Reiki to Soothe Touch Deprivation

Join Bronwen Logan, Carrie Varela, and Michaela Daystar as they delve into a crucial aspect of human life, touch, in this episode of the Reiki Women podcast. 

In this heartfelt conversation, they explore their own experiences, share stories, and discuss the role touch plays in interpersonal connections, healing practices, and human development. 

They also touch upon the factors to consider when practicing Reiki, like the importance of consensual touch and understanding personal boundaries. Don't miss out on the pointers discussed and the insightful takeaways this episode has to offer.

Additional Resources:
- Join our Facebook Group: Embodying Reiki
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1564135767437136
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel
 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz6Jk8QD_8hjlfpSM8suMIA
- HeartScapes Touch Deprivation, Self-Love & Reiki https://www.heartscapesinsight.com/workshops/2020/12/2/intuition-lab-3gfe3-5a24n-exfge-6kafx-ahlk6-32k8d-px6y6-b6tzp-sk5tp-cl3ty-ykdss-n2rsz-jcwrg-e6z9y-d24mj?fbclid=IwAR3DGNKag-0DWOndxYjGBXLxpaz3cENH4pGwT0Y17m0sSRBMIpfGxJob7Gw
- Reiki with Bronwen Webclass - Why Touch is Integral to the System of Reiki https://reikiwithbronwen.com/product/why-touch-is-integral-to-the-system-of-reiki-web-class/

Bronwen Logan: https://ReikiwithBronwen.com
Carrie Varela: https://www.reikihealingsociety.com
Michaela Daystar: https://www.heartscapesinsight.com/

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00:06 Introduction to the Podcast
00:28 Exploring the Topic of Touch Deprivation
00:49 The Importance of Touch in Reiki Practice
01:29 Personal Experiences and Thoughts on Touch Deprivation
03:52 The Role of Touch in Elderly Care
05:12 The Significance of Touch in Personal Relationships
06:38 The Impact of Touch Deprivation in Modern Society
07:25 The Healing Power of Self-Touch in Reiki
08:33 The Role of Touch in Expressing Love and Affection
13:41 The Transactional Nature of Touch in Reiki Practice
21:44 The Importance of Consensual Touch
31:30 The Sacredness of In-Person Relationships
35:09 Conclusion and Invitation to Join the Free Class

Transcript

0:06

Hello and welcome to the Reiki Women podcast. I'm Bronwen Logan from Reiki with Bronwen and I have my two colleagues here with me today as always every week and there's Carrie Varela from the Reiki Healing Society. Hi Carrie and hi Michaela. Michaela's down there from Heartscapes Reiki. Lovely to see you both again. Michaela brought up a subject today that, is really interesting. Uh, we've touched on it before, but not in depth. So today we're going to go into this in depth and it's about touch deprivation, which is something that probably most of us have experienced at some point in our lives. And, uh, Touch. I know for Reiki practitioners, you know, we talk a lot about touch. It's an important thing. it's a part of our practice, on ourselves, on others. And there is a reason why that is so and why it is, uh, one of the most important parts of our practice. So Uh, something I'd just like to say before we begin is that, uh, one little fact I know that before we're born, when we're in the womb,, the first sense that we develop is touch. And so, It's something that is just us, that's a part of us and it's a part of being human. Um, so, I'd like to know, Michaela, what do you think about touch deprivation and what made you think about this? Yeah, I, uh, well, just as you were talking, Bronwen, I was remembering that I think the very first class that I took with you was a class on touch. And, you know, and, and in that class, you, you know, we certainly were focusing on Tenehara, the element of the system of Reiki that is explicitly about physical touch. Um, and you went through a lot of the, the science Around touch and the fact that touch is a human need. And I think the fact that you just brought forward that it's the first sense that we become aware of, you know, when we're in the room womb, where we're literally just touched on all sides of ourself. You know, we come into the world from our first day, um, meeting that, right? Like having that as a core source of stimulation and nourishment and connection and, you know, the more that we learn about. The nervous system, the brain, the somatics of the connections between our bodies and our hearts and minds, you know, there's been a lot of really good research about this reality that touch is in fact a human need. Uh, and, you know, most of that research focusing on infants and on, you know, the. Symptom or the syndrome that's known as failure, failure to my mouth. Is that working? All of a sudden failure to thrive in infants where infants who aren't touched, um, enough, uh, you know, in their early, uh, days, actually. suffer from, from that in terms of not being able to grow properly. We know that touch stimulates the release of oxytocin in our body, which is connected to our sense of connection, of generosity, of a sense of belonging. Um, you know, just all manner of, you know, feelings, emotions, and thoughts and sensations in the body that are related to our experience of connection as humans. And so it makes a lot of sense that this, um, you know, form of stimulation and of connection would exist inside of the system of Reiki, a system that is so specifically designed to bring front of mind our sense of interconnection with each other, with all of life. And so all of that, you know, kind of being the background, the, the reason that this particular topic came forward was this very sweet and tender and, you know, kind of heartbreaking invitation that I received recently from a local