Touch for Health Casework Workshop –

the Revival of the Art of Balancing

Brings FIRE to the Future
- Amy Choi, Hong Kong, China
- International Kinesiology Conference,
- Bali, Indonesia, October 19-21, 2019

Introduction
It is an honor to be a keynote speaker for this Touch for Health and
International Kinesiology Conference in Indonesia, the second Touch for
Health International Conference in Asia. As a Registered Touch for Health
Instructor since 1998, a Touch for Health School Faculty for the Greater
China area since 2008, a past Touch for Health School Dean for two years
from 2011-2013, and a present Touch for Health School board member
(2011-2019), I would like to make use of this opportunity to take a look at
the development of Touch for Health from both an historical and
forward-looking perspective.
Touch for Health John and Carrie Thie’s Style
Many of us who had the privilege of learning Touch for Health from the
founder Dr. John Thie may remember his vision and passion for promoting
Touch for Health. He envisioned Touch for Health to be used in every
family as a self-help tool for remembering wellness. I first learnt Touch for
Health from John from his 6-day Touch for Health Seminar in Malibu,
California, U.S.A. in 1997. It was a class with an attendance of 8 people.
The book Touch for Health authored by him (often referred to as the “Red
book”) was used as the class manual. Towards the end of the book he says,
“Dr. Thie travels worldwide, giving training on his methods of using Touch
for Health to enhance performance and help people reach their personal
goals.” It was clear to me even after taking his Touch for Health 6-day
seminar, that was the intention of his sharing Touch for Health to the world.

He taught in Touch for Health in a casework-oriented way. He used client

interviewing and goal-setting techniques, plus all ways he used Touch for
Health to do balances for clients in a chiropractic clinic.
“14-muslce-fix-as-you-go” was his most favorite technique. Students
observed how he did balances and then practiced with each other. Rather
than what some people describe as “clinical”, I would like to comment that
back then, I remembered Touch for Health as being taught in a holistic,
artistic way of balancing that brought out awareness of the person and
his/her spirit. Students got the overall and general idea and experiences of
what Touch for Health balances could do, though they might not remember
all the steps instantly.
 Touch for Health, John

Thie’s style – casework

demonstrations and

practice-oriented.

Everyone will remember

his saying, “Your’re my

friend!”

In six days, we learned the 14, 14+, and 42 muscles standing up and lying
down tests, all the correction techniques. We also learnt one-point balances
and other types of applications. We learnt goal-setting and how to do Touch
for Health balances while observing the teacher. A handout on Touch for
Health Metaphor was being distributed. Some ideas and concepts of the
Chinese five-element metaphors and how to apply them for Touch for
Health balancing were used and taught. His wife Carrie Thie was a
co-teacher who delivered the part on effective personal communications.
Major contributors to practical ways of productive inter-personal
communication such as Dr. Carl Rogers, Thomas Gordon and Dr. Virginia
Satir were referred to. Active listening and major counseling skills used in
Touch for Health education balancing, observing and tracking process were
taught.

From the handout Touch for Health Tree Synthesis copyrighted 1992 by the
TH Enterprise Catalog distributed to every student, Touch for Health by Dr.
John Thie was depicted in the middle of the major tree trunk. The
President of IASK (International Association of Specialized Kinesiologists)
Jim Reid’s quote in April 5, 1989 says “We further acknowledge that Touch
for Health is the Foundation upon which ALL Specialized Kinesiology is
built.” Touch for Health Synthesis, depicted in one of the tree branches,
was said to be “Foundation of All Specialized Kinesiologies, alive and
growing – the more you know the less you will use. Keep learning!”

