Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1208028
Ta k e 5 a n d t r y A B M P F i v e - M i n u t e M u s c l e s a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / f i v e - m i n u t e - m u s c l e s . 71 the public sphere as well. We see that in addition to improving medical outcomes, attuned touch promotes cooperative and pro-social behaviors, communicates emotions just as reliably as language and facial expression, counters negative stress, and enhances our feeling of safety. TOUCH ADVOCATES: BECOMING PART OF THE SOLUTION As manual therapists who primarily use craniosacral therapy, we recognize that the work we do with people is so successful because of the attunement of our touch. We saw the desperate need for touch, in the news and in our immediate community, and founded Touch Advocates. We feel our mission is to promote attuned and healthy compassionate touch in families, schools, and health- care systems to help everyone enjoy lives filled with connection, health, and love. In December 2012, there was a horrific school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut that shook many of us to the core. Afterward, a report looking toward how an event like this could be prevented recommended three interventions: create more stringent gun control measures, provide more robust mental health resources, and implement social and emotional learning (SEL) programs in all schools. SEL programs aim to help ". . . children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions." 8 Scarlett Lewis, the mother of six-year- old Jesse Lewis who was killed at Sandy Hook, founded the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement ( JLCL) 9 as her response to this terrible tragedy. The JLCL SEL program, The Choose Love Enrichment Program, has been adopted by school districts in all 50 states. When Kate asked if touch was a part of the curriculum, Lewis answered that no SEL program had a touch component, to her knowledge. Yet You Play a Vital Role Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." There is no one person, organization, or agency that can solve the crisis around touch that we see in our schools, medical settings, and society today. We invite you to bring your skills and passion to this vital endeavor of bringing more attuned and healthy compassionate touch back into public life. We literally need all hands on deck. when Lewis talks at schools and she asks children, "Show me what anger looks like," the children will make an angry face and tense up their bodies. She then asks them to show what love looks like, and they turn to one another and give a hug or hold hands. So Kate used her background in pediatric physical therapy and craniosacral therapy to partner with the JLCL to create the Healthy Compassionate Touch (HCT) curriculum. 10 Lewis considers healthy compassionate touch to be "the cornerstone of healthy connection and emotional well-being. Kate and Robyn focus on the essential ingredients of meaningful existence, including healthy compassionate touch, that can and should be applied in any setting. My beloved son called this 'Nurturing Healing Love' in his last message he left for us on our kitchen chalkboard. This is what will heal our world." We believe this is the first SEL curriculum to include touch. The HCT curriculum is now an integral part of the Choose Love program, and is available to download for free by any teacher. It has been crafted so it can be customized by each teacher and classroom from preschool to 12th grade, making it applicable to every culture and learning environment. HCT IN SCHOOLS Molly Oto, a toddler teacher at Valley Montessori School in Livermore, California, notices her students are positively responding to HCT. "I love the willingness the children have to engage in positive options in social situations," Oto says. "By nature, children want safety, happiness, and for others to smile and be peaceful. This program helps teach them real examples of how to give respect and receive love in all its forms." Maria Elena Ventura is a high school Spanish teacher at Granada High School in Livermore who moved from El Salvador many years ago. She's keenly aware of cultural differences when it comes to touch, commenting how naturally and easily touch is used among her Hispanic students and also with her throughout the school day.