What on earth is Kinesiology and how in hell can it help me?
I started studying kinesiology in 2006. Funnily, in the years before that, I had dismissed kinesiology as a worthy modality, due to a haphazard explanation by a loved one. I had asked: What is kinesiology? The reply I was given was: You push the arm while scanning a chart of emotions and when the arm moves, you tap a point on the shoulder and tug the hair (as an example) – and you are cured. Hmmm, I thought.
Through a strange chain of events, I found myself depositing a large sum of money to start my beginner studies in Touch For Health, after a free seminar with Guy Bennett (Create Your Reality). Something called me, even though my logical mind thought – What on earth are you doing? A deeper part of me felt like I was coming home –a modality that can access the physical, emotional, mental & spiritual planes as well as a beautiful blend of western and eastern philosophies.
Through a strange chain of events, I found myself depositing a large sum of money to start my beginner studies in Touch For Health, after a free seminar with Guy Bennett (Create Your Reality). Something called me, even though my logical mind thought – What on earth are you doing? A deeper part of me felt like I was coming home –a modality that can access the physical, emotional, mental & spiritual planes as well as a beautiful blend of western and eastern philosophies.
Here’s a simplified yet clear explanation of kinesiology. It is a combination of muscle monitoring, accessing information & stress, and stress release techniques. It can be used for a whole range of issues, the sky is the limit.
Muscle monitoring
The key thing that connects all kinesiology modalities is the technique of muscle monitoring. There are many scientific explanations on the internet, however I intend to keep things simple. The purpose of muscle-monitoring (also known as muscle testing) is not to test for strength, but to act as a communication link.
Muscle monitoring works through a clear biofeedback between the muscle being monitored, the opposing partner muscle, spinal reflex arcs connected to both muscles and the brain. Asking the client to hold the arm or leg in place will show as a ‘lock’ when gentle pressure is applied --- if there is a clear biofeedback loop. Likewise, disruptions to the biofeedback loop (usually by a stressor) will show as an ‘unlock’ and the client will not be able to sustain the arm or leg in place when pressure is applied. This is the simplified explanation only.
There is a whole art to muscle monitoring, which like an acupuncturist checking the pulse, takes time, practice and intuition to master. There are different levels of muscle compensation (and recruitment of adjacent muscles) that a well-trained kinesiologist knows how to identify and overcome.
Muscle monitoring works through a clear biofeedback between the muscle being monitored, the opposing partner muscle, spinal reflex arcs connected to both muscles and the brain. Asking the client to hold the arm or leg in place will show as a ‘lock’ when gentle pressure is applied --- if there is a clear biofeedback loop. Likewise, disruptions to the biofeedback loop (usually by a stressor) will show as an ‘unlock’ and the client will not be able to sustain the arm or leg in place when pressure is applied. This is the simplified explanation only.
There is a whole art to muscle monitoring, which like an acupuncturist checking the pulse, takes time, practice and intuition to master. There are different levels of muscle compensation (and recruitment of adjacent muscles) that a well-trained kinesiologist knows how to identify and overcome.
Accessing information and stress
The ‘lock’ and ‘unlock’ response from a muscle (often incorrectly termed strong and weak) acts as a stressed/unstressed or yes/no reply. Kind of like a binary code in a computer system (0 and 1), this relays information back to the kinesiologist as well as the client. Monitoring the muscle in relation to a subject will relay back either a muscle lock or unlock response.
Kinesiologists like to speak in terms of stressed and non-stressed muscles, as these are neutral terms. Stress could be in relation to emotions, certain situations, attitudes, organs, brain centres or muscles (to name a few). The truth is everything affects everything, especially within our bodies. Why would you get tense neck and upper shoulder muscles when stressed, unless there is a connection?
Based on a premise of the body being like a hologram, all information contained in the whole are within the parts. This allows access to information about emotions and childhood trauma from particular organs or familial attitudes through your DNA or neurological switching of brain centres through your twisted hip. A well-trained kinesiologist will impart knowledge into the session while also letting the body guide where the stressors lie through use of charts and modalities.
