How Sensuality Can Heal

February, the “month of love,” might be a good time to discuss the importance of sensuality, especially during a pandemic. So what is sensuality? It’s the ability to completely enjoy all of our senses including smell, touch, taste, sight, and hearing. Sensuality is not always connected to another person—we can be sensual by ourselves and also with others. Also, it’s not always connected with intimacy or sexuality, but it’s most often an important part of physical and emotional healing.

In fact, according to Abram in his compelling book, The Spell of the Sensuous, in oral, indigenous cultures, the sensuous world is the place where the Gods dwell and the place where life can either be sustained or extinguished.

Life is sensual, and we are all sensual beings. Sensuality is a way of engaging in pleasure, which may include being in nature, listening to music, wearing perfume, eating chocolate, enjoying delicious meals, sunbathing, taking baths or showers, getting massages, nurturing one’s body with body lotion, dancing, reading sensual books, dressing beautifully, kissing, hugging, and lovemaking. As Valerie Ramsey in her book, Gracefully, writes, “Sensuality enriches the soul as much as it enriches the body and mind.”

The COVID pandemic has forced many of us to adjust our usual sensual behaviors, in that we’re most likely not engaging in as many social activities at this time. For example, we’re touching less now than in normal times. We might meet a friend for a walk, and where we’d normally hug hello and goodbye, we just nod through our masks. These are huge shifts in our ways of interacting, which is really unfortunate because touch nourishes and heals, and also comforts and reassures. We’ve all had to readjust our ways of being.

The good news is that there are things we can do to spark our sensuality, which is an important aspect of health and well-being. Being sensual is a powerful life force that helps create a deeper connection with both ourselves and others. It’s about allowing “feel-good time.” If you’re able to engage in sensual behaviors on a regular basis, it can permeate many aspects of your life by making you feel more alive and playful, and less stressed and depressed.

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This post was previously published on Psychology Today.

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