![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/socast-superdesk/media/20210324180344/605b88df023d16666156faebjpeg.jpg)
The power of touch: Boutique stretching thrives amid COVID
CENTERVILLE, Ohio — Pandemic-weary Americans starved for human interaction and physical touch are taking advantage of a growing wellness option once reserved for Hollywood actors, rock stars and elite athletes: boutique stretching.
“It’s like a workout, but you feel way more flexible,” a masked Kelly O’Neal, 51, said as her leg was being pulled across her body during a recent session at a newly opened StretchLab studio in Centerville. “I get plenty done after I get done here because you just feel like you’ve warmed up really well.” She said her legs and feet ache after her shift at a grocery store in southwest Ohio — often plus overtime because of COVID-19 demands.
Others cite some intangibles offered by assisted stretching during the coronavirus.
“It’s really nice to be touched. It is,” said Laura Collins, 39, who visits a StretchLab near her home in White Plains, New York, twice a week. “We’re being deprived of social interaction, we’re being deprived of hugs and people who are familiar, and … it’s just so comfortable being there.”