John Thie then advised me to take Touch for Health Instructor Training
Workshop (ITW) from Toni Gralton (Lilley) from Australia who was then
the Touch for Health School Dean of International Kinesiology College Ltd.
(IKC). In autumn 1998, I went to Sydney to take ITW from Toni, who
then had published her official English manuals for Touch for Health
Synthesis - Levels I to IV. (the Synthesis) .
* One of the handouts from John Thie’s Touch for Health Workshop in 1998 - Touch for

Health Synthesis Tree ©1992, depicting Touch for Health Synthesis as “the Foundation of

all Specialized Kinesiologies, alive and growing – the more you know, the less you will

use. Keep learning!” The President of IASK (International Association of Specialized

Kinesiologists) Jim Reid’s quote in April 5, 1989 says “We further acknowledge that Touch
for Health is the Foundation upon which ALL Specialized Kinesiology is built.”
Touch for Health Synthesis and Touch for Health Proficiency
Over years of teaching, I came to realize that Touch for Health Synthesis
had chunked down Touch for Health techniques into steps that were easy to
follow. Each level of the Synthesis has its specific learning outcome,
curriculum and syllabus. Instructors-to-be are trained to teach the Synthesis
technique-by-technique, step-by-step. Touch for Health taught in the
Synthesis way were then believed to make it effective and manageable for
Touch for Health Instructors to teach the techniques for students to learn.
In addition to the Touch for Health Synthesis, Touch for Health Proficiency
(the Proficiency) was later developed with written, oral and practical
assessments for Touch for Health. It was believed that the Proficiency
would provide better-quality instructors and might enable Touch for Health
Synthesis to satisfy health industry, government regulatory or insurance
company standards.

With the author of Touch for Health Synthesis Ms. Toni Lilley being the
Touch for Health School Dean of IKC for 15 years, the IKC-recognized
TFH Synthesis way of communicating and teaching Touch for Health has
became the official version of Touch for Health that is most widely taught
around the world.

Touch for Health Complete Edition and the Clinical Touch

for Health
The book Touch for Health Complete Edition (the Complete Edition) by
John Thie and his son Matthew Thie was published in 2005, the same year
before the founder was diseased. Matthew became a Touch for Health
Faculty and later on the Complete Edition also became recognized by the
IKC as an official version for teaching Touch for Health Synthesis. The
Complete Edition, being a book and not a course manual, has been mostly
being used by instructors in the U.S. and some English-speaking areas for
teaching the Synthesis, and by Matthew Thie, for teaching his “Clinical
Touch for Health” workshop. I have co-sponsored Matthew’s Clinical
Touch for Health in Beijing in 2009. The workshop left me with the
impression that it managed to deliver Touch for Health in a “clinical” way,
with Touch for Health metaphors, similar to how the founder did it himself.
However, neither the Clinical Touch for Health nor any shorter versions of
the Touch for Health Clinical workshops developed by the John and
Matthew are carried by the Touch for Health School of the IKC as official
workshops of the School.

Touch for Health Casework Workshop

Knowing the learning needs of the students in my country, having
experienced the development of Touch for Health in Asia, and having
looked and world trends as a TFH School administrator, Touch for Health
School Trainer Conrad Ho (Conrad) and myself decided to take a second
look at the Touch for Health Synthesis and develop a teaching model that
aims to revive the artistic and holistic way of Touch for Health teaching and
learning. In early 2012, we developed the Touch for Health Casework
Workshop.

* Touch for

Health circle -

Sketch by

graphic
designer Gill

Chan, Hong

Kong, while
attending

Touch for

Health

Casework

workshop in

Shenzhen,

China, in
2016.
What is the Touch for Health Casework Workshop About?
• Communicating TFH
• “Coming back to the basic”
• Encouraging people to use TFH in their daily lives
• Finding new ways to market TFH
• Finding new ways to teach TFH
• Growing TFH in developing areas where there is few other
kinesiologies
• Part of the TFH Consultant programme in China
• Benefits in addition to Techniques
• Whole to parts in addition to Part to whole

Touch for Health Casework Workshop Helps People Answer

these Questions:
• What is the use of Touch for Health?
• What benefit will I get from Touch for Health?
• Is Touch for Health easy to learn?
• Is Touch for Health simple to use?

