist Virginia Saitr’s wrote: “We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth." I remember one of my mentors saying to me, "Do you want to survive or thrive? I want to THRIVE." A hug can not only make you feel better, but in times when words are not needed, a hug or a touch on the hand can make one thrive!

I asked my 5 ½ year old, "What does a hug mean to you?"

He said “ A hug means mommy and daddy.”

I asked how does a hug make you feel? 

He answered, "Well, when I am happy a hug makes me feel even more happy.  When I am sad or angry, a hug makes me feel better.”

I asked the final question.

"How do you think other people feel when you give them a hug?"

He replied,  “when I hug someone else, they feel happy and I feel happy too.”

Embrace your inner child, have courage, give hugs and love unconditionally.  Like the proverbial stone in the pond, it will ripple out into the world and bring healing to everyone.

Namaste

This Weeks Yoga Happenings:

Are you doing the 60 Day Yoga Tampa Bay Challenge?  Here are some happenings this 4th of July holiday week to help keep you on track!

Wednesday July 4, 2012

From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Trevor Gribble will be teaching for Yoga Loft in the beautiful gardens of the Ybor City Museum (1818 E. 9th Ave). A suggested donation $5-10 is welcomed.
*In the event of inclement weather, we will hold the class indoors at Yoga Loft.

My husband, Eric Wheeler, will be teaching the only class of that day at Yogani from 12-2 p.m.. His annual Independence Day Hot Flow will be vinyasa based (challenging but accessible). Light the fire inside you and then enjoy the fireworks outside. Themes are community and freedom. Prices are $20 before event, $25 on the day of the event.