Remember the time when you were a child and you had a bellyache or bumped your head, and cried? What did your mom or dad do? They may have taken you in their arms and rubbed your belly or your head where it hurt. Then, the pain eased and you felt better. This is the power of Touch; the most powerful healing tool that is innate to us humans as well as almost every animal on Earth.
 
One of the first things that a human baby experiences as it comes into the world is to be touched; by the midwife/doctor who is present at the birth as the baby exits the birth canal, as well as by its mother, as the baby is presented to the mother to be fed. What I never really thought about until recently, is how an embryo begins to be touched in-utero by its mother already at the time of conception by the endometrium, the inner lining of the uterus, as well as how early this embryonic being starts to feel Touch. Touch is the first sense to develop in a human being; already by week 8 of pregnancy a human embryo has touch receptors on its face, by week 12 on its palms and soles and by week 17 the abdomen. By the third trimester, the fetus can sense and respond to Touch from external sources, like when its mom puts her hand on her belly. We humans like to be Touched as well as like to give Touch. This is our way of connecting and communicating with each other. What is extremely interesting is that we can often sense the intention of the person giving the Touch, without even the person saying anything. If someone had an intention to hurt us, we would feel the discomfort in us build up and we get a sense of distress, as well as a feeling we should get away from this individual. Just as we would be able to distinguish if the person was giving us caring Touch, that is intended to soothe, nourish and bond.
 
For the longest time Western science doubted the power of Touch. Even till the 1960s babies were separated from their mothers after birth and placed into a sterile crib, because science thought that it was more "hygienic" for the babies to be alone in a crib than to be with its "germ-rich" mother, as well as that it was more convenient to put crying babies in a separate space. Parents of the time were told not to "spoil" their child with Touch and thus, we have a few generations of post-World-War-II humans deprived of healthy Touch. In human children and animals, Touch and the lack of it has shown to affect physical and emotional development. At some point experimentations with premature babies were conducted, where scientists realized that those premature-born babies who received Touch developed better and were healthier than those left in glass incubators without Touch. The effect of Touch in this early stages of a pre-mature-born baby's life has been shown to have an effect on the child up to 10 years after birth. It is important to remember that the lack of healthy Touch in children is a phenomenon of the industrial age. Before our parents were working in factories and offices, babies/children were right there with their parents, sometimes on the body of their mothers on the field in agricultural and hunter-gatherer societies.
 
Once again in our era of the 2020s, even with the knowledge that we have from previous Touch studies, we have been pushed into the infamous "social distancing," to protect others from our germ-rich presence by not only not Touching but also not being in the physical space of our loved ones. We are already becoming aware how 2 years of the lack of Touch and connection has affected us individually but scientists are also observing these effects on a societal scale. If you are living in a collective environment, i.e. family and friends, chose not to engage in social-distancing measures and continued to Touch one another, then you have been lucky! Studies are showing us that mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, are on a rise as a result of social distancing. I watched a very good documentary on Touch. It explains what we currently know of Touch from the scientific perspective but if we really are truthful, we already know deeply in our own inner selves that Touch is essential to life. 
 
In almost every culture in the world there is some form of Massage or the laying-of-hands that has been practiced since probably human life existed on Earth. It began with our mothers/fathers holding us, nursing us and nourishing us as babies. Later, this Touch sense developed into more complex awareness and technique of the body's mechanism of connecting and healing. One of the first things that I pass on to students who come to study Chinese Medicine with me is to be aware of the intention of their Touch when they lay their hands on a patient. Then after that comes technique, which is secondary. If we, the receiver of Touch, can sense the intention from the Touch, then why not Touch each other with positive intentions. We can send healing to each other by just something as simple as a gentle Touch of the hand on the arm of a colleague or a gentle hand-rub on the back of your partner after a long day or a hug with your teenager after a heated debate on teenage issues. We all have the ability to heal in our hands and in our being, we just have to make the first move to connect with each other. 
 



 
Image from Pixabay by bingngu93      

The Chinese character for Centre or Middle is, 中 Zhōng in Mandarin. I recently looked up a Wiktionary etymology of this character and it describes 2 versions of this pictogram: one being a target, the rectangle box being shot through by an arrow, the second, derived possibly from a more ancient character as in the image above, being a flagpole with a drum being beaten by the wind, placed in the centre of a field to gather people together and to detect the direction of the wind. The meaning of this character, Zhōng, is either "middle" or "centre" or "to hit the centre" or "to attain."  

It is quite unknown to many that the name for the country China is not what Chinese people call their own country. They call their country Zhōng Guó,中國, meaning "Middle State" or "Middle Country." The modern mainland Chinese call their country Zhōng Huá Rén Mín Gòng Hé Guó, People's Republic of China. "China" was a name given to them by the Persians, or possibly ancient Indians and then adopted by the Europeans. There are many reasons that led to the people of China calling their country Zhōng Guó, which archaeological sources date back to the period known as the Warring States Period, ca. 471 to 221 BCE. But what has then occurred is that the medicine that we called Chinese Medicine, which is called in Mandarin Zhōng Yī,中醫, directly translates as "Middle Medicine." 

