2. What is Haptonomy? (video)

In the previous column i shared with you how haptonomy came
into my life and what it meant to me.
So in this column i will give you a short introduction in
Haptonomy and what is aims to achieve.
Haptonomy is a movement that originated in the Netherlands
and in the mean has spread over several European countries.
So what is haptonomy ?
We have 5 senses.   We can see, hear, smell, taste and touch.
As a child we use our touch to explore the world around us .
Babiesy’s and little children often put stuff in their mouth to feel
how it is like.
When we grow up, we learn to look around and listen carefully,
but we don’t learn more about the touch.
This isThat’s a pity because we lose something very important.
We need the touch to feel what is going on in our body and the
world around us.
If you are unnot familiar with your feelings and your own body, it
is not easy to have open and intimate relationships.
Loving and caring touch may be the key to a healthy sense of
self.
Haptonomy is a movement to reintroduce and develop our
touch and feelings.
The word Haptonomy is derived from 2 Greek words: hapsis
which means sensing, touching and connecting and nomos
which stands for rules and norms.
In our body we experience sensations, emotions and feelings.

The body has a memory for positive and negative feelings and
imprints.Just take the example of a dog.When a dog has been
mistreated and hit by his boss his body will always remember
In case of fear you will notice immediately that the dog will try to
shield itself
These memories are also present in our bodies.
When we have negative experiences we show a similar
behavior in our gestures and movements
Of course it is easier to feel when everything is fine.When you
do not feel well it needs courage to feel
However,if you do not dare to feel the pain and sadness you
also block the nice feelings.
We often   think a lot and  lose contact with our feelings and
bodily awareness.
Not being able to feel our body also means feeling less of our
emotion
We need feelings to create meaningful contacts and have a
sense of fulfillment about our life.
This will enable us to handle daily life  better and feel more
vitality and happiness.
Exercise:
Now let us start with the first exercise.
Sit on a chair and put your feet on the floor.
Be aware how your legs and feet presently feel.
Then put both hands on your right hip and you slowly move
your hands with full awareness along your leg until your right
foot and toes.
You go the same way up and repeat this at least three times.
Make sure that your end at your foot and toes.
After this close your eyes for a while and notice if there is a
difference between your right and left leg.
May be it feels more alive and relaxed.
Sometimes people say that it feels more vital and that the leg
even feels longer.

Now you do the same exercise at your left side.
Start at your left hip and slowly move downwards to your left
foot and toes.
To become more focused it can help if you close your eyes .
Make sure your hands are open, soft and remain amazed like
you feel it for the first time.
After you have touched your left leg you go from the hips to the
toes with both hands moving down on both legs.
You can also do this with your arms and whole body.
Though, the manner you touch makes a huge difference.
It is not a functional neither an effective touch but a loving and
caring touch for someone very special, yourself !

In future columns I will explain you more about haptonomy and
the lost sense .
It will improve and change your life !!

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