Direct massages to the soul that heal your emotions

“the depths of ourselves it is our surface”, wrote the French poet Paul Valéry. With his extreme sensitivity he intuited what more recent scientific discoveries have just demonstrated: the skin and the brain are one.

When life makes its way in us to conform, skin and brain go together, since they develop from the same embryonic tissue, the ectoderm, just after 21 days of life of the embryo. Since then the communication between skin and brain it doesn’t stop flowing.

Travel to our inner world through the skin

Laurent Miserya neuroscientist at the University of Brittany specializing in the connections between the skin and the nervous system, has come to demonstrate in the laboratory that “the skin and the brain are nostalgic embryological brothers”, in such a way that the links between the two are woven in spontaneous way.

On the one hand, neurons influence the skin: 80% of dermatological pathologies have a psychological origin and 40% are the manifestation of an anxious or depressive state.

and conversely the skin determines the nervous system, because in fact it is nothing more than its peripheral prolongation. Skin cells are able to guide and regulate neuronal growth through proteins located on their surface that have the power to block the growth of neurons.

The human being has five million receptors sensitive to touch, pressure, temperature and pain. When they touch, caress or massage us, they are constantly capturing information to send it to the brain at high speed.

There is no doubt that through the skin reach very deep areas of our body. In fact, it has been touch that has first structured and configured our “I”, the awareness of what we are, as well as our vision of the world.

The skin, the organ that shapes our identity

The French psychoanalyst Didier Anzieu assures in his book I-Skin (Ed. Biblioteca Nueva) that we are basically the result of our tactile experiences and that the “I” largely corresponds to this border organ between our internal world and the external world: the skin.

The information we receive through the skin, our most extensive organ, articulates the notion we have of ourselves and others. It stands as the pencil that traces the main lines of our mental map.

Among the functions of “I-skin”Anzieu emphasizes individuation: in the same way that each skin has a unique color, texture or smell, the “I-skin” helps us to feel unique and singular beings.

A reflection of the unconscious since we are born

In this “I-skin” the drives for sexual pleasure are also contained. Are stored events, sensations and emotions of which we are not even aware and that will appear involuntarily generating, for example, a blush in the face of a certain circumstance.

In addition, through the marks that we imprint on our skin surface with piercings, makeup, tattoos or other ornamentationWe identify with a social group. “I feel good in my skin” encompasses much more than just an expression.

But on this map the most decisive traces will be the footprints that inscribe the mother’s hands (our whole world when we are children) when he picks up and holds the baby in his arms, cradles him, sleeps, caresses, breastfeeds, calms his hunger, attends to his needs and welcomes his anxiety. In addition to the sensations arising from the caresses that the fetus gives itself in the mother’s womb and those experienced at the time of delivery, there will also be a crucial tactile stimulation of the “I-skin”.

The skin, in turn, expresses emotions that we are unable to define: “Stress can cause alopecia, acne express a loss, psoriasis cover a loss, psoriasis cover anger, eczema anxiety… or deep pain like depression,” says Dr. María José Tribo, from the Psychodermatology Unit of the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona.

Emerge a whole “I” of sensations through touch

Built long before the appearance of language, the “I-skin” is made up of sensations, drives and instincts that appear chaotically and that the child, unable to manage, associates with different areas of his body.

Is a information that is stored in the depths of us and that it will return to the surface through touch and, above all, with certain forms of deep contact that are carried out through massages. Then, with its own code, this first bodily and sensory self that has been generated through skin-to-skin contact and which is the basis of the psychic self, speaks with its own code.

The information stored in the depths of the body emerges through contact in massages.

“The I-Skin is like a stage of the primitive being, a bodily I from which the psychic structure of the person would develop according to the sensory bodily experiences experienced,” says psychiatrist Ana Gálvez.

Through touch, care, caresses, the relationship is established. baby’s first bond with its mother or with other caregivers. If the mother responds empathically to the baby’s needs, a secure bond will be established in which the child will be able to grow, progressively structure his psychic self and successfully go through the different stages of development.

“It is not so much about the amount of contact between mother and baby, or covering obvious needs of the baby such as bathing, or cleaning, but the quality of that care, the maternal affection transmitted through caresses and contact”, points out Ana Gálvez.