It only recently occurred to me that a "Medicine of the Middle" is about finding the Centre, which for me also refers to finding balance. This is true of Chinese Medicine, there is a focus in finding balance within the individual; the individual within her/his social-emotional, physical and spiritual environment. The concepts of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases/Elements, which are the basis of Chinese Medicine, are about balance. Over 10 years ago, I was in a course for Shonishin, Japanese Children's Acupuncture, with Dr. Thomas Wernicke. He got us to lay like babies, in order that we understand the perspective of the world that babies have. One of the important growth milestones for a baby is rolling, either from belly to back or reverse, which typically occurs between the 4th and 6th month in a healthy child. Before a baby can perform this, it must first find its midline, that means hands and feet, right and left must be able to connect with each other. Once they can perform this on a regular basis, the body will be able to tip sideways, and they begin their movement journey towards being upright. This was an illuminating moment for me. I became more aware of my own Centre as well as how important it is to be Centred in order to be alive and thriving. 
  
It has been a few years now since I began practicing Yoga. What has drawn me to practice it regularly in recent years has been the connection I sense with myself internally and externally as well as, what I perceive as a playfulness with my own body(-mind). After spending my early years of life till my 20s dancing on my feet and the next few decades practicing rooting through my feet-legs through Tai Ji Quan/Qi Gong, I find being upside-down on my head, arm and hands just fabulously exciting. My most recent goal is the Handstand; the description of Handstand is very deceiving as it not just about trying to stand on the hands. Through this process, I am evolving a new awareness of balance and my Centre, not just in the literal sense but also in my life. I am finding that balance is not a static place/event; it is a constant fluctuation between stillness and movement. Some days I achieve balance on my hands for 3 seconds and another for just a milli-second. I receive minute information from different body parts like the base of my hand or my phalanges (the bones of my fingers) on where my balance is. I find that I am in constant "conversation" with my body and its different parts. It brings me into the here-and-now, because if for one split second of handstanding I lose my focus, I may fall painfully on my head. I accept all these gratefully as I know deep inside me, a cauldron of deep knowing is in the brewing.
 
As we just passed the Autumn Equinox (time of equal day and night) last week, I had the feeling that balance is being called for. We can all definitely find a little more balance in our lives and what better way than to become aware of our Centres. Take a moment of quietness and stillness in either standing, sitting or lying. Become aware of your body in space. Then, ask yourself, "Where is my Centre?" and just listen to your body answering.
 
 
 
Image Headstand by Aron H.
Image Zhōng Bronz Inscription and Silk Script from Wiktionary
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As I look out the window right now, I observe the extreme changes of Spring; the winds blowing the trees, the rain splattering the window and suddenly the blue sky pops out from behind dark clouds. It is stormy, restless, unsettling and all of a sudden it's sunny again. It reminds me of birthing a child.
 
Almost 15 years ago, I was initiated into the realm of motherhood and my "ritual," as most mothers would endure, was a long, intense torrent of contracting, ripping pain that didn't appear to end. Somehow the 9 months of pregnancy didn't seem to be enough to prepare me for those intense hours of labor. But labor itself revealed to me that I was embarking on a very profound journey with myself and another being, whom I would guide/ am guiding through this lifetime. This is a great responsibility filled with many challenges. Through experiencing the birthing of a being, I came to a realization of how remarkable and exceptional life is. As such I value life more than I did before I became pregnant. I appreciate the little things that I experience of my children growing up as I know that these could have not been, had the birthing process taken a different turn.
 
We in the modern world take many things for granted; we turn on a tap and clean water flows; plug in our electrical device and it powers up; women become pregnant and babies get delivered all wrapped in soft linen, all cleaned and "perfect," with no trace of blood or mucus that nourished it for 9 months. Even this word, "delivery," that we use in English to describe birth is strange to me. I definitely did not feel that my babies were "delivered" like a package arriving by post. It required resources, nourishment, connection, preparation, endurance of pain and patience. Birthing is just one step in a longer intense process of nurturing life, which continues throughout the child's and caregiver's lifetime. I say "caregiver" because it could be that it may not be the mother that births the child, who will care for it in its lifetime. Not only do we take for granted that life just keeps happening, we take the people who make it happen for granted.
 
