The Polycrisis and the Power of Touch

French sociologist and philosopher Edgar Morin said, "Faced with the polycrisis humanity is going through, the first resistance is that of the spirit." Morin is credited with having coined the term "polycrisis" which the Cambrdige Dictionary defines as "a time of great disagreement, confusion, or suffering that is caused by many different problems happening at the same time so they have a very big effect." 

I think it's a fair assessment of reality that this is where we find ourselves, mired in war, social, political, economic, environmental, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual conflict on a global scale. It is easy to slip into despair, denial, fear, anger, confusion, anxiety, and grief when confronted with a plethora of seemingly insurmountable challenges. The constant barrage of overwhelmingly negative news begins to dysregulate even the most insulated nervous systems. This dysregulation can manifest physically as muscle tension, an increased heart rate, digestive issues, headaches, inflammation, and chronic pain. Emotionally, we may experience persistent anxiety, irritability, anger, overwhelm, burnout, and erratic mood swings. We may find ourselves dis-associating, clouded with brain fog, plagued with obsessive thinking, experiencing a lose of pleasure in things we once enjoyed, insomnia, social isolation, and/or lack of motivation. 

It's important to remember during these challenging times that we do not exist in isolation, but that we are part of a greater whole. Humans are social creatures who depend on the support, interactions, and skills of others in order to exist and thrive. We can feel comforted by the embrace of a loved one, by a reassuring hand placed on our shoulder, and by the deep listening of a close friend. We can reset our nervous system through co-regulation with another person, finding our own peace as we harmonize with their calming presence. This is the beauty of the power of touch, best refined in the art of massage, a practice that dates back to the dawn of humanity. The intuitive pull to place a hand on a loved one in pain, or to try and decrease the pain in their body with kneading and strokes may be how the craft first began. 

Our intuition, informed, I would argue, by our spirit or the spirit more broadly, compels us to care for and support one another, at least when we remain connected to it. While there are many practices that have come into being over the long arc of humanity's time on this planet, massage remains one of the simplest, time tested, and primordial practices to promote health - it brings on relaxation, decreases pain and tension, calms the nervous system, aids digestion, supports circulation, affirms well-being, grounds us in our bodies, loosens the grip of obsessive thoughts, and maybe (just maybe) stokes the embers of our inner light diminished by the vicissitudes of life. 

So if you're feeling overwhelmed by the myriad crises we face, before tuning out or reacting, consider massage therapy as the first and also an ongoing step in developing solutions. Only from a balanced, regulated, and calm position can we truly respond to these issues. In truth, there is a solution for EVERY problem, we just have to be in the right state to access it. 

In love and solidarity,

Chris