And he adds: “Massages can go back to experiences that we have associated with the maternal bond more primitive, that is, going back to the moment when our mother caressed us, held and tucked us in and made us feel protected. These would be very comforting feelings.”

The pain is also taxed on the skin

When the mother-child connection is interrupted or insufficient, the “I-skin” tries to stop the penetration of contact and takes refuge in a frenzied mental activity to protect yourself and make up for this dissatisfaction.

If these unpleasant experiences are repeated, then emptiness appears in the person and one can end up sowing in this “I-skin” the insecurity, mistrust and other unsatisfactory feelings through sensations that will be recorded on the skin.

“In the same way, the repetition of harmonious encounters with the mother, who is capable of containing anxiety and calming, fosters a ‘skin-self’ full of confidence. The skin absorbs, memorizes and stores everything: heat, cold, pain, acceptance, rejection, anxiety… and caresses are what she prefers from all of this”, continues Gálvez.

Ana Gálvez is in favor of psychotherapy as the main treatment for mental disorders, and considers massages as a good complement when necessary. “In addition, massages can have a relaxation effect that changes perspective and the mood.”

Massages that reach the depths

Through body work that has touch as the main element, Gestalt psychology created a new way of exploring the person that helps them expand their self-awareness: the Esalen Californian Massage.

Through long and enveloping movements, This massage awakens all this information and manages to connect with the depths of the person, improving their perception of themselves and integrating all areas of their body.

Massages like the Californian help to transform the image that one has of oneself without the need for words.

“Californian massage goes beyond the physical decompressing the person inside and integrating through a touch full of presence. This brings out sensations and emotions that are part of body memory,” says Sujati Lacanna, director of Spazio Masajes Californian Massage School.

In his experience, “there are many who haven’t been touched with love, respect, slow and aimlessly. And it is that the sensations generated by this type of contact frighten us. The Californian massage touches your skin and through it reaches your heart. The subconscious awakens and the masseur tells you with his attitude: I’m here with you and I’ll accompany you as far as you want and then I’ll help you come back.”

An inner journey in which, even without looking for it, a stopover is made in the episodes of life that have been recorded in different areas of our skin is what also provides the Arún Conscious Touch, a loving touch that promotes health and opens a door to an expanded consciousness. A meditation of touch in which the person takes the pulse of the mystery that is enclosed within himself.

Different methods of touching are combined in Arún Conscious Touch to later dissolve before the innate and intuitive wisdom of the handswho perceive at each moment where and how they should approach the skin: softly, intensely, still, caressing, rocking, vibrating, sliding, stopping, with the tip of a finger…

The presence of breath it accompanies each movement and from there arises a relaxed confidence to be able to look inward. “First of all, it is about deep listening in the now, with an open heart,” says Muditosan, a professional at Arun Conscious Touch since 1994.

“There are bodies in a lot of pain and hands have the ability to create regenerative spaces by listening to that pain without identifying with it, without judging it, without seeking to change or correct it, but simply by accompanying it, because then you can create a bridge between the unconscious or isolated areas of pain and conscious and connected energy”, adds the expert.

“The skin is happy to finally have been cared for in an authentic way and the body displays its healing and rebalancing mechanisms. The body is retuned to health, like tuning a musical instrument.”

“But there is no need for pain,” adds Muditosan, trained with the international masters and creators of Arun, Anubuddha and Anasha, inspired by the mystic Osho.

“Through touch the person gets feel inside”, says. “When I put a hand on your arm then it takes shape and volume inside and out. My hand becomes an amplifier so that you can feel and thus you can look inside, something very necessary considering that we are only aware of the outside “.

Shantala, the massage that feeds the baby

It is not necessary to wait until you are an adult to benefit from these benefits of touch. Phyllis K. Davis, author of the the power of touch (Ed. Paidós), ensures that newborns need to be stroked to survive. Boris Cyrulnik talks about “affective food”.

In fact, when a premature baby is massaged and skin-to-skin contact is facilitated, his hospitalization time is reduced and he gains weight more quickly.

Shantala is a baby massage technique, common in India, which was brought to the West by the French gynecologist Frederic Leboyer. Helps secrete oxytocin, the bonding hormone, favors the baby’s psychomotor development, coordination, intelligence and the maturation of the respiratory and digestive systems.

The naked baby is massaged every day…