THINKING ABOUT TOUCH, BABIES AND PAPOOSES (Baby Slings)

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When we are born, we are expelled from a total touch environment. For the last 9 months we have been in constant contact with the walls of the womb and bathed in warm nurturing amniotic fluid.

A bit of a shock, when we come out! No wonder we scream and cry…

But for most of us, after birth, we are cuddled and cooed and touched. We get touched to eat, to dress to move, even. Pretty much a ‘touch rich’ environment. If we were to draw it on a graph it would probably look like this for the first year of life:

That would be true if we saw babies being carried around everywhere in papooses, pretty much strapped to Mum or dad’s body.

I remember vividly going to see my friends when my first son was just 2 weeks old. I proudly strapped him onto our papoose on my chest and took the tube through London. As a man I must say I have never been made such a fuss of by women (before or since!) as on the day when I turned up to that particular summer’s tea party!

I have no idea what difference it made to my son, but the sheer warmth and joy of having such a small totally vulnerable living soul so close, strapped right next to my heart gave me a contentment I have rarely been able to match. Talk about bonding – my son and I were literally bound together through the miraculous papoose….

Another vivid memory is me walking the 7 miles across the moors to Howarth – right across the wild fells of Bronte country - in driving wind and rain. Only this time I had my 3 week old daughter strapped to my chest in a papoose. It was a freezing April day. But my kagoul was zipped up all around her and though we were buffeted by the wind and rain we were both as warm as toast.

It was such an adventure. Something primal was involved, being the only protection for her against elements that could kill such a vulnerable small thing…

All of which goes to show that touch is not only powerful for one person – there are always two beneficiaries….

Unless of course a baby is put, instead, into that abomination – the portable car seat.

Stuffed in the portable car seat, the poor little baby does not have to be touched or cuddled at all as he is moved from the car to the pram. There is not even any physical contact when lifting out of the pram, these days. These specially designed baby seats now mean that babies can be moved seamlessly without touch from car to pram to house. In which case for many babies these days the graph probably looks more like this:

Either way, I think we can conclude that the total touch of a Massage treatment probably reminds us of the times when we were totally touched in the womb and immediately afterwards.

All of which could explain why, receiving massage for a whole hour, is so damned powerful. It takes us right back to a golden age of innocence, of oneness with the whole of the universe and life. To a time when our breath, our food and touch was all one great big ONE.

A time before separation.

A time before fragmentation.

A time when the whole universe was just one great big cuddle….

Which means that it is most definitely time for me to go and book my next NO HANDS Massage!

Have a great day

Gerry

ABOUT GERRY:

Gerry has been a full time Massage therapist and teacher for over 25 years. He also qualified as a UKCP registered Psychotherapist (TA) in 1999.

He is the creator of The NO HANDS Massage Therapy System, which is now one of the most popular Massage approaches in the UK. He has also recently launched the PSYCHOLOGY OF CHANGE, a unique new approach to making lasting change within your life. To learn more about these courses go to www.nohandsmassage.com