BREAKTHROUGH Magazine

JULY 2021

BREAKTHROUGH LooK get the for less

human TOUCH After more than a year in isolation

benefits on

RUNNING

A

STEPPING body image in the DANCE WORLD OUT

After More Than a Year in Isolation, Can a Salon Appointment Provide the Care We So Desperately Crave?

HUMAN TOUCH L

ong before Anthony Fauci told the Wall Street Journal that if it were up to him, we would never go back to shaking hands again, American life had become increasingly distant— and not only because we’re all slavering over our Samsungs.

We can no longer assume it is kosher to offer a colleague a hug for comfort; yoga instructors must now ask for explicit consent before adjusting a follower’s downward dog, a change that is controversial on both sides of the mat—hailed as progress by some, lamented by others. Everywhere you look, the rules of engagement are being renegotiated and everyone’s personal comfort zone is, well, personal. People have boundaries now, and it’s hard to find fault with that.

But when the global pandem2

ic made isolation a means of survival rather than a choice, it only exacerbated what behavioral psychologist Tiffany Field, Ph.D., describes as a preexisting societal condition: We stopped touching each other a long time ago; we just didn’t notice. Our collective lack of human touch—a bodily necessity that these days is commonly described in the language of malnourishment: skin hunger, touch starved—has become its own epidemic. In a recent survey conducted by Field’s lab at the University of Miami’s Touch Research Institute, 60 percent of respondents described themselves as “touch deprived” when asked to gauge their levels of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. “It’s like prohibition,” Field says. “When something is taken away from you, you want it more

than you did when you had it.”

For many women, this lapse has been a blessing—a break from the random grab at a bar, the questionable brush of an office mate, the constant navigation of whether a touch feels “right.” For others, who have spent the last year-plus in the solitude of their own homes, the absence of touch as been its own kind of trauma.

I am not alone. In fact, I am never alone. In our small town outside Amherst, Massachusetts, I have spent 14 months and counting in the constant companionship of my husband of 10 years and our sons, ages six and three. Our younger son uses my limbs as a multi­purpose prop: pillow, chaise lounge, stepladder; the older one shrieks and rolls his eyes at the approach of the “kissy monster” but still happily

reciprocates. Touch starved? If anything, the pandemic has left me overfed, stuffed, gorged on touch of one kind—but wanting for the kind that would require nothing of me in return and that would make me feel utterly at ease, safe enough to float a thousand miles away from the chaotic shoreline of everyday life.

This really sank in a few months ago, when I began having a recurring daydream: In it, I’m being tucked into bed by my mother—who, at the time of this writing, I have not seen in 420 days, the longest stretch in my lifetime.

She comes into my bedroom, pushes the hair back from my forehead, gives my arm a gentle rub, smooths my blankets, and then shuts off the lamp and leaves me to sleep. I always zero in on her hands, savoring the way their touch makes me feel: safe, loved, looked after, unburdened. Maybe even a little pampered? Then, during a bedtime recitation of The Velveteen Rabbit to my own children, I found myself lingering a little too long on the description of the ancient skin horse—a toy so torn and tattered by generations of childhood love that his brown coat was “bald in patches... and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces.” I had a realization: My mother may have been awaiting vaccination 800 miles away, but Rachel, a local hair colorist, was taking new appointments.

"O

ur need for touch is much more dramatic than people think,” explains David Linden, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University and

the author of last year’s Unique: The New Science of Human Individuality. “We think of touch as a secondary sense. It’s not.”

As Linden sees it, touch is an undersung but critical part of our very humanity, and while being “touch starved” is not a condition per se—there’s no way to diagnose or quantify it—the void humans have begun to pick up on during this extraordinary time is very real. Touch is the first sense to come online when we’re born, our earliest form of communication, the language we use to form our first and most lasting bonds.

It has an almost mystical effect on how both our brains and bodies develop—which is why every new parent is well versed in the power of skinon-skin contact with an infant.

Touch is how we communicate love, trust, empathy. And, done right, it builds familiarity, greasing the wheels of day-in, day-out human interaction.

Touch is also our most relentless sense: You can close your eyes and cover your ears, but you can never shut down the big information-seeking envelope that is your skin.

Almost every part of our body is covered in fine vellus hairs, most too fine to be seen. Nerve endings at the base of these hairs act as microscopic motion sensors—and they’re choosy, says Linden: Lightly run your finger along someone’s skin too slowly, and it gives them chills; stroke too fast, and it feels abrupt. The optimal speed is one inch per second, elaborates Linden. “That’s the caress.”

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Life’s Work: An Interview with

Mikhail Baryshnikov

by Alison Beard

Q : Your career has been all about reinvention—classical to modern dance, stage to film to TV, performing to managing and back again. Why? A: It’s instinctive. There’s an internal clock that dictates what interests me at any given time.

Change in any person’s life is propelled by an almost primal need to explore, to test boundaries. I just follow that urge. In some cases, I look at what others are doing and stubbornly go in the opposite direction. Sometimes it works, sometimes I fail. There are no guarantees.

Q: You’ve worked with the legends of dance—Alexander Pushkin, George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Jerome Robbins, Alvin Ailey.