organization that works with seniors and elders in a variety of capacities, including hospice, and they're holding a Valentine's Day event. And that is focused on touch deprivation, um, Um, specifically for people who have lost their partners. So elders whose partners have passed away and the recognition that an elderly person whose partner has passed, maybe their families are far away. You know, it could be that the only loving. Um, consensual touch that they receive is from a caregiver who might be there occasionally, perhaps from friends, um, and that a lot of the touch that one receives as one heads into later life is unpleasant touch, you know, medically related touch. And so there was this recognition that that was something that. You know, in the context of services for people who are aging, that this is something that perhaps should be addressed, right? And to be held tenderly and to, um, you know, put some services into. So I was very honored to be invited to do Reiki sessions, um, in the context of this event. And that really got me thinking about, um, the presence of touch within the system of Reiki, and the fact that from its origins, you know, the system of Reiki is a self practice, and that includes Tenohira, that includes the touch element of this practice, and so often we think about that practice as being for other people, right? It's something that we offer to other people, oftentimes it's thought of as the primary, um, for offering Reiki to others. We know of course that it is not. It's one of many and that, you know, most of the elements in the system, the practices in the system are, um, you know, more meditative than physical, but there's this special medicine that is available to us from Tenehira that has to do with the medicine of touch itself, that without. Reiki at all. Um, you know, without an awareness of reiki, I should say, we are reiki. We have reiki all the time, but whether or not we have an awareness of it, we've learned practices and techniques around reiki that touch has its own medicine, and that when we don't receive touch on a re basis, we suffer. Now, of course, the context that I just shared. We've lost a partner, um, is a really intense version of that, but there's a lot of reasons that we might experience periods of time in our life where we're just not getting enough of the nourishment that is touch. Perhaps we've moved to a new place and haven't met anybody yet and just don't have a circle of People who are close enough to us where there might be casual, consensual, non sexual touch that is provided on a regular basis. Um, you know, perhaps we're, you know, single and we don't have a partner and, you know, maybe we just don't tend to have a relationship with our friends that includes a lot of touch. There's a lot of reasons that we might not be getting as much touch as we need. I think this is one of the reasons that practices like massage, like Reiki, um, you know, have a special, um, a specialness to them, right? There's something that people really seek out. Certainly going to a Reiki session is one way to address touch, touch deprivation. But I wanted to really, um, kind of sing the praises of self tenohira, self Reiki, as a way that we can, um, work with this syndrome. Uh, there's a, there's a specialness to receiving touch from other people, but there is also a specialness to taking a moment to focus our attention on ourself, on our heart, on our interior spaces, to be in a breathing practice, a meditative space, and in that space with that type of focused attention, you know, apply the medicine of touch to ourselves. Um, and then certainly To share that with others, if that feels right, if that's appropriate. Um, so yeah, so that's what's been on my mind. Um, it feels so resonant to me that I'm offering a class on this topic. Um, my monthly free class for February will be focused on, um, all of this stuff. And so I appreciate you all being interested in having this conversation, because I think there's a lot of wisdom that the two of you are going to bring to this topic as well. So with that, I'm going to pitch it over to Carrie. What comes up for you when you think about this rather tender subject? Oh, well, as you're talking about these seniors who've lost their spouses, I mean, and just the whole, like, it really is heartbreaking. I'm, like, literally feeling these visceral feelings of such sadness, uh, for these people, and And what it might be like, you know, in our elder years, you know, to, uh, perhaps feel very isolated and alone and, um, not connected and, um, um, you know, uh, our elders, well, we need to support them and be with them and, uh, it's reminding me to, you know, how important it is to look for communities in need. You know, and, uh, as a Reiki practitioner, just really trying to find places where our practice really overlaps communities in need and how we can support communities in need. And I think that that's just always going to be a win win for you, for that community. Um, and so I'm so glad that this whole thing, this magic is happening. And I hope your time with these seniors is really, really sweet and nourishing for all involved. Um, probably one of the reasons why I'm a Reiki practitioner is because I am like, uh, you talk about the five love languages. One of mine is absolutely touch and affection and, um, and so, you know, it's not only something that I need, you know, for my own health care and just to. It's something that I also do to share love with others, and, um, I was recently reminded of this. Actually, first of all, I wanted to quote, uh, a Mary Oliver poem, which I think is so relevant. Um, this is Wild Yeast, and I'm only