Havening Touch
Reflection
Your answers are saved under your email address and used to build your personal profile at the end of the course. Harmony Road does not read individual responses. We look only at overall patterns across students.
Sign in to save your reflections and pick them up again on any device. We'll email you a link. There is no password.
The practice
Havening touch is gentle, slow stroking of your own body. Some common ways to do it:
- Stroke from the shoulders down to the elbows, one arm at a time or both together
- Use your palms or fingertips to stroke gently across the forehead and down the cheeks
- Stroke along the thighs and calves
- In a setting where you don't want to draw attention, use a quiet version: gently rubbing the back or front of one hand with the other
Whichever way you choose, sink into the sensation. Notice what you feel in the fingers and palms first, and then what it is like to receive the touch. Let some compassion into it, with the intention of giving your body the attention it needs right now.
Some people feel a little self-conscious stroking their own arms or face. That is common. It tends to ease once the sensation takes over.
What it offers
Many of us spend most of our time in our heads, working through plans, narratives, and symbols, and the body can end up feeling neglected, unseen, and unheard. Touch can invite attention back into the body. It can leave a lingering trail of sensation that keeps attention in the present moment. That grounding may raise your capacity to hold activation, and it can remind you that you are a person with a body, right here, right now.
Skin holds millions of nerves that are there to serve us, and the practice may help you recognize that in this moment you aren't in peril. Many people find havening calming. The research on it is still developing, so your own experience is the best test.
This is also a practice of welcome. Part of this series is learning to give activation a home that is accepting, rather than trying to push it away.
When it fits
- After a hard conversation, when your body is still buzzing
- In the evening, after a day of carrying something heavy about faith, family, or belonging
- In a pew or meeting, through gently rubbing the back of your hand
- In the morning, before the day begins
- When grief or loss is close to the surface and words don't help
A note on touch
Touch can feel different to different people, depending on what they have lived through. If any part of this feels uncomfortable, skip it or stay with the hands, which most people find easiest. If this one doesn't work for you, you can lean toward the other practices in the series.