What can you tell us about effective mentoring?

A: I don’t consider myself a mentor; I’m more of a cheerleader. But the best lesson from all the people I’ve worked with is to understand who you are as a person on stage.

Whatever new craft you learn has to go through your own psychology, your own body and mind, in order to come out as something revealing and interesting for the audience.

Q: You learned 26 new roles in your first two years as principal dancer at the ABT. At the New York City Ballet it was 20 in a year. What’s the key to mastering new roles quickly?

A: There is no one secret. It takes positive energy, talent, a lot of hard work, and a willingness to absorb everything possible from the people you’re working with.

And some luck surely helps. I don’t think I always mastered everything. Sometimes I took on too much. But it was a young person’s appetite. In retrospect, I think the failures might have been the most important experiences.

Q: How about effective teamwork?

A: I’ve always liked the camaraderie of group performance.

To really collaborate, you have to figure out how to work with anyone and give 100%. It’s about spitting out your ego and becoming a foot soldier when necessary.

The creative process isn’t a human rights march. Some things aren’t fair. Creators can be temperamental, but they have to be forgiven in this business. If you can’t deal with that, you should step out.

“If you are not moving forward, you are moving backward.”

- Mikhail Gorbachev

Q: How hard was the transition to management?

A: I’ve had the good fortune to work with very structured dance companies, and I could see early on what a huge responsibility managing one would be. When I took it on, it was a growing-up experience. It forced me to make artistic decisions unrelated to my own career and to think more seriously about creating opportunities for others. I think what I’ve been best at is sticking to a vision for whatever group I’m leading, making the tough decisions that might not favor the people I like but that make sense for the organization as a whole. When I’m working with other artists I can be an obedient puppy, but in an office situation I like to think I’m the big dog. I don’t want to take direction. I haven’t always been as patient as I should have been, expecting too much, too fast, and getting frustrated with how long it can take to build support for new ideas. But I’m still learning.

Q: Why are you so good at what you do?

A: Please don’t make me think about this. This is the worst thing one can do: sit around and think about how good you’ve gotten at something. Besides, I’m not always so great—ask my wife.

EyE CANDY

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Lesson #1: Don’t run out and buy a ton of containers Lesson #2: Follow their method because it truly works Lesson #3: Investing in a better space will make you use it more Lesson #4: Start with one area at a time

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GREATEST ARTISTIC One of the greatest artistic demands in dance is physical shape, contributing to the desire of a thinner body and the continuous self-dissatisfaction state because of the standard of the supposed “perfect body.” By investigating gender aspects, body image and dancers' eating disorders symptoms, study done by Ravaldi et al. shows that over concern with the body aesthetics is present in dance.

For dancers, there are so many times when they feel uncomfortable and awkward in their body. It is really the constant battle of consistently recognizing and respecting one’s body. This can definitely be hard; for me, there were so many times I felt like I couldn’t do anything and there were times I didn’t want to look at myself in the mirror when I was dancing. But it is a persistent fight with ourselves to develop and maintain a positive body image. It is perhaps demanding to ask someone to love their body, but a certain level of acceptance is necessary especially for dancers.

If not, negative body images will take over: negative body images are more likely to develop conditions such as eating disorders, depression, isolation, low self-esteem, and obsessions with weight loss. One of the main symptoms of the eating disorders is body image disturb, marked by the negative self-evaluation of the individual related to their weight and body shape. Eating disorders are increasing in both genders as society puts forth unreasonable standards of what a dancer’s body or even just a regular body should look like.

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DEMANDS

Especially among professional dancers, there is a high frequency of dissatisfaction with their bodies. A lot of these dancers feel that to be accepted in their environment, they have to have very thin bodies and they self-objectify themselves. This again leads to stimulating the practice of risk behaviors to eating disorders, bringing severe consequence to the professional dancers health.

Body image issues (which are not only prevalent in dance but also in our society as a whole), is abetted by advertisements that we see on magazines or social media of unrealistic perfection that are mostly photoshopped and air brushed.

Self-confidence origins from accepting that you are a human being with imperfections.

Jenifer Ringer, who is a former New York City Ballet principal who now directs the Colburn Dance Academy in Los Angeles, says Being hypercritical makes a dancer her own worst enemy. Knowing that you're not defined by any one performance frees you to be the artist you want to be, and people who are able to do that are the most effective performers." Dr. Brian Goonan, who is a Houston Ballet's psychologist, says students and young professionals are particularly vulnerable to confidence problems. He notes “Early in their careers, dancers don't have a fully developed sense of self yet.They form their view of themselves based on the perception and feedback of others. And they can end up taking in a lot of negativity."

-stairway for ballet“

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How to do a split in six "easy" steps

Seated Forward Fold 60 sec.

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Kneeling Hamstring Stretch 30 sec. per side

Deep Runner’s Lunge 30 sec. per side

Take a seat on the ground and stretch your legs out in front of you.

Reach forward to grab a hold of your feet and bend your knees so that your chest meets the top of your thighs. This is important, as a gap between your torso and your legs will take away from the stretch.

