It is a healing instinct, innate in all of us, to rub an aching knee, or stroke a furrowed brow. The basis of massage is touch. There is increasing medical evidence to show the great value of touch.
Touch is so natural that without it people become depressed and irritable.
Observations show that children brought up in families where parents and children touch each other are healthier and more able to withstand pain and infection than those children deprived of touch. They tend to sleep better, are more sociable and generally happier. Despite all the evidence to show the benefits of touch, we are still hesitant about touching each other. We think this is due to a confusion between sensuality and sexuality. Because we are so afraid of the connection between sex and touch, we have formalized touch.