Touch is like a nutrient.  We can certainly go for a while without it, but we are healthier with it.  There’s plenty of science exploring the neurochemistry of touch and how it regulates oxytocin, cortisol, seratonin, and dopamine.  I found so many articles I’ll let you do the search yourself if you’re curious.  The short of it is that touch matters, and that context matters too.  Not all touch is the same, and different people have different preferences around who touches them, how, and when.

In this peculiar time of isolation with COVID-19, I have heard from many how much they miss touch above all else.  Many of you reading this may be in complete isolation.  If so, can you imagine someone you could exchange touch with intentionally?  Is there someone with whom you could establish agreements about touch, and about COVID exposure?  Contact improvisation (CI) is a dance form built around touch.  CI dances can be many things: leaning, rolling, sliding, lifting, breathing, massaging, and simply being.  As a society we tend to associate touch with sexuality—and sometimes touch is sexual—but often it is not.  It can be scary to approach touch consciously particularly because sexuality comes into question.  Perhaps this time asks for a new level of awareness and intention here.  

This Wednesday at BraveSpace online (12-1:15pm MDT) I will lead a session on intentional touch.  If you are able to join with a partner I will guide you dancing together.  If you are alone we will explore tactile awareness and self-touch.

Below is a recent video of my dear friend Callie Ritter and I dancing together two ways: sped up 20x, and in real time, with Dave Jones playing handpan.  I offer it to inspire not intimidate:  You may try this at home even if you aren’t a professional.  Be sensitive to your partner and attempt not to grasp or control them.