For more than five decades, Touch for Health (TFH) has been empowering people around the world with tools for self-care, balance, and vitality. What began as the groundbreaking insight of a Detroit chiropractor has grown into a global movement, inspiring thousands of instructors, practitioners, and wellness seekers. For me personally, Touch for Health has been the foundation of everything I do — from teaching and workshops to writing, program development, and even creating the Cape Breton Tea Company and the Tea with Intention book and teas.
This blog post is both a look back at where Touch for Health came from, and a glimpse into how I am building on its wisdom today through movement, sound, colour, frequency, and the Five Elements of Chinese Medicine.
The Origins of Touch for Health
The story begins in the early 1960s with Dr. George Goodheart, a chiropractor in Detroit. Dr. Goodheart began experimenting with muscle testing to evaluate strength and injury, drawing on the earlier kinesiology research of physical therapists Kendall & Kendall from the 1940s.
What he discovered was revolutionary: muscles that tested “weak” did not always show signs of atrophy or disuse. Instead, he noticed that muscle performance could improve dramatically when he applied certain touch reflexes. These included:
- Neurovascular reflexes identified by Dr. Terrance Bennett in the 1930s.
- Neurolymphatic reflexes developed by osteopathic physician Dr. Frank Chapman in the same era.
- Acupuncture points, meridians, and energy pathways described in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Dr. Goodheart’s work laid the foundation for Applied Kinesiology, a system that connected muscles, organ systems, and reflex points through energy balancing.
Making it Accessible: Dr. John Thie
While Goodheart’s discoveries were initially shared among chiropractors and other health professionals, Dr. John Thie, a chiropractor from California, saw the potential to make these tools available to everyone.
He created Touch for Health in the early 1970s as a self-care system for families, individuals, and communities. His vision was simple yet profound: to empower ordinary people with practical tools they could use to feel better, restore balance, and support healing in themselves and others.
Through the publication of his book Touch for Health: The Complete Edition and the training of instructors around the world, Dr. Thie sparked a movement that continues to thrive today.
Scientific Expansion: Dr. Charles Krebs
As Touch for Health grew, researchers and practitioners sought to understand the science behind muscle response testing. One of the most recent influential figures in this area is Dr. Charles Krebs, who brought his expertise in both neurobiology and biophysics to the field.
Dr. Krebs identified the energetic loop between the nervous system and biophysical processes, helping explain why muscle testing could provide accurate biofeedback about the body’s state. His LEAP program (Learning Enhancement Acupressure Program) demonstrated how targeted acupressure and reflex techniques could rewire the body’s electrical system, improve neurological integration, and restore optimal function to both muscles and cognitive processes.
Clinical Validation: Dr. Anne Jensen
In more recent years, Dr. Anne Jensen, a researcher at Oxford University, has provided important clinical evidence for muscle response testing. Her controlled trials have demonstrated its effectiveness and reliability, helping validate what practitioners and clients have experienced for decades. Her research is building bridges between clinical science and energy-based practices, strengthening the credibility of Touch for Health within the broader health community.
My Journey with Touch for Health
For me, Touch for Health has been the root system from which all of my professional and creative branches have grown. I’ve had the privilege of studying and mentoring with leaders such as Dr. Gregory Webb, Dr. Wayne Topping, Dr. Charles Krebs, Dr. Sheldon Deal, Dr. Svetlana Masgutova, Dr. Mary Jo Bulbrook, and many others. These experiences helped me refine my ability to listen to the body’s biofeedback through muscle response testing and to apply bioenergetic tools that bring the body into balance.
But my natural curiosity pushed me further. I wanted to know not just that these techniques worked, but how and why they worked — and how they could be integrated with movement, music, and colour to enhance healing.
Movement, Music, and the Spine
One of the results of this inquiry was the development of a spine reflex chart that links together:
- Music and frequency
- The spine and nervous system
- Emotions and energy
- The spiritual essence of the organ systems
This chart now supports two of my signature programs: Qi YINtegration and Movement and Music. These programs help participants experience firsthand how movement and frequency can harmonize the body’s systems and support healing.
From this foundation, I created two movement-based choreographies:
- The Five Element Set – weaving Touch for Health with Chinese Medicine, sound, colour, and the BioField.
- The Kundalini Rising Set – designed to awaken energy and bring alignment through layered movement and sound.
These sets invite participants to feel how movement can balance energy and activate healing in a way that is both powerful and joyful.
Tea and Touch for Health
Even the Cape Breton Tea Company, which I co-founded, has been influenced by Touch for Health. Each blend is crafted not only for flavour but also for its energetic properties — supporting the chakras, organs, and systems of the body in alignment with the principles I’ve learned through TFH. For me, tea is another way to bring balance, comfort, and community into daily life.
What’s Next: Touch for Health Expanded
In November 2025, I will be offering something new: the Touch for Health Expanded course. For the first time, I’ll be opening my movement-based programs through the Touch for Health lens, offering participants a way to explore healing through movement, sound, colour, and the Five Elements.
This will be followed in summer 2026 by a retreat on Cape Breton Island, where we will dive even deeper into this integrative approach.
Whether you are a former student ready to refresh your skills (with 50% savings on repeat classes) or someone who has never studied Touch for Health before, this is the perfect time to join. Together, we’ll explore the connections between muscles, emotions, organ systems, meridians, and elements, with the goal of living each day with greater vitality and self-care empowerment.
Why This Work Matters
What makes this program truly unique is the combination of experiences that inform it. Very few Touch for Health instructors also studied dance and Tai Chi, then spent a Master’s degree exploring how movement and TFH interrelate, and later expanded that into a doctoral dissertation identifying the BioEnergetic Wellness Formula that really is signature to this kind of wellness work.
This blend of scholarship, creativity, and embodied practice means that the insights you’ll gain are not available anywhere else. They are the culmination of decades of study, practice, and passion for bringing energy medicine to life in accessible, meaningful ways.
Join the Journey
Touch for Health has always been about empowerment — giving people tools they can use for themselves and their families. That spirit is alive and well today, and it continues to evolve.
I invite you to join me for this next chapter through the Touch for Health Expanded course in November 2025 and the retreat in 2026. Together, we’ll explore how movement, sound, and colour can become pathways to healing, balance, and joy.
👉 Register in the Events section of the shop at www.greenwellcenter.com.
Here’s to living with energy, vitality, and self-care you can trust!
To deepen this exploration of Touch for Health and the science of muscle response testing, I’ve also been hosting insightful conversations on my Be Well with Dr. Michelle Greenwell podcast. Recently, I featured a trilogy series with Dr. Christina Ross, where we discussed the fascinating intersection of biophysics, quantum change, and musculoskeletal regeneration through frequency and field intensity. In parallel, I hosted another trilogy with Dr. Delphine Rossi, who guided listeners through the role of intuition in wellness, the hidden language of dreams, and the transformative power of spiritual healing. These episodes bring together science, energy medicine, and lived experience, offering practical wisdom and inspiration that beautifully complements the foundations of Touch for Health.