The free hug experience

Few years back, some friends of mine invited me to go on a “Free hug” journey, in a very touristic street of South Beach, Miami. The idea was so challenging to me, that my instinctual answer was “no way”, but somewhere deep in my Heart I knew I somehow wanted to take up the challenge.

We planned it for the following weekend, and it got cancelled at the last moment. I secretly and silently screamed a victorious “YES” when I heard the unfortunate news.

Few weeks passed by, and they contacted me again. “Are you still up to it?” they asked. “Yay…. Of course,” I said….

We were all new to the experience and all quite nervous, but none of us willing to show it or talk about it. We arrived at our destination, and here I was, writing “free hugs” on my cardboard, with a shaky, unsure hand, wondering where the heck I had put myself into. A sudden wave of fear came over me. The fear of being rejected.

What if people did not want to hug me? Which could translate into “what if people did not like me?”

We had in our little group a teenage boy. The free hug journey was his idea, and right this moment he was really tense. I took a deep breath, and courageously raised my board, and started looking at people.

What happened next is pure magic. Most people reaction was joyous, spontaneous, warm and welcoming. Some would literally run into our arms, some would come when encouraged by our smile, open arms, and a “You know you want it…” Some would pass by and smile. Few people would shrug impatiently and harshly turn away.

In those rare moments, where I thought I might get fragile, hurt and upset, the very opposite occurred. I could suddenly relate and be moved by their pain and sadness. This was not about me. Their sulky attitude was nothing personal against me. I could see that these people were sad, in pain, bitter for whatever reasons it was not my place to judge. And instead of getting hurt, I was able to look at them with empathy, and simply share the Love over-flooding my Heart from this Beautiful experience.

After 4 hours and thousands of hugs to people from every corner of the World, my cheeks were hurting from smiling and laughing so much. I was high, uplifted, powerful, full of compassion, loving and feeling loved. I had exchanged the most amazing energy and Love with complete strangers, yet the connection was there each time we looked into each other’s eyes and said, “thank you”. Magical!

Here are more reasons why you should hug daily:

The average hug between 2 persons lasts 3 seconds. Researchers discovered something amazing, when a hug lasts more than 20 seconds, it has a therapeutic effect on the body and the mind.

Hugging increases the levels of the “Love hormone”, Oxytocin, which has many beneficial effects on your physical and mental health. It reduces the levels of Cortisol, the “stress hormone”, and lifts the levels of Serotonin, the “happy hormone”. Hugs have a powerful impact on the human psyche, making us feel happiness and joy.

The tactile sensation of the hug sends us back, for most of us, to our sense of feeling loved and special when we were a child; therefore, connects us to our ability to love and self-love. It heals feelings of loneliness, depression, isolation and anger.

With a 20 seconds hug, the muscles and the body start to relax, tension melts, circulation in the soft tissues increases soothing aches. A sense of safety, connection, intimacy comes up, and quiets fears and anxiety.

This wonderful moment of peace is completely free and easy to acquire each time you hold someone in your arms, cradle a baby, pet a dog or a cat, dance with your partner, or simply hold a friend’s arm.

It does not matter if you are the person hugging or the one being hugged, the more you connect with others, even on the smallest physical level, the happier you will be. So, make sure you get your dose of hugs everyday 🙂

Gisele