Kinesiologists like to speak in terms of stressed and non-stressed muscles, as these are neutral terms. Stress could be in relation to emotions, certain situations, attitudes, organs, brain centres or muscles (to name a few). The truth is everything affects everything, especially within our bodies. Why would you get tense neck and upper shoulder muscles when stressed, unless there is a connection?
Based on a premise of the body being like a hologram, all information contained in the whole are within the parts. This allows access to information about emotions and childhood trauma from particular organs or familial attitudes through your DNA or neurological switching of brain centres through your twisted hip. A well-trained kinesiologist will impart knowledge into the session while also letting the body guide where the stressors lie through use of charts and modalities.
Stress release techniques
Kinesiologists are taught not to say that kinesiology cures disease. Instead, it is often termed as releasing stress from the client, so that the body may come back to its natural balance. Stress release relates to the premise of homeostasis – the body is always working to maintain a state of balance. In this state of balance, you remain your most effective. Debilitating stress is where your body has lost its ability to come back into balance. Hence, disease and pain.
Stress release techniques range from what the kinesiologists have learnt through their training and vary between practitioners. This could be working with chakras and other energetic systems, holding stress release points, structural corrections, visualisations and many (many) more.
Actually, it is the effectiveness of the kinesiologist to determine the priority techniques and maintain clear communication, especially with a confused body and client. Also, some stressors are worth dealing with and other worth letting go.
Stress release techniques range from what the kinesiologists have learnt through their training and vary between practitioners. This could be working with chakras and other energetic systems, holding stress release points, structural corrections, visualisations and many (many) more.
Actually, it is the effectiveness of the kinesiologist to determine the priority techniques and maintain clear communication, especially with a confused body and client. Also, some stressors are worth dealing with and other worth letting go.
A final word
Kinesiology is more than just a push of the arm and a tug of the hair, although that is probably what the client will experience in most kinesiology sessions. As a working kinesiologist for several years now, it is dismaying to have someone say in casual conversation (time and time again): ‘Oh yeah, that’s where you massage parts of the foot!’ I reply, ‘No, that’s reflexology.’
The truth is that the problem is not the public’s ignorance. Not at all. Kinesiology is not a very new modality anymore, with kinesiology starting in the 1960s and the technique of muscle monitoring developed in the 1930s/40s. However, it has been kept a secretive art that appears like a type of unexplainable voodoo, even with all the scientific explanations. Kinesiology has only recently (in the last decade or so) been structured into the Australian Qualification Frameworks of Cert. IV and Diploma.
The real problem is that kinesiologists don’t really know how it works – we understand the procedures and we’ve seen the results. Kinesiology is a paradox modality that combines scientific and esoteric understanding of the body and energy systems. There are explanations on how things work but most kinesiologists don’t really understand and in truth, don’t really care to understand. They just want to help people.
The irony is that most people are afraid to try something they don’t understand and they definitely don’t want to waste their resources on a modality that they are uncertain about. But with knowledge comes power. The truth is kinesiology can help you in ways you can't conceive and ultimately it is the power of your intention and will that will create that most lasting results.
The truth is that the problem is not the public’s ignorance. Not at all. Kinesiology is not a very new modality anymore, with kinesiology starting in the 1960s and the technique of muscle monitoring developed in the 1930s/40s. However, it has been kept a secretive art that appears like a type of unexplainable voodoo, even with all the scientific explanations. Kinesiology has only recently (in the last decade or so) been structured into the Australian Qualification Frameworks of Cert. IV and Diploma.
The real problem is that kinesiologists don’t really know how it works – we understand the procedures and we’ve seen the results. Kinesiology is a paradox modality that combines scientific and esoteric understanding of the body and energy systems. There are explanations on how things work but most kinesiologists don’t really understand and in truth, don’t really care to understand. They just want to help people.
The irony is that most people are afraid to try something they don’t understand and they definitely don’t want to waste their resources on a modality that they are uncertain about. But with knowledge comes power. The truth is kinesiology can help you in ways you can't conceive and ultimately it is the power of your intention and will that will create that most lasting results.
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