going to, uh, point out a couple lines of this, but it says, you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Wild Yeast. And that was something that comes back to me again and again. I think that's what we're reaching to in this, uh, whole topic of Tenehira and hands on healing. What Bronwen you referenced as well is that touch is such a foundational, um, sense that gives us a sense of safety and connection with each other. And there's, uh, it doesn't matter how evolved we are, how, um, you know, spiritual we are. We have to keep both of our feet on the ground and we have to remember and nourish that. Soft animal of our body and, um, not to disconnect from, um, kind of our, uh, subconscious needs. And so, like I said, you know, the touch is such a big part of, uh, how I feel loved and, um, my language of love. Yet, um, my husband is totally not that way. So this has been a kind of a source of disconnect for us in our marriage. Uh, it's been a struggle. I'll, I'll say that plainly because, you know, his love language is a little different and there's some ways that we come together and some ways we actually don't. And for him, he's had a lifetime of sensory issues and so touch for him sometimes feels awful. It feels like, invasive and, um, you know, like nails on a chalkboard, that kind of thing. And so we don't have the most touchy, feely, lovey PDA kind of relationship, which is odd because like all of my other relationships have been like that. So. I find that at this stage of my life, I really get that affection from my kids and so we're always ready for a hug and a lot of just, you know, uh, sitting next to each other, sitting on each other's laps and I just love, you know, that, uh, of course, sexual affection with children because I just feel like there's just so much joy in that there is so much connection. There is, um, so much soothing that's happening in our nervous system. And one of my favorite things to do is, I don't know if you've ever felt this, like a baby who's like, maybe, let's say six months old, nine months old, and you touch their feet, and it's like you can just feel, like their feet are like buzzing with energy because there's so much growth happening, and I just love to rub a baby's feet, and I used to do that all the time with my kiddos. And I swear it just helps their feet grow better, too. So my kids have very big feet, uh, oddly, so. But, um, yeah, so, um, you know, another kind of layer in this topic is that, um, you know, I have this connection to touch and, um, I also was in a car accident, uh, several years ago and my, um, I've had like a chronic low back and spine pain since then. And so 1 of the big parts of my recovery has been getting regular massages and that's helped me so much with, um, my recovery. And I think. You know, there's just nothing like the human hand to like get into a sore spot in your neck or You know in your low back and I actually hadn't gotten a massage in a good length of time it might have been like three months, which is kind of a long time for me with my chronic pain issues and stuff and I recently went to a new massage therapist and As, as I was receiving this gorgeous massage, I realized that, you know, there was no spoken word or anything in our, um, kind of transactional relationship. But I felt that she, she was giving me so much love. Like as we were, she was kneading my muscles and of course it was a very consensual non sexual love, but it's still felt like my human animal that I was just like soaking it up and I was just like taking it in and, and, you know, there's this kind of, um, subconscious again, part of ourselves that just. You know, for whatever reason, I realized I had, I had not been nourishing that part of myself and, um, and it reminded me to, um, well, my clients when I'm working with them, it's just like, how, how am I really folding the space with them? Is it this kind of transactional kind of boundary filled conversation, or is it a place where we can really share and grow in safety and connection with love, you know, and, um. Uh, you know, that can be, you know, maybe it's not right for everyone. I would put that out there. But, um, as I've been kind of bringing that awareness more into my sessions, I just really feel like it's been making them all that much better. Um, another thing that I can mention is there's a, uh, a research paper out there on the efficacy of Reiki and one of the, um, big ways in which it surpassed the placebo effect. Was with working with cardiovascular patients and that that human touch has an ability to really help people with cardiovascular issues to, um, bring their heart rate down to normal speeds, um, uh, to calm somebody and, uh, yeah, has some pretty surprising effects. So very sweet this conversation. So I'd love to hear more about what you have to say, Bronwen. Yeah. Oh, when you mentioned, um, Michaela about the seniors, I sort of responded like Carrie did. I guess everybody does a bit, but the thing is, you know, it is that empathy for these people who, you know, we are all growing into. And that just makes me really sad actually, to be honest, you know, and, uh, I've spent a bit of time in nursing homes cause my mum, uh, I looked after my mum for five years. Yes, I'm going to cry. I looked after my mum for five years, but, um, and I knew how much she needed touch, really needed touch. And, uh, cause she had dementia and so she couldn't really ask for it. But, you know, just if you touch just the way the whole body sunk to you, you know, it just. fell into you, and it's really beautiful. And then you go to a nursing home and, uh, you know, you see all these people, and the majority