Life should be full of; cuddles, squidges, tuckles, hugs, smooshes, whatever you call them life should be full of them! Mine is, buts that’s because I am a hugger.
Huggers are a breed of people who don’t mind physical contact. We hug freely and don’t mind touching people (with their consent obviously).
I am lucky enough to have a partner who is also a hugger. I wake up to hugs and I go to sleep to them. We spend a great deal of our spare time hugging in some way. Which got me to thinking; how often do I give or receive hugs without even thinking about it?
Casting my mind back over the past 24 hours there are probably 6 or 7 instances where a hug has simply passed me bye without it even sinking in. Which if you think about it, is kind of sad.
You can hug for many different reasons; for comfort, or out of joy, for intimacy or simply if there are no words. At the heart of every hug however there is always the purpose of making a connection. Even if it’s a small and brief connection, you should be connecting on some level.
Some of the most memorable points in my life started or ended with a hug. I have family and friends who are expert huggers and just one squeeze from them makes the world go away. Those people to me are ‘mindful huggers’. They put their heart behind every hug and concentrate on only you for that cuddly moment. You feel connected, reassured, joyful and loved all at once.
To be a mindful hugger is simple; you just need to be present in that moment. And isn’t that what yoga is all about? Being really THERE. Because when you are completely there in that moment there are no distraction, no doubts just that time with that person. Whoever is on the end of that hug will notice I assure you, they might not know how you give the best hugs but they will feel it.
The next hug I give is going to be a mindful one, and then moving forward I am going to try and be more present. I am going to start giving some of the best hugs people have ever had….although I am off to London now so might not be hugging for a few hours!