I answered Sol's query, "What non-diet interventions have improved your health?" with a story about the ways in which dance has brought out the animal in me. I touched on the importance of skin-to-skin contact, but thought it would make an interesting question/thread in its own right.
I haven't slept well these past couple of weeks. At first I blamed it on the barn owls, on the series of mournful hoots that peppers these spring evenings. But the birds have never bothered me in the past; their call lulls me to deeper sleep. I made a list of the foods I've eaten, noted exercise and water intake. Must be a pattern, I figured, a tangible reason why my pillow no longer offered solace. Took a couple of days but I sorted through it and discovered something. Touch. Or a lack of it, rather. I haven't danced in a few weeks, and though I've gotten the same amount of exercise in other ways, I haven't been held in a man's arms, haven't felt the rush of sensuality that dance gifts.
As a single woman, I have found dance to be my salvation. I haven't dated in some time, seems like my teenaged sons steal my dating time with school event and homework needs. I know, too, that I'm not alone.
I'm wondering how important you feel touch is in your paleo life?
Do you crave touch? Do you find ways to bring it into your life?
In what ways has touch enriched you? I know for me, I sleep better, my mood improves, even my response to stress seems lighter, more positive and proactive.
I'm wondering, too, if self-massage would offer similar benefits during those weeks when school and work collide in a fiery explosion.