of them are on their own. And they're people who have lived, you know, full lives like we all have. And, you know, they have had partners and, and there they are on their own. And, uh, you know, it's very beautiful that the staff who work there, you know, they will. A regular thing that they will do is like give hand massages, you know, get everyone's got cream everywhere and they're always doing hand massages and, you know, I love that, Carrie, you were saying about feet, you know, feet, those things that are so important, all those parts of the body and just as a way of touching someone and showing love and care. But, uh, yeah, I. I just, I really, I, I do feel for these people and I feel, I feel for, it's a bit selfish, but I feel for myself in that I feel, which is the empathy that we all, you know, to be able to feel into that and feel into that, that, you know, that couldn't be us one day too. And people shouldn't forget that and how important it is that we. are there for each other at all points of our lives. And I do think that, you know, when people are old, we do put them in buildings and leave them there, uh, to a large degree. Not everybody does that, but there is a sense of like they're no longer of worth or of use to our society to some, And yet, Obviously, that's not true. And, you know, as I know, as I get older, you know, I still feel like a 20 whatever year old, I think, you know, to some degree. And, uh, and I'm sure that will be the same if I'm 80 or 90 or whatever, right? If I'm fortunate to get to that age. Uh, yeah, just how important it still would be then at that age to have all the things that I've had throughout my life. And why should those things be taken from me just because I'm old, you know, and in my body. Yeah. So it is a, a beautiful thing. I hope you have an amazing day, Michaela. I think that there's going to be a lot of joy and love. And I know at my mom's nursing home, they used to have like, dance evenings and things like this where someone would play music, you know, and I'd go along and, you know, I dance with my mom and, and she just loved that, and a lot of the people couldn't move and do that, but when we're dancing together, we're holding, we're being together, we're intuiting each other, there's a whole rhythm of being with another being. And that's all so special. And we're so blessed to be working with the system of Reiki to actually have touch as one of its main, aspects. I'll put the link up as well to that webcast that I did with this, with aspects of different scientific aspects about it, but that was just one aspect. One part of the class, but, uh, one of the pointers in that is that, uh, when we, um, when we touch another being, you say a stranger, if you got to a stranger and we stroke a stranger that we have 83 percent chance of actually knowing how that person feels. just from stroking them. We don't need to talk to them. Nothing like that. So it's, it's just touching someone. We can get a feel for, for what is happening with that person and what's going on for that person. And the Usui Reiki Reoho Hike, um, so the, the manual, um, that the association in Japan have used for Reiki, uh, they have a little quote from Mikau Sui in it and he talks, uh, about, uh, the different ways that we touch and, uh, I know that within the system we tend to just place hands on the body, but he talks about stroking, patting, and laying hands on the body as a way of connecting and touching. And these are things that we do all the time when we're with together, you know, when, you know, Carrie, you're saying like, you're a touchy person when I know that if I connect with someone, I can't help, but put my hands on them. And I think, take my hands off that person because they may not appreciate that, as you said, but you know, there is this thing of. We're born to, to touch, and it is a way of reading people, understanding people, showing our love, receiving love, uh, it's incredibly special. Um, yeah, I think that's sort of, I think everything that I feel about that. Um, Michaela, how are you feeling now? Yeah, I, uh, there were several points there I wanted to circle back to. Um, you know, I love, Carrie, that you brought up love languages, because Touch is one of the five identified by a particular study. I found that perspective so useful in my own life, understanding myself and other folks in relationships. And, you know, oftentimes we are in relationships with people who don't necessarily have the same way in which they want to receive and to share love. And that can be a point of contention and, you know, we have to respect each other's needs and, you know, Make sure that we're getting our needs met. And, you know, it's a whole thing. Um, but, you know, the, the related, I think, really important piece that came up for me around that was, you know, this idea of consent, right? That touch must be consensual for it to be positive, because certainly touch can be a source of harm. It can be a source of disconnection. It can be a source of alienation as well as all of the benefits that we've already talked about. And so, you know, for a lot of reasons, you know, you mentioned, you know, having a physiology that has intense sensory perception where touch actually is received, you know, too intensely, um, can also be, you know, from, you know, having trauma around touch or just. Being a person who just doesn't need it to the extent that other people do or who really values having a wider sense of personal space and having a, a more, you know, direct, um, you know, permission giving around touch. So all of those are important reasons why, as you were saying, Bronwen, you're right, we