ASMR: A Spine Tingling Poem

You may be aware I have a You Tube channel for my poetry. In my efforts to find out what people enjoyed watching on You Tube I found a series of videos which sent a chill down my spine, and not for the reasons they were designed!

I have invested over 30 years of my life to helping people recover from the effects of stress, whether using hands on therapy such as massage or reflexology, or as a yoga instructor, guiding people through the postures or meditations. In order to practice as a massage therapist or yoga teacher there are courses to be studied and exams to be passed so that I have adequate certification to secure accreditation and more importantly professional liability insurance.

As you can see, I take my professional responsibilities very seriously, as I do the treatment. But whilst I am aware that there are many methods for relaxation that do not require any certification, I had not heard of this technique until I set up my You tube channel. ASMR is very, VERY popular with millions of subscribers tuning in to the likes of Heather Feather and Gibi and, of course, it’s free.

ASMR means autonomous sensory meridian response and can be experienced as a tingling sensation that runs from the scalp down the spine, in response to a specific gentle stimulus, usually a particular sound that can leave a feeling of well-being or deep relaxation. If it works for you then splendid, but it didn’t do anything for me…
except inspire me to write a poem. So I did. I hope this tickles your fancy too!

ASMR: A Spine Tingling Poem

Come a little closer
let me whisper in your ear.
I’ll even tickle the microphone
if that’s what you want to hear.
No, I’ve not lost my marbles
this is apparently
a new way of relaxing:
an online therapy.

ASMR means autonomous
sensory meridian response.
It’s aim is to massage the brain
with sonic nonchalance.
Maybe the dulcet whispers send
a tingle down your spine.
Or the slow unwrapping of a sweet
makes you feel simply divine.

I’ve seen a man who sprayed some
shaving foam over his mic…
and then began to shave it.
Is this really what people like?
Or a make-up artist who does
audial things with a blusher brush.
But can you tell me what’s the thrill?
Why this gives you a rush?

And in my research, I found someone
who lyrically shares my name

Heather Feather’s got half a million viewers.
I need to raise my game!
With all the years of training and
experience that I bring
to therapies and yoga:
should I add another string…

To my bow? And could I ever
master this technique
of gentle softly, softly, stroking,
scratching, with a tweak?
I must invent a specialist sound:
one that defines my style.
So, what about rubbing hot stones together:
does that make your nerves smile?

I’ll pour some oil into my palms
and work it through my hands
then slowly scrunch a tissue up,
or ping elastic bands!
Maybe I could do a spot of
heavy yoga breathing.
Or I could hum a little.
Can you tell me, is this soothing…

Your synaptic responses with
my acoustic distractions?
And does it reverberate through your
neurological reactions?
Am I titillating brain cells in
your auditory cortex?
Are your neural pathways quivering
in sensorial reflex?

To be honest, I’m just not sure
that I could pull it off.
I can’t take myself seriously:
I know I’d start to laugh.
I think I’ll stick to word
manipulation to excite
and stimulate your thought processes
and hopefully delight… Your sensory responses with
my cheery overtones,
and honest observations,
without needing your earphones.
And with this last thought
I would like to send you on your way
with my favourite sound effect of all:
a giggling bouquet!