I learned a long time ago that touch was a powerful communicator. When someone touches you they go beyond your conscious mind, they are touching your unconscious. They are contacting your emotional body.
An article in the New York Times describes the recent research on touch.
The evidence that such messages can lead to clear, almost immediate changes in how people think and behave is accumulating fast. Students who received a supportive touch on the back or arm from a teacher were nearly twice as likely to volunteer in class as those who did not, studies have found. A sympathetic touch from a doctor leaves people with the impression that the visit lasted twice as long, compared with estimates from people who were untouched.
The article goes on to describe how touch improves performance with it citing a study done with professional baseball teams. “… good teams tended to be touchier than bad ones.”
For us in relationships – “the couples who touch more are reporting more satisfaction in the relationship,” according to Dr. Oveis of Harvard.
In part because for over 30 years, of Rolfing clients and also because I learned how powerful touch is, I find myself touching people during normal conversations. When I am not being as articulate as I would want to be with my words, I let my hands do the talking.
Start communicating more with touch. Let us know how it goes.