sometimes have to train ourselves to, like, get permission and, you know, hold ourselves back from just. You know, when our relation, when our love language or our natural inclination is to be more focused on touch, which mine is generally, um, and, you know, there, there's been a lot of examples of that when I've seen, you know, either myself or others kind of assume that touch would be welcome and it was not for that other person. So that's a really important piece. Um, and then, you know, this other piece around, um, Well, firstly, your, your story about your kids, Carrie, you know, and the fact that, like, You know, one of the delightful things about kids when we, um, you know, welcome touch is that they are so cuddly for at least a period of time if they are inclined that way and don't have sensory overload challenges and it just, it made me reflect on, um, you know, the experience that kind of our collective. Experience of, uh, increase in touch deprivation in the year 2020, when social distancing became a requirement, um, you know, there was a lot of conversation about touch deprivation during that time, because all of a sudden, you know, maybe we're there at home with our partner or our pod, but that doesn't necessarily include people with whom we normally need have hugs and pats on the backs and holds hands and, you know, whatever the case, we can't go to our massage therapist. We can't go to our Reiki practitioner. Um, and so that was definitely something that impacted us. And, and, you know, by the end of that year was really getting to a lot of us. Um, and my daughter, what my younger child was, um, nine, she turned 10 that year. And she was in the very last year of her little kid cuddly self. And I remember consciously, actively being so freaking grateful that she still was in that phase because she was the only person who was here. You know, my partner and I broke up halfway through that year. Terrible time to break up or maybe the perfect time, right? It kind of could go both ways. But, you know, at that kind of second half of the year, like literally she was the only person who I, you know, I could regularly cuddle with and have that, that just familial connection with, um, and I remember moments of being like, Oh, thank goodness. She still wants this from me because there will be a time when she doesn't. And sure enough, that next year she started putting boundaries up. She started, Oh, mom, stop, you know, don't, and she's 13 now. Very much like don't touch me totally respect that totally developmentally appropriate and it was really sad So, yeah that that kind of came up as both like poignant and funny that I was like Oh, thank goodness. You were still in that phase during that year And then the other piece carry that you brought up that really struck me Was this? You know, as Reiki practitioners or massage therapists, people whose profession involves comforting other people with touch, you know, that there is this, there's this dual reality that on the one hand, it is transactional. It's our job, right? A person comes to us and, you know, pays money or trade or exchange of some kind to receive this service. Um, it is literally a transaction. this is our job, right? If this is part of our profession, um, which it is for the three of us, um, all of us have been the client of people whose job it was to provide a service like that. Um, so there is just by definition a transactional nature of that. And I have definitely had massages, not so much Reiki sessions, um, probably because mostly I receive Reiki from people who are my friends, but I've definitely had massages where I could feel the transactional Transactional nature of it. It was like literally like there was a coldness. There was a barrier like, you know, they could be cooking me a burger or landscaping my front yard, you know, for all the like warmth and connection and, you know, it was definitely not receiving it as an act of love. It was more of like work the knot out of my back, you know, um, and so I, I'm aware of that as Reiki practitioner and it's so funny how the timing of these conversations always work out. Um, I was just this past Sunday was the monthly Reiki and soundscapes event that I do with my, um, business partner and, um, you know, a group of folks who come to the studio and I offer Reiki and he does sound work. And I had this moment, like there was a couple of people in this circle that were going through a hard time. Like they were clearly processing through some grief and like, that's why they had come. Like they were there to like. be in a container to do some of that work. And so they were, you know, they were working, they were like working their stuff. And I definitely felt this desire, you know, to transmit a sense of love and care in the, you know, fairly routine touch that was being offered as part of this Reiki experience. And I had this moment of like, I don't know if it's concern or like, Just this desire that they know that for me, this is not just transactional, right? That yes, you have paid a fee to come to this event. And I offer this event because I want to transmit love and care to people, you know? And um, dude, so it's just this kind of awareness that like, we can, we can offer a service through our work as a transaction, which is You know, we all need to work. Um, and we can be very mindful of the, the mindset and the energy and the emotion that we're putting into that. Now, of course, we have to balance our own needs. We can, we can overly give, we can put too much of that in. That's maybe a different conversation that we could have on a different podcast. Um, But, you know, at its essence, right, like