Tree Hugging
One distinct use of the word “hug” is tied to “tree hugging,” which was first identified in India in the 1700s. The legend goes that when the maharajah wanted to build a new palace, he planned to build it on the land of the Bishnoi people, to whom trees are sacred. The Bishnoi people worship nature, and thus, the killing of anything in nature, including trees, is forbidden. A female villager noticed men about to cut down the precious Kherjri trees, and positioned herself between the men and the trees, wrapping herself tightly around the tree, legend says, hugging it with all her might. She is said to have offered her head if it would save one tree, and the maharajah’s loggers chopped her head off with an axe.
The story goes that three other girls, and eventually hundreds of Bishnoi villagers, responded in the same way, joining the protest. Legend has it that 353 people had been murdered before the maharajah ordered a decree protecting the land from future harm. To this day, logging and hunting in Bishnoi villages is still prohibited.
Through the years, tree-hugging has continued to be a means of peaceful resistance to prevent the lumber industry from destroying native forests. It has become a more common way for environmentalists to protest, as well as become a part of green spiritualist practice.
Amma
One distinct and extremely influential and powerful hugger is Amma. She was born into a low caste family in the fishing village of Parayakadavu in the district of Kerala in India on September 27, 1953. Her parents remarked that she was born into the world smiling, and not crying. She grew up very different from other children in that she was very spiritual, and it is said that even at age five, she was spending much of her time praying. When she was nine, her parents sent her off to school, and she was given the worst jobs to do, which she did gladly. As she grew older, her mystical experiences intensified, and she began to gain followers attracted to her spirituality. Her devotees often said she took on the form of Sri Krishna, and many miraculous healings have been attributed to her.
Amma is uneducated in the traditional sense, but she teaches her followers about the ancient traditions of Yoga and Vedanta. Her main teaching has been to reject the false sense of ego, and focus on the divine, true nature of man. During the past thirty-five years, her main focus has been to travel the world and offer unconditional love to people from all walks of life. It is estimated that Amma has hugged over thirty-three million people worldwide. On some days, she may have hugged up to fifty thousand people in a day, working for up to twenty hours.
She does not try to convert people to her religion, and says that her “sole mission is to love and serve one and all.” Some people claim to feel vibrations when they hug her. They have come to see that her hugs are not just physical, but are spiritually powerful, and her touch is a blessing. Because she hugs for hours, her stamina and presence seem almost otherworldly. It is that endurance that gives her the magnetism people call saintly.
National Hugging Day
Kevin Zaborney is credited with the creation of National Hugging Day in 1986. It is also known as National Hug Day, International Hug Day, and Global Hug Day. This immensely important observance occurs annually on January 21 and was first celebrated in Michigan. It is now celebrated all over the world. Zaborney explained that the idea of National Hugging Day was to encourage everyone to hug family and friends more often. He chose the time of year for National Hugging Day because it is the emotionally low period following Christmas/New Years and before Valentine’s Day. The benefits of hugging are extensive, and in part, can reduce blood pressure, increase self-esteem, and improve both physical and mental health.
Zaborney cautions people to ask first if uncertain of the response, out of respect for personal boundaries. Zaborney has traveled all over the world promoting National Hugging Day. He is a founding member of the National Hugging Alliance, which worked with the Guinness World Records to set the benchmark for a world record of the Most Nationalities in a Group Hug. That effort successfully brought together more than forty-three different nationalities in the world’s first 21-Second Hug on January 21, 2018.
Free Hug Movement
In 1999, Bernard and Delia Carey started an extraordinary social movement by washing people’s feet in New York City. They placed a sandwich board sign out on the street, and waited for people to come in, no donations, and no fuss. People started getting curious and stopping into the little storefront on East 10th Street. Before long, the Careys were offering hugs, bandages, and money. The biggest letters outside the store were the ones that read “Free Hugs.”
What began as a storefront whim became an artistic experience. Customers referred to it as “performance,” but the Careys wanted to do something bigger and more impactful. They delved into the idea of “relational aesthetics,” traced back to the 1960s interdisciplinary community, Fluxus, which included performances by artists like Yoko Ono.
They began taking pictures and videotaping their experiences, and, before long, their “Free Hugs” became a national news story. They were asked to be in the Whitney Biennial Art Show in New York City, where they gave out hugs and were interviewed on the morning news program Good Morning America. The Biennial happened in 2002, in the wake of 9/11, and the Careys’ exhibit served as a public source of comfort for still grieving Americans. Most importantly, they were able to get the public to think of hugs as a service, something that people could give and receive much more from in return.
In May 2004, a man named Jonathan Littman began giving out hugs in Washington Square Park in New York City every Sunday, under a sign labeled “Free Hugs.” He also traveled to Germany and did the same. He wanted to utilize and share his generosity with the people around him.
One month later, in June 2004, it was reported that Juan Mann gave out hugs for the first time in Sydney, Australia in exactly the same way Littman had done. But Juan included a viral video as well. The band Sick Puppies created a music video out of his travels that became an instant internet success. Juan Mann began giving out hugs, because he wanted to be hugged. Millions of people have watched his video, and although Mann retired from the Free Hug movement in 2009, the video continues to inspire.
Ken Nwadike Jr. is a documentary filmmaker and peace activist known as the “Free Hug Guy.” He attended the 2014 Boston Marathon to spread love and encourage runners with free hugs. He explained, “while viewing the devastation of the 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon, I was determined to be a participant in the next race. I failed to qualify by just twenty-three seconds, so I decided to attend the event in a different way.” He provided free hugs for runners in the marathon, and this simple act of encouragement resulted in national headlines. The hugs resulted in smiles and gave runners an extra boost of energy. He has invigorated the free hugs movement, and explains that the mission of the Free Hugs Project is to continue the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “to spread love, inspire change, and raise awareness of social issues.”
The Science Behind Hug Therapy: A Word with Dr. Kipp
To explain oxytocin from a medical standpoint, I asked my friend and colleague Dr. Kipp to share his expertise. Dr. Kipp is an interventional radiologist and former family practitioner. He is triple board certified, and has an extensive formal education, including medical training with two residencies and a fellowship covering a span of nine years of post-graduate education. Dr. Kipp speaks all over the country about issues ranging from the human-animal bond to the Affordable Care Act, and the sanctity of the patient-doctor bond. He is also the host of the radio talk show called Doctor’s Orders.
Have you ever watched a mother with her newborn baby? It doesn’t matter whether you’re participating in the birth of a child or of an animal in nature. The moment the child is born, the natural bond between mother and newborn forms, permanent, durable, and everlasting. Mothers love to cuddle with their newborns. They love the touch of their infants upon their skin. They even describe the distinct smell of their babies.
Animal studies