Heart to Heart Hugs

What is in a hug? Many of us hug as a key way to connect and share our appreciation with each other. We touch on a full-torso, face-to-face contact level, opening ourselves to give and to receive. It is a highly personal point of sharing ourselves.

So how do you hug? That’s right…there are different ways to hug! Time to learn the ideal way…in my opinion.

Imagine…at a gathering, you see a person you know (and hopefully like!). As that person walks closer to you, you catch eyes, knowing you have each seen the other. You feel the hug is coming! You raise one arm, starting slightly and rising higher to move into the hug. Your wings are spread, ready to connect…So let me ask, which arm did you raise?

Most of us raise our right arm, aiming for the other person’s right shoulder or back, while dipping our left arm down, aiming to form a cross-angled wrap on their hip or back. As a society we tend to tip up to the right, and down to the left. How come? Some likely say it is because most people are right-handed, so we lead with our dominate arm. Some may say we have been conditioned to do so. Some may say we simply follow the other person’s lead. All, some or none may be true. I welcome other reasons…please comment!

So what happens when you lead by raising your left arm? Does the other person get thrown off balance, flailing their arms as if flapping their wings? Do they take a miss step? Or do they stop in their tracks with an inquisitive look? I have even had one person ask: “what on earth are you doing?”

This is the moment I pause and explain: “this is a Heart Hug.” I actually tell them that by leading with our left arms rising, it means we dip down to the right, so that when we embrace our hearts physically connect. By touching our left-sides together we share our heart emotions, our care and our love.

What a profound shift from hugging on our right-sides, where we share the emotions of our livers, where all our anger, resentment and pain are stored. By hugging on our right-sides, we connect the negative, sad aspects of ourselves, spreading our ‘yuck’ to others. It’s like an advertising bulletin board for: “Here take my ‘stuff’, I am giving it away!”

Which hug would you prefer: a Heart Hug or a Liver Hug? I know my preference! So the next time you see me, please be prepared for a left-leading Heart Hug. Even if we do a funny dance of flailing our wings, it will be worth the laughter and the Heart Hug sharing!