Slowly begin to straighten your legs, taking deep breaths and maintaining the contact between your torso and thighs.

Kneel on one knee and bring the other leg straight out in front of you.

Square your hips to make sure you are not twisted to the side Lower your torso towards your front leg and place your fingertips on the ground on either side of your foot.

Work the same way you did in the first stretch, starting with a bent knee and slowly straightening it with deep breath and focus.

Start in a lunge position with your front knee bent at a 90-degree angle and your back leg straight.

Lower your elbows to the floor on the inside of your front leg.

Work to press your hips towards the ground and slide your back leg farther back.

Tip: Do not force your legs straight.

With deep breathing and time you will slowly work towards straighter legs.

Tip: Keep your front foot flexed to help make sure your hamstring is in a lengthened position and your muscles are active.

Tip: If you can’t get your elbows down all the way, then place your hands down on the ground instead or use yoga blocks or props under your elbows.

LUNGING Quad Stretch

Block support split

The split

Stay in that same lunge position but lift your back foot up and catch it with your opposite hand.

Carefully pull your foot towards your butt until you feel the stretch.

Breathe deep and allow time for your muscles to relax and lengthen.

Start in the kneeling hamstring stretch and place 2 yoga blocks directly under your front hamstrings.

Slide your back leg back to straighten as much as you can.

Reach your fingers to the ground and lean your torso forward to intensify the stretch.

If you don’t feel ready to do the full splits, continue to work on the 5 stretches paying special attention to those areas that need the most work.

When you are ready to go for it, start with the block supported splits.

Remove one block, then both, and slowly lower into the full splits by sliding your front heel forward and using your hands on the ground to guide you.

Breath deeply and focus on relaxation and muscle lengthening.

Tip: Tight quads could be preventing you from getting your full splits. If this stretch feels very intense for you, then it’s likely one of the most important for you to focus on.

Tip: If 2 blocks are not enough height for you, then add an additional 1 or 2 blocks.

Tip: Keep in mind that nailing the splits will likely take more than one or even a few practice sessions.

30 sec. per side

30 sec. per side

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W

Here’s Why You Should Definatly Keep Running During Stressful Times

hen life gets crazy, some people retreat into their running.

Others take the opposite approach—they put running on the back burner to devote all their time and mental energy to the current crisis. Research on exercise and stress is firmly in favor of the first camp.

It found that staying active during work crunches, family emergencies, relationship troubles, and the like will help you experience the stressors less severely and survive the situation in better physical and mental health.

Research in lab settings has found reduced emotional reaction to artificially induced stress after people exercise.

For example, in a University of Maryland study, people who looked at unpleasant images 15 minutes after a halfhour workout showed lower levels of anxiety than people who looked at the images after sitting quietly for 30 minutes. Of course, runners have long intuited the value of maintaining some semblance of routine during hectic times. Doing so usually provides a short respite from your worries, gives you a focused opportunity to think through things, and helps you feel like you haven’t lost complete control of your life.

What’s significant about this new research is that it compared people’s activity levels to their recall of real-world stressors and confirmed that getting out the door on tough days is key to those days not seeming as bad.

There was no difference between how often active and less-active subjects had stressful days. What was different was that, on high-stress days, the regular exercisers’ negative affect was 14 percent lower than that of the other subjects. That is, the same sorts of bad things happened, but the exercisers were significantly less rankled by them.

Eli Puterman, Ph.D., the lead researcher and a professor of kinesiology at the University of British Columbia, said that exercisers’ edge in this matter is probably a combination of reacting less severely as the stressor is happening and not remembering the stress as severe at the end of the day.

“We are constantly rewriting our memories, so of course, if exercise makes me happy or calm more often, I might interpret the stressor as less impactful as it’s happening but I might also recall it later as less stressful,” he wrote in an email.

Indeed, there’s growing consensus that, as a review of research published in Clinical Psychology Review put it, “exercise training recruits a process which confers enduring resilience to stress.” This phenomenon is thought to be related to structural brain changes, such as the growth of and better connection between neurons, caused by running and other forms of aerobic exercise.

So, as a runner, you’re better equipped to survive highstress times. Still, on any given stressful day (no matter how severe), you should still try to get out for a run. The researchers found that the subjects’ negative affect was 17 percent lower on days when they worked out. And this finding comes with a special gold star for regular exercisers: They got that benefit regardless of when they worked

out. The less-active people, in contrast, got the biggest boost in handling stress if an event happened soon after a workout, then saw their emotional stability dissipate as more time passed since exercising.

The takeaway: Make that much more of an effort to find time to run when you know it’s going to be a stressful day. “My best advice is to schedule workouts, because when you’re stressed, it’s really difficult to feel that you have the time or energy to work out,” Puterman said. It doesn’t have to be a long or hard run—a few easy miles at a conversational pace will do the trick. Consider that time your secret weapon in handling whatever life throws at you that day.

-SCOTT DOUGLAS

SCOTT IS A VETERAN RUNNING, FITNESS, AND HEALTH JOURNALIST WHO HAS HELD SENIOR EDITORIAL POSITIONS AT RUNNER’S WORLD AND RUNNING TIMES.

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