Why Touch Matters
Using touch to guide shoulder alignment during the exercise Scoop.
Classical Pilates teachers can have a reputation of being “handsy.” Traditionally, we use our hands to help with your alignment and form, to bring awareness to your bones and joints, to instruct and guide.
At Optimize, I also use my hands in other ways. I use touch to communicate care, to help you regulate your nervous system, to calm and relax, and to encourage the change of tissues.
In a study from 1965 (that is heartbreakingly cruel but gives us a greater understanding of our needs), baby monkeys were separated from their mothers but were given either a wire “mother” with a bottle of milk or a soft, terry cloth surrogate “mother.” The babies preferred to be with the cloth substitute. They chose touch over food. And with no cloth “mother,” the baby monkeys were paralyzed with fear.
As a teacher, I can use my touch to calm fears and comfort, not just to inform and instruct. I can also calm my own nervous system and then my students’ system will co-regulate with mine. I believe this nervous system regulation is enhanced with touch.
I also use touch to change your tissues—to help you stretch fascia (see the photo gallery above for examples), to identify sticky spots, to release muscle tension, to calm braced nerves, and to stimulate lymphatic flow.
I believe that American culture lacks much of the touch our bodies and minds benefit from. A typical greeting in my family’s Greek culture is a warm embrace followed by a light kiss on both cheeks! Contrast this with our post-pandemic American hesitancy of even shaking someone’s hand. Of course different cultures have different tolerance levels for touch, but I find that in the Optimize studio, not a single person has declined an opportunity for physical contact with a caring teacher. I suppose we’re not all that different from the baby monkeys in the study.
While not all lessons are this hands-on, it is a tool in my toolbox of helping you optimize your health, tissues, and nervous system. Not to mention the enjoyment and relaxation most people get from such a session.
Here I’m using a gentle pressure up the back to help relax the spinal erector muscles to facilitate a deeper stretch in Roll Up. Classically, Joe and Clara used touch here to increase the range of motion. I am not just pushing though, I am working with the nervous system as well.
To get a deeper glimpse into a hands-on session at Optimize, visit See a Session or watch this YouTube Short.