Course Objectives of Touch for Health Casework Workshop:

• To deliver TFH in its daily life, casework applications
• To manifest TFH as a balancing art
• To deliver TFH balances with the main objective of helping the
clients in improving his/her wellness
• To express an overall view of TFHS and offer a structure for all the
balances in TFHS
• To offer in-depth observation and practice on goal-setting and
remember wellness
• To offer a step in the training of the internationally recognized TFH
Consultant programme
Target participants of the Touch for Health Casework
Workshop:
• Those interested in TFH and kinesiology
• Those interested in becoming an internationally-recognized TFH
Consultant
• Those interested in improving his/her mind-body wellness
• Those interested in learning and deepening TFH techniques in
casework settings
• Medical, para-medical and health-care professionals
• Counsellors
• Care-takers
• Trainers
• TCM doctors, life-care or related professionals
• Sports coach, dancer, athletes
• Those who have issues in mind, and would like to balance for
physical or psychological blocks and challenges

Who can teach Touch for Health Casework Workshop in the

Greater China area?
• For now:
– Faculty, Trainer
• For the future:
– TFH Trainers who have participated in TFH Casework
Workshop once, and had co-taught the TFH Casework once
Touch for Health Balancing Options Overview:

Excerpt from Touch for Health Casework Workshop Manual by Conrad Ho

and Amy Choi, Brain Body Centre Ltd. ©2018.

Workshop Outline
The 8-10 day workshop was divided into 2 halves – 5 days for each section.
A total of 23 balances are demonstrated and practiced, on an average of 3
balances per day, covering all balancing types in the Touch for Health
Synthesis. They are:
1) 14 muscle balance-as-you-go (standing) – use correction point one after
another, with challenge
2) 42 muscles balance-as-you-go (standing) – use circuit location, with
challenge
3) 42 muscles balance-as-you-go (lying) – use circuit location, with
challenge
4) 14+ muscle one-point balance (meridian wheel) – no alarm points,
standing tests
5) 14+ muscle one-point balance (five-element chart) – no alarm points,
standing tests
6) 14+ muscle one-point balances (meridian wheel) – with alarm points,
lying down tests
7) 14+ muscle one-point balance (five-element chart) – with alarm points,
lying down tests
8) Walking gaits balances
9) Visual inhibition balances
10) Auricular exercise
11) Figure 8 balance
12) Meridian walking for chronic pain
13) Cross-crawl integration exercises
14) Postural stress release
15) Reactive Muscle balances
16) Colour balances
17) Surrogate balances
18) Pain Tapping for chronic pain
19) Time of day balance
20) Past balancing
21) Postural balance
22) Sound balance
23) Food balance

The first experiment was conducted in December 15-19, 2012 and October
2-6, 2013 in Dalian, China. There were 7 students for each class. The
second one was conducted in Shenzhen, China, in from October 15-19,
2016 for 24 students; and November 12-16, 2016 for 27 students. The
third class was conducted in Zhengzhou and Dengfeng, China on May
16-20, 2018 for 9 students, and on December 5-9, 2018 for 13 students.
Thus, there were 87 students in total who have attended the workshop over a
period of 6 years.
Survey Statistics 2016
The workshops were designed to welcome Touch for Health Instructors,
Touch for Health Synthesis students and new comers. Student surveys
were done in 2016 and 2018. Here’re the statistics results:

In 2016, 11 Registered Touch for Health Instructors and 10 Touch for Health
students handed in their questionnaire. Out of the 11 instructors,
percentage with 1-2 years of experiences – 63.60%, 2-10 years – 18.20%,
10 years or above 18.20%. Out of the 10 Touch for Health students, 20%
have attended Touch for Health Synthesis Levels 1 to 2, 80% have attended
all four levels.

Analysis of the statistics gathered from Touch for Health Instructors in

2016:
1) 100% of them thought Touch for Health Casework Workshop helped
them better understand Touch for Health Synthesis;
2) 100% of them thought Touch for Health Casework Workshop, if carried
out continuously, may help the development of Touch for Health in the long
run;
3) 81.80% of them thought, with proper training, they would like to become
an Instructor of the Touch for Health Casework Workshop.
Among these Instructors, 100% of them practice Touch for Health on
themselves and in their families regularly.

Analysis of the statistics gathered from Touch for Health students in 2016:
1) Among those who completed all 4 levels of Touch for Health Synthesis,
37.50% of them thought they would want to repeat the Touch for Health
Synthesis after taking the Touch for Health Casework Workshop. 50%
did not answer this question.
2) Among those who completed all 4 levels of Touch for Health Synthesis,
100% of them said they use Touch for Health on themselves and their
families.
3) Among those who have NOT attended or completed all 4 levels of
 Touch for Health Synthesis, 100% of them thought they either want to
sign up for Touch for Health Synthesis or complete the Touch for Health
Synthesis Levels that they have not completed.

