Not a lot of people realise the fact, but our skin is the largest organ we have – the unsung hero of our amazing bodies.
Our skin is constantly striving to keep us from getting too cold or overheating, alerting us to our proximity to danger or allowing a sizzling, sensuous feeling to be registered in our mind. Detoxification, hydration and replication all occur via our skin. Skin provides the structure through which our vital fluids of blood and lymph flow in fine filaments called capillaries and veins. From the outermost surface to the deepest layers of the dermis, our skin is working, balancing and harmonising all the time. There’s a 12-hour time frame, a daily process, a monthly pattern and even a seasonal pace to which the skin adheres. It’s truly an extraordinary layer that surrounds us and protects us, enveloping our consciousness and giving body to our mind.
Now is a good time to consider how our skin acts not only as our body’s wonderful physical boundary but also as an intimate pathway to our heart.
The skin has sensory cells with a direct link to our central nervous system, which in turn uses the information to manage our body’s functions, including our heart’s behaviour. So it follows that if your skin experiences a pleasurable, sensual and soothing touch, this will trigger a cascade effect, whereby the central nervous system will ‘speak’ to our heart. The cue will be given, not only to the intricate muscular pump, but also to our non-physical emotional heart, for calmness and a change of rhythm.
In this way, a sense of relaxation can be inspired, a measurable drop in anxiety levels achieved; a change in blood pressure can be monitored, and a delicious warm glow of sensation experienced from outside to in.
