The fifth principle of Comfort Touch is broad. As one of the six key concepts (SCRIBE: slow, comforting, respectful, into center, broad, and encompassing) that inform this nurturing style of acupressure, “broad” describes a quality of touch. In general, strokes of Comfort Touch are applied with a broad, even pressure. This contributes to a feeling of soothing warmth, comfort, and connection. While the pressure may be firm, the broadness of contact prevents the likelihood of injury or discomfort. Let the entire surface of your hand make uniformly even contact with the part of the client’s body you are touching. Imagine your hand is melting into the person’s body.
Your primary contact with the client’s body is through the palms of your hands, with the digits gently wrapping or resting on the body. As you touch different parts of the body, adjust your contact so that it is as broad as possible. ”Listening” with the palms of your hands, your contact is deliberate and firm, never pinching, poking, or ticklish.
Skillfully applied Comfort Touch with its emphasis on broad, encompassing pressure into the center of the body part being touched, gently warms and nurtures the superficial fascia, respecting the fluid nature of its ground substance. The radiant heat from the practitioner’s hands is transferred via the fluid of the connective tissue, affecting the circulation of capillary blood and lymph. Not only is this process relaxing to the client, but it engenders a comforting feeling of warmth, ease, and fluidity in the body. The soothing warmth of human touch appeals to an individual’s most primal life affirming instincts.
It is also helpful to keep in mind that when you touch someone, you need to be grounded, which is a way of saying that you feel connected to the earth that supports you. The more you focus on feeling this connection, the easier it will be to apply the appropriate amount of pressure to your client. The quality of this grounding will also contribute to the comfort and efficiency of your body patterning/mechanics, providing the experience of warmth and comfort for your client.
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Adapted from “Comfort Touch: Massage for the Elderly and the Ill” (Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, 2009). For more information on Comfort Touch® articles, resources, and trainings visit: www.comforttouch.com.
