Receiving & the Afterglow

The rarest kind of receiving: nothing to perform, nothing to reciprocate, nowhere to get to.

Receiving

Almost all touch arrives with a job attached — respond, reciprocate, appreciate. Here the sequence is carried for you. Your only work is to notice: to let sensation be interesting without chasing it anywhere. You keep all of your agency; you simply put down the choreography.

The afterglow

When the touch ends, the experience is not over. There is a quiet stretch after — breath slow, mind soft, body warm — when the openness settles in and becomes yours. The traditions treat that stillness as the most important part of the practice.

That lingering warmth is the afterglow this practice is named for.

Feel it rather than read it: The Body Afterglow Experience.