Among the TFH Instructor and students who responded in 2016:

1) 100% of them thought Touch for Health Casework Workshop allowed
them to be more confident in applying Touch for Health Synthesis in
their daily lives.
2) Average degree of satisfaction of the Touch for Health Casework
Workshop scored 9.5, 10 being the highest mark.
3) Degree of ease of use of the Touch for Health Casework manual scored
9.5, 10 being the highest mark.

Survey Statistics 2018

In 2018, 8 Registered Touch for Health Instructors and 13 Touch for Health
students handed in their questionnaire. Out of the 8 instructors, 62.50% of
them have become a Touch for Health Instructor for 3 months, 1-3 years of
experiences – 25%, 3 years or above – 12.50%. Out of the 13 Touch for
Health students, 7.7% have attended Touch for Health Synthesis Level 1,
15.4% for until Level 2, and 76.9% have attended all four levels.

Analysis of the statistics gathered from Touch for Health Instructors in

2018:
1) 100% of them thought Touch for Health Casework Workshop helped
them better understand Touch for Health Synthesis;
2) 100% of them thought Touch for Health Casework Workshop, if carried
out continuously, may help the development of Touch for Health in the long
run;
3) 87.50% of them thought, with proper training, they would like to become
an Instructor of the Touch for Health Casework Workshop.
Among these Instructors, 87.50% of them practice Touch for Health on
themselves and in their families regularly.
Analysis of the statistics gathered from Touch for Health students in 2018:
1) Among those who completed all 4 levels of Touch for Health Synthesis,
40% of them thought they would want to repeat the Touch for Health
Synthesis after taking the Touch for Health Casework Workshop. 30%
did not answer this question. 30% said they have not planned for it.
2) Among those who completed all 4 levels of Touch for Health Synthesis,
100% of them said they use Touch for Health on themselves and their
families.
3) Among those who have NOT attended or completed all 4 levels of
Touch for Health Synthesis, 66.60% of them thought they either want to
sign up for Touch for Health Synthesis or complete the Touch for Health
Synthesis Levels that they have not completed.
4) 100% of them said they would recommend Touch for Health Casework
workshop to their friends and family.

Among the TFH Instructor and students who responded:

1) 100% of them thought Touch for Health Casework Workshop allowed
them to be more confident in applying Touch for Health Synthesis in
their daily lives.
2) Average degree of satisfaction of the Touch for Health Casework
Workshop scored 9.76, 10 being the highest mark.
3) Degree of ease of use of the Touch for Health Casework manual scored
9.14, 10 being the highest mark.
4) 100% of them said they would recommend Touch for Health Casework
workshop to their friends and family.

Conclusion from the above statistics, comments from students and my

teaching experiences :
Touch for Health Casework Workshop:
• For new comers
– experience the power and depth of TFH in balancing for their
daily situations
• For those taken TFH Synthesis
 – All of the above
– Experience the power of TFH in a global way
– deepen their confidence on using TFH
– Motivated in using TFH in daily lives
• For TFH Instructors
– All of the above
– a step to becoming a IKC TFH Consultant
• For the instructor of TFH Casework Workshop
– All of the above
– To experience and communicate TFH as a balancing art

Conclusion and Vision

I believe that reviving the art and holistic way of Touch for Health balancing,
to teach Touch for Health to enhance performance and help people reach
their personal goals will bring FIRE to the development of Touch for Health
worldwide on a new level in the future! I invite interested Faculty of Touch
for Health to consider adopting this model of teaching for their country as a
compliment to the Synthesis, as an option for Touch for Health continuing
education, and an option for training Touch for Health consultant. I would
encourage Touch for Health students and Instructors to take this workshop
for the experience.

Last but not least, let us teach and share Touch for Health with LOVE, like
the founder John Thie did!

--- THE END ---

Amy’s Choi’s contact: info@brainbodycentre.com