An engineer’s perspective on muscle testing and Touch for Health

This testimony traces the professional journey of a life science engineer who became a Touch for Health (TFH) kinesiology practitioner and instructor. The author reflects on her initial academic training and early career in industry, marked by a progressive loss of meaning and chronic pain, which led her to explore a range of conventional and complementary approaches before beginning kinesiology training in 2007. There she discovered a heterogeneous set of practices, most of which relied on a form of muscle testing she experienced as unsettling, at times even intrusive, and which she gradually began to question. She carefully evaluated her options and chose to devote herself exclusively to Touch for Health, the foundational branch of kinesiology, built on a targeted use of muscle testing based on correspondences with the meridians of Chinese medicine and informed by the principles of Carl Rogers’ “person-centered approach.” Her subsequent meeting and collaboration with Matthew Thie, son of the founder of TFH, confirmed the relevance of this orientation and paved the way for a more streamlined, reliable, and respectful way of practicing. The author highlights the simplicity, safety, and effectiveness of the TFH model, including for individuals without medical training, particularly in supporting the regulation of stress and pain. She concludes by affirming her commitment to preserving the integrity of this method and to fostering a more responsible and ethically grounded form of kinesiology.