Morford article on human touch
...Dacher Keltner, psychologist from UC Berkeley and specialist in the study of touch: "The science is showing that when I receive a very friendly form of touch, it releases oxytocin, a neuropeptide that promotes trust. It shuts down stress-related parts of the brain like the amygdala, and the locus coeruleus, it activates a branch of the nervous system we study called the vagus nerve, which is involved in connection. And by the way, the vagus nerve controls your immune system in part as well."
That's the budding science. In yoga philosophy, we might say it's all connected to sliding into proper alignment with your true essence, your core, the deeper self not made up of the ego's stories and cultural constructs and insidious mind games.
https://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...72011.DTL&ao=2