"The woman of ancient times had possessed a strength we no longer claimed. If she had too many children, or not enough strength to rear another child, or if feeding it would deprive the tribe at the wrong time of year, she could look into the face of the child and put forth her hand and send that child back into the nowhere and nothingness as if it had never been born...A man must know that he is breathing because his mother looked on his face and saw that it was good and chose freely to nourish him." (Zimmer Bradley, Paxson, 179-180)     
 
I am here today, as you are, because our mothers chose to bring us into the world and nourish us as best as they could. Sometimes this is not easy and may be extremely challenging, depending on the circumstances life presents in different geographic and cultural circumstances. Mothers give us the unconditional love to be who we need to be, they are that hand which supports us when we are falling and pick-up what we left behind. In this day and age of looking for superheroes, we forget these invisible beings who do superhuman actions, like creating, maintaining and nourishing life; right there in front of us, in our own homes. To mothers all over the world I say, "I see you and I appreciate your invisible hand. I am grateful and I thank you for being Mother."   
 
 
    
Reference
Zimmer Bradley, Marion/ Paxson, Diana L. (2000): Priestess of Avalon. London: Penguin Books Roc.
 
 
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Image by Phalia from Pixabay

​When you look at a baby calmly sleeping, you will observe how her/his breath is deep and concentrated in the belly. When we come into the world, we are physically connected to our mothers through the umbilical cord at our navels on our abdomen. About 5 weeks after conception, the umbilical cord begins forming and connects the embryo to the placenta and its mother, to received nutrients, water and oxygen, as well as to excrete waste. This continues on until that moment the cord is cut after birth. At this point in time, the child becomes its own being in itself and must begin its own respiration. When a child is calm, we will see that it breaths deep into the abdomen. However, life happens; stressors occur throughout our childhood into adulthood and we begin to forget that place in the abdomen where we were/are connected to life, if we are unaware. Then, we begin to breathe more superficially, moving the chest in order to receive more air but this does not nourish us in the long-term. In fact, it creates tight muscles and can trigger the sympathetic nervous system into the "fight-or-flight" stress mode. 
 
Many traditions of the world have specific methods of breathing in order to support health or even to attain deep connection to the divine. One of these methods I have found to be very helpful and is almost universal to many traditions is "Diaphragmatic Breathing," "Abdominal Breathing" or as we in the Chinese medical tradition call "Natural Breathing." In the Chinese Qi Gong tradition, the main focus of this breath is the Lower Dan Tian (lower energy centre) in the area below the navel. We breathe deeply into the lower abdomen, allowing it to expand and contract freely as inhalation and exhalation occurs. This increases oxygen intake, increases circulation in the abdominal muscles, provides a massage for the internal organs and calms the entire body-mind, activating the parasympathetic nervous system.

Can you imagine how life would be if we were in a continuous state of calm? How would we make decisions? How would we interact or react to one another? How would we live life? Obviously, it is unrealistic to expect that we can always be in this state, as we do need a certain amount of "stress" to grow and develop physically, mentally and spiritually. But the longer we can stay in this state, the healthier it is for our minds and bodies, as well as for the people/environment around us. The aim of Natural Breathing is for us to return to what we once knew but perhaps forgot. It is innate to us and it just takes practice to remind our bodies-minds of something it already knows. If you keep a practice of 5-minutes daily for a year, your body will remember it for the rest of your life.
 
Personally, I practice this breathing technique almost all the time now for more than 20 years. It did not feel natural at first but with constant practice and patience it has become intuitive. When I am relaxed or stressed, I instinctively practice Natural Breathing. I consciously breathe this way when I get my blood pressure measured (which most times has a normal reading) or when I go to the dentist or when I have to do a test. I practice this way of breathing almost every night before I go to sleep, placing my hands on my abdomen, just focusing on the rising and falling of my breath as well as my abdomen till I fall asleep.  
 
Below is a step-by-step guide to Natural Breath. Happy Breathing! :-)



  Natural Breathing

1. Find a comfortable position in lying, sitting or standing. Place both hands on your lower abdomen by your navel (like in diagram below).
2. Begin by inhaling and exhaling into your abdomen. Observe if the abdomen rises and falls with the breath. If it does not, begin to sink the breath into the abdomen.
3. Imagine your abdomen as a balloon, when you inhale, you are blowing air into the balloon enlarging it, and when you exhale the balloon is shrinking. In the beginning, this may feel forced or unnatural. Be patient and keep practicing, it will become natural when you practice it regularly for some time.
4. Inhale and exhale only through the nostrils, expanding and contracting your abdomen respectively.
5. Begin to slow down the breath, keeping a regular and an equal rhythm of inhalation and exhalation.
6. If you have never done this before, begin by performing 10 breaths at least once a day. After a week of regular practice, begin extending it by increments of 5 and stay with this for another week before increasing the increments.
7. You may practice this as often as you like in a day and even at night.
8. Side-effects include digestive rumblings in the abdomen (stimulation of your natural digestive functions), calmness, relaxation, feeling well and healthy.

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​​Image Baby from esudroff on Pixabay
Image Abdomen from Eduardo RS from Pixabay