Where We Touch
A 24-arc narrative about an actress who follows a whisper of calling into the healing arts. Told in brief, intimate episodes, the series traces the stories held in bodies, the memories carried in touch, and the way one woman's vocation becomes a bridge between art, healing, and the sacred.
All episodes written and performed by Judy Malloy.
Edited and mastered by John E. Brady.
Written text edited by Susan Warrick.
Where We Touch
Episode 16 - YOUR NOSE KNOWS
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There are some memories we can't quite explain or find words for-but they, literally, bowl us over. A few such examples I've had of this powerful impact; the smell of my Mom's perfume on her clothing as I cleaned out her closets and drawers after her death, or the scent of cinnamon in a kitchen reminding me of my grandmother's weekly gift of freshly baked loaves of bread. Both create such depth of feeling and experience within me; I'm sure you have some scents that create similar responses in your life. Before any of us have time to actually think, a specific smell causes us to remember a place, a person, a moment.
In this episode, I tell the story of how scent transported a client not only to a location-but to a specific person, and how that created a deep sense of trust, release and safety for her.
New Episodes will be released on the 1st and the 15th of every month of 2026.
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Hi, I'm Judy Malloy. Welcome to Where We Touch, a podcast about healing, story, and moments of connection. Sometimes before we find words for what we are feeling, our bodies are responding to information received through our senses. One of the most powerful and immediate is our sense of smell. In an instant, smells can transport us to places we have been, even if we haven't been there in years. They can calm us, alert us, or stir emotions we thought were long forgotten. In this episode, we'll explore the incredible connection between scent, memory, and the body. We'll see how something as seemingly simple as a fragrance can help regulate our emotions and our nervous system. Episode 16. Susanna books a 90-minute session with me each week. While I'm grateful for the income and the frequency of the work, it's hard going, which is actually quite difficult for me to admit. For the first hour, her mind races and the quiet of the massage room becomes very chatty. She shares all the details of travel, lectures, family, and the litany of her responsibilities, like a mental emptying of the clutter in her brain. Her body wraps itself around every thought and every description. The long to-do list of a life that begins with a 5 a.m. run and ends with her last commitment grips her mental and physical self like an iron glove, allowing little freedom and no easy release. Each week she relentlessly relives every past event and worries about all the upcoming ones. At the sixty-minute mark, almost like clockwork, things eventually shift. As the recitation of what has been and what is yet to come ends, her nervous system at last settles. Her wiry musculature softens, her eyes close, and her monologue stops. It's the same every time, until after about a year when one night she asks, Oh, I'm wondering if you could please use this lotion for my massage tonight. Of course, I answer as I pick it up. When I press the dispenser on the bottle, a soft smell of fresh peaches fills the air. I warm the cream between my palms and begin to gently apply it to her shoulders and her back. She is completely silent. I'm deeply curious. Her body grows supple and begins to unwind deeply with every stroke. The superficial muscles that usually create a kind of armor between her shoulder blades immediately ease allowing me to touch the deeper layers of tissues beneath. She feels like a different woman, as though her burdens have been suddenly lifted from her. Wherever I apply the lotion, an arm, her hands, her feet, her neck, she lets go. It's like a magical elixir. While packing up my massage table, I blurt out, Who smells like this? She wonders why I'm asking. Well, tonight, as soon as I began to rub it into your skin, you relaxed. And you've hardly spoken a single word all night, which is very different from our usual sessions. And the only thing different is the lotion. Her cheeks flush lightly with color. It smells like someone I met at the club. It's what she used after her shower. We met one month and four days ago. I have never felt so free, so utterly at home, ever, in my entire life. I smile and say, I think we should use this cream all the time. Oh yes, always, she replies with a sigh. And so we do. Every time the aroma has the same near instantaneous effect on her. Working with Susanna makes me acutely aware of not only scent itself, but the immediate and powerful impact it can have on the physical body. My work with her brings to mind a lecture from a massage school anatomy and physiology class. While studying the nervous system, I learned the olfactory nerve, the one responsible for delivering smells to our brains, is unlike all the other sensory nerves which require additional processing. The olfactory nerve is like a superhighway to the brain. This straightforward pathway means that smells are delivered directly to the part of the brain that regulates emotional states. For Susanna, the peach-sented cream gives her a sense of safety, allowing her usually hyper-vigilant nervous system to regulate and arrive at a place of deep peace within herself. For me, I'm invited into the world of essential oils and the added benefits they can bring my clients. Before you go today, I wonder if you can join me for a few more moments. I invite you to close your eyes if you feel at ease doing that, or to simply soften your gaze if that's more comfortable for you. And we're going to take a few slow breaths together, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Today on your exhalations, I invite you to place your hand quite closely in front of your lips. Okay. Inhale, exhale. Can you feel that the breath on the inhalation is cool and fresh? And as you breathe out through your mouth, can you feel the warmth of your breath on your hand? Try that a few more times. Inhale, exhale. In out. Notice if you can smell anything in your environment. Our sense of smell is always working, garnering information for us. Of course, they're both pleasant and not so pleasant smells, but today I'd like you to focus on a smell you really like. As you breathe in, I'd like you to think of that smell, the smell that brings you comfort. Maybe it's the smell of a puppy's paws or an ocean breeze. Maybe it's coffee brewing in the morning or wood smoke from a fire. Maybe it's fresh cut grass, a lavender plant, evergreen trees, the perfume of a loved one, or your favorite flower. It's amazing that a single scent can open a hidden doorway to our memories, emotions, and the physical sensations that accompany them. For just another moment, I invite you to simply be. I wonder what stories live in the sense you carry in your life? What stories live in the sense you thought of today, the one that brings you comfort? As you return to your life this week, I'm curious where would you arrive if you followed your nose? Can your powerful sense of smell help you regulate your nervous system? What wisdom is your body offering you through this extraordinary sense? Thanks for listening to Where We Touch. Written and performed by me, Judy Malloy. Edited and mastered by John E. Brady. This is a work of creative nonfiction. The events are portrayed to the best of my memory. While all the stories in this podcast are true, some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of the people involved.