Touch therapy touted for Trump-era anxieties
By Emily Fearon
A practice that is frowned upon in many contexts is being embraced by one woman in Centretown as a different approach to activism.
Aviva Cohen hosts workshops she describes as “introverted activism,” and which she started amidst the widespread anxiety in Canada after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
What makes the workshops unusual, she said, is their method of de-stressing and healing: compassionate touch.
What might seem unorthodox to some attracted 10 people to the first workshop at the end of January, and another three to the second. Cohen has named the sessions Dissolve Your Anger Into Love, and each one lasts about three hours.
“I thought this was very fitting for what we’re going through now after the election in the U.S.,” said Cohen, who has been an osteopath for six years.
The workshops begin with a picture book, read by Cohen, that illustrates the practice of compassionate touch. After a discussion on ground rules and respecting boundaries, participants break up into small groups to share their feelings and to practise compassionate touch.
Touch brings attention to pain in the body so the brain can focus on it and heal, while the sore area also feels supported, Cohen said.
Even if a person is not in any physical pain, touch helps the brain and nervous system relax and let go, she added.
“I’m trying to support people in a safe place to face their fears, and anger, and anxieties and the irrational feelings that are going on somewhere in their body, so that they can get past it,” she said.
Healing affects activism, too, Cohen said. She created the workshops as a reaction to current events, and said putting yourself in a good state of mind helps you react in a positive way to stresses.
“Being touched, and touching a person who you have never met before, initially it was a bit awkward,” said Andrea Matyas, a communications specialist. “But then you quickly feel comfortable doing it and it actually was a really nice experience.”
Matyas went to the workshop to try something new, and said she left feeling inspired.
“I think there’s a societal anxiety at all times, but now it’s a little bit heightened,” she said. “People need a bit of a sanctuary to connect with others.”
In Matyas’ small group she said she shared her feelings and the two other women placed their hands on her neck, shoulders and back. She described the experience as a reciprocal massage therapy.
Massage therapist Teresa McLean said from her perspective, touch is effective in stress relief because it encourages the body and nervous system to calm down.
McLean said she thinks the effects of compassionate touch would be accumulative, meaning the more the body is trained to relax, the longer that relaxation will last.
“Nobody touches anyone anymore. So learning how to receive consensual, compassionate touch, is such a wonderful gift,” said McLean, who is also the owner and founder of Sage Wellness.
Emily Lamoureux, a mother with a toddler daughter, attended Cohen’s workshop. She said, in an email, that she went because of everyday stress and lingering anger.
Lamoureux wrote that her experience with compassionate touch was very positive.
“It really helped me to be more comfortable in my body and heart, knowing that, with my expressed permission, someone else could touch me and I didn’t have to freeze with fear,” she said. “It was liberating and very healing to be using touch in such a respectful way.”
Cohen wants to hold the workshops weekly. “When we have trauma, seeing the news or feeling the fear and a lot of anger . . . the way out is through, so we actually have to feel it,” she said. The workshops are free because Cohen believes it’s not about the money.
“It’s my brand of activism,” she said.