staying connected with that desire to transmit care, um, is really, is really essential because as you said, Bronwen, people know it, right? They know what we're feeling when we're in that kind of intimate, Consensual connection with somebody, right? And so, you know, if we're providing this service in more of a rote kind of way, um, like they're going to know, you know, and of course, Reiki requires us to focus our attention in a particular way requires us to drop into gratitude and compassion. So I think we have some fail safes in Reiki that maybe don't exist in massage or other, um, Um, you know, forms of service that have these elements, um, that can help us to stay in that connected place. But it was just interesting to me, uh, Carrie, that you brought up transaction when I literally had just like had this conversation in my mind of like, Oh, I hope they know this isn't just a transaction. This is. You know, that this is genuine, uh, care, um, and the last thing I'll say is, you know, in that context, in that event, uh, absolutely observing the impact of that caring, loving, consensual touch in that context on the process that they were going through, you know, there's the way that their nervous system shifted, um, in that container. So, you know, just bringing up so much gratitude that we have this practice and, and while I. I often, particularly my teaching, put more emphasis on the meditative and, um, you know, self practice elements of Reiki, um, that, you know, I don't want to ever forget that, that Terahira and that this element of loving touch is, um, such an essential part, uh, part of it, um, and that, um, we can and should be turning that towards ourselves as well, particularly in times when we are not getting the connections that we need from other folks. Yeah, I feel such a sense of compassion and, um, you know, maybe projection into the future that at some point my kids won't be as cuddly. And I don't know how I'll go about filling my touch deprivation needs at that point in time. But I'm hoping by that time I'll have, uh, you know, my, well, my own 20, uh, 2020 story, COVID time story was that I moved. I moved right during COVID. And so, um, you know, establishing new adults, relationships, friendships has been a big challenge actually. And I feel still kind of insular in my family. And, um, even though I definitely continued to see more growth and connection and relationships, I found that like, yeah, I just need that girlfriend, like that I can hug and, you know, like, or we could like, to each other and like watch TV or, you know, you know, something like that. And so I feel like friendship is something that is really important to turn to for those of us who are single and, um, you know, keeping that really good group of friends around you that you can reach out to hang out with and. That was one of the best parts, I think, of being single was, like, the time I had for my relationships and I wish I, or like my friendships, I wish I had, I wish I didn't have to say that, like that I don't have a whole lot of time for friendships, but that just typically has how it's been and having young kids is kind of soaked all the time away, but Luckily, having kids has also introduced me to new people. And, um, but it's always just again, like it's hard to find that connection. And so I, I really have a heart for people who are seeking to find that connection in this day and age. And what's really funny is, um, just earlier today, I met a client or actually she's a race student of mine. I met her for the first time in person and we have been doing these trainings and she lives in It's maybe about an hour and a half away, or maybe an hour away. Um, but we got to make a chance to meet in person and I was like, I haven't seen you in three dimension. I was like, and I haven't met Bronwen or Michaela in real life. So it's like this like kind of two dimensional way and we can relate to each other. And so I'm just laughing about that because it's, um, it's like a whole different thing. And maybe there's a, just a genuine. Sacredness around being able to be together in person, and I think that's one of the big takeaways I take from COVID and 2020 and all those things that went down. It's just that it is really special to nourish those, like, in real life relationships and special to nourish these, um, two dimensional relationships, I guess you could say, uh, too. And, um, uh, I think I had something else to say, but I can't think of it. Well, here's to the sacredness of being together. Yeah. And, uh, where possible, actually in the flesh, um, touching skin to skin. It's such a special, beautiful, unique, wonderful thing. And, uh, I hope that, uh, no matter who you are, where you are, that you get the opportunity to, um, to touch. And, uh, as, uh, Michaela was saying, if there's not someone else to touch, there's always yourself. So, make sure that you give yourself lots of love and care and, uh, yeah. And, uh. We look forward to seeing you all next week. Um, and in the meantime, um, look after yourselves and make sure that you, um, Oh, I don't know. Is there's a little bell that you can click on this? It'll let you know that we're nice again. And I just want to let folks know if you want to dive into this a little bit more and to do so with some practice, I do invite you to join that free class. It's going to be Wednesday, February 7th at 10 a. m. Pacific time. So we'll put the registration link for that down below. It's just an hour long free community class. We will, we'll be in this topic in practice together, and I'd love to have you join us. Fantastic. All right. We'll see you next week. Bye for now.