Let’s face it: not everyone misses them so much. There is a group that thinks (albeit secretly) that it was time to put at bay the Latin effusiveness of kissing and hugging with family, friends, acquaintances and even strangers to whom we are just introduced. But most would like to return to the warmth and familiarity of a good hug.
In June 2020, the newspaper The New York Times asked scientists who study airborne viruses what was the safest way to hug within your family or friends. By then, they had become popular ‘hug gloves’, designed so that families could get closer to their grandparents and elderly parents with whom they had lost close contact for months. Separated by a plastic curtain (sometimes an acrylic barrier) and with their arms wrapped in the same material, they got as close as they could to their loved ones, whom they had previously only been able to greet from a safe distance and through of glass in windows and doors.
These were some of the indications that the specialists gave to the NYT:
- Hug with mask. You and the other.
- Do not hug face to face.
- Don’t hug your cheeks together and look in the same direction.
- Hug facing in opposite directions.
- Have children hug around the knees or waist
Julian Tang, a virologist and associate professor at the University of Leicester in England who studies how respiratory viruses travel through the air, says he would add one more precaution to a pandemic hug: hold your breath. It works?
“Most hugs are less than 10 seconds long, so people should be able to pull it off,” Tang said. “Later move back until you achieve at least two meters of separation before speaking again, to allow himself to catch his breath at a safe distance. Holding our breath prevents us from exhaling any virus into each other’s breathing zone, if we are infected and we don’t know it, and it prevents us from inhaling any virus from the other, if we are infected and we don’t know it.”
Yuguo Li, an engineering professor at the University of Hong Kong, said hugs probably pose fewer risks than a longer face-to-face conversation. “The exposure time is short, unlike the conversation, which can be as long as we want,” he said. “But You don’t have to kiss each other on the cheeks.”
Li said the risk of viral exposure will be greatest at the beginning of the hug, when two people get close and can breathe on each other, and at the end, when they part. Wearing a mask is important, as is washing your hands.
Because the risk of a quick hug with precautions is very low but not zero, people should choose the hugs they give wisely. To those closest to you, no casual hugs. Scientists suggest adopting an approach similar to that of Marie Kondo: less social convention and more affectivity. The hug has to cause joy.
Focus on what matters most
Who does not remember the events and marathons of hugs in public? Now they seem like a very distant thing. And there are groups for which this was part of their work, their day to day. Humane clowns, for example, had to reinvent themselves.
Raquel Gendry, founder of Red Noses in Ecuador, says that at the beginning of the pandemic, he quickly trained himself to use technology and social networks to communicate the work of the organization, specifically, the Hug me events.
In 2021 there were glimpses of face-to-face activities, but for the moment, they have withdrawn and are planning their next strategies. “We were invited in December 2021 to open places, with distance and all precautions, bringing our games. In January 2022 (right on Hug Day!) we won’t be able to go out, but we have a virtual hug scheduled, and we will do a small campaign to remember how valuable and beneficial a hug is”.
It is important to remember this date, says Gendry, because in the day to day, in the rush, in the challenges, we do not have time for internal work, to stop, breathe, exhale and look for things that make us feel better.
Well, although the hug is a physical gesture, it is related to our internal reserves. “Within them, holding another human being is one of the most beneficial therapies we can find. If you can’t have them from others, embrace yourself, your pet, the universe, life.”
For this January 21, Narices Rojas proposes a wellness and joy session, with movements and activities that generate positive emotions, followed by hug me virtual, in which the people who connect will be challenged to sustain themselves and their inner circle for as long as possible. Gendry also invites you to express the importance of the people you want to please and also thank. (Keep an eye on social media @naricesrojasec).
By the way, is there a perfect hug, beyond the recommendations of science not to catch the virus? Raquel Gendry explains it and demonstrates it on video:
- It is a conscious act, from heart to heart. A squeeze on you Join the left side of both people.
- lasts at least 7 seconds, synchronizing breathing and giving thanks.
- takes the time to connect through eyes, stretching out their arms, silently wishing the best for the other, generating a unique and precious moment.
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“We are emotional beings. But we are becoming ‘disaffected’ by the rhythm of life”, says the clown and actress. “When you receive a hug, you return to the essence, to that path that reinforces our self-esteem, makes us feel supported and contained; it raises our immune system, the cardiovascular system is relieved. Oxytocin is secreted that helps reduce stress and tension and creates an emotional bond”.
Finally, if you are not sure of your state of health, wait a bit for things to calm down, postpone but do not give up that hug, and above all, don’t think you’re not worthy of giving or receiving affection. “When someone hugs you full of love, there is no person who resists.” (F)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
