Specialized Kinesiology: Let Your Body Heal You

Specialized kinesiology is a very powerful alternative therapy. At the core of this therapy is the fact that the human body has an innate ability to heal itself – but it is not always able to access this ability. As such, the main aim of Specialized Kinesiology is to facilitate the body in healing itself. Specialized Kinesiologists don’t treat clients; they enable their bodies to heal themselves.

In Specialized Kinesiology one talks of “stressors”. These are external events that have an impact on the functioning of the body. They could be an emotional stressors (for example, a divorce) or a physical stressors (for example, falling down the stairs). Typically the human body should be able to cope with all stressors. In other words, it should be able to heal itself. Just think of when you cut your finger. Immediately your body responds to prevent the bleeding and heal the wound. In the case of an emotional stress, a person should be able to remain calm and clear of thought. This is the case when the body is functioning optimally. When they system is in this state, it is said to be “in balance”.

However, more often than not, the body is “out of balance”. It is then that it is unable to deal with external stressors effectively. The result is that it cannot heal itself properly and a person’s health is affected. Specialized Kinesiology is about bringing the body back into balance so that it can access that innate healing ability.

Holistic therapies such as Specialized Kinesiology consider the body and mind as a whole because they are inherently connected. To treat one is to treat the other. Also, in Specialized Kinesiology, the aim is to treat the cause and not the symptoms. By finding and resolving the underlying cause, the symptoms will dissolve of their own accord. The following example shows the mind-body connection as well as the importance of treating the cause.

If a person’s system is out of balance it is unable to access its innate healing ability; therefore, when it experiences a stress, it will start to compensate in order to relieve the effects. A person kicks a ball and hurts their leg. They will then start to compensate for the pain and put more weight on their other leg. In doing so, there will be greater strain on all of the muscles in the other leg and foot, resulting in a change in posture. This leads to locked joints and pinched blood vessels which will restrict the flow of blood, thus affecting the supply of nutrients to organs and altering the production of hormones. As a result, the person’s chemical balance changes which affects the individual cells in their body. As they start to feel and think differently they will assume yet another posture and there will be one more tight area, another pain, another cycle and so on.

In the end a person could present with back pain when the problem in fact lies with the leg. Or they could be complaining about their emotional state, when pain is in fact the cause. If the back pain or the depression is treated in isolation, it will never be resolved. The issues with the leg are what need addressing.

The interconnectedness of the body systems is achieved by means of the nervous system, which is like a mass of electric circuits. Nerve impulses are continuously being sent from all areas of the body to the brain which then brings about responses based on these messages, for example, movement or release of a hormone etc. As with any energetic circuitry, there can be crossed wires, block pathways and disconnections; this is where the imbalances are. The neural communication network of the body needs to be accessed in order to work on these areas. This is achieved through the use of muscles as they are an integral part of the system and are constantly firing signals to the brain.

So, by testing neural circuitry in the muscles, the overall condition of the body can be determined.

In Specialized Kinesiology, muscles are used as feedback mechanisms from the body. The way this feedback is obtained is by “testing” or “monitoring” a muscle. It is important to note that Specialized Kinesiology is not muscle testing; muscle testing is merely a tool that is used to communicate with the body.

By “testing a muscle” one is looking for a response in the muscle. A response is merely a muscle reaction. There are two potential responses that a muscle can give: it can “lock”- which means that it remains steady and in its original state of contraction - or it can “unlock” - which means that it relaxes and moves.

Body neural circuitry should stay the same no matter what, in other words, no matter what stressors are introduced. If a stressor is applied to the body (for example, a person is given a fright), there should be no reaction in the muscles. A response or change in the muscle reaction will indicate that the body is experiencing some sort of stressor

Muscle testing is simple. It involves placing a limb in a position where the muscle being tested needs to work and checking if it can perform its function adequately. “Checking” involves applying light pressure to the limb – no equipment is involved. The muscle should be able to keep the limb in a steady, locked position; however, if it cannot do that, it is an indication of a problem area.

The muscle requires energy flow from the body systems in order to perform its function and clearly there is a problem with the circuitry.

It may seem as if finding the cause is akin to trying to find a needle in a haystack – especially if the original cause is not obvious – however, this is where the power of Specialized Kinesiology lies.

Through a set procedure, each area of the body is challenged in order to accurately pinpoint the underlying cause. Then, that is what is worked on.

As can be seen above, muscle testing is not a therapy, it is a tool. It is used to find the problem areas and then various techniques are applied in order to enable the body to heal itself, in other words, techniques to bring the body back into balance so that it can access its own ability to heal itself. The techniques do not “fix” the problem; the aim of the therapy is restore the body’s connection to its innate healing ability.

Once the problem areas have been identified, they need to be addressed. This is done by determining what is required to get the muscles to start functioning properly again. Muscle testing is again used to identify the techniques that must be used to restore balance. There are numerous techniques that can be employed. To list a few:

• Improving lymph flow
• Working with muscles – massage and other techniques
• Specific nutrition
• Breathing
• Body movement
• Acupressure points
• Eastern and Western methodologies
• Stress relief techniques
• And much more

The procedure aims to clear the problems or blockages in circuitry, neurology, energy flow so that the body is balanced and not compensating. The body is restored to a state where it can function and respond appropriately, as well as access its ability to help itself.

As a result problems or difficulties can be eliminated and health restored.

Specialized Kinesiology is a modality which can be used for any aspect of health and wellbeing (physical, mental and emotional) – whether there is a specific problem or simply room for improvement. These are a few typical symptoms that clients present:

• Aches and pains – joints, muscles, injuries, tension
• Recurring infections
• Hormonal imbalances
• Digestive problems
• Allergies
• Impaired focus / concentration
• Poor sleeping habits
• Fatigue
• Stress
• Difficulties moving forward in life or achieving goals
• Need for self-development and growth
• Maintaining good health and wellbeing

Anyone at any stage of their lives can benefit from regular Specialized Kinesiology sessions.

A Specialized Kinesiology session involves the monitoring of numerous muscles (as described above); the use of various techniques (also as mentioned above) to restore balance; and the identification of means of maintaining the balance that has been achieved during the session. (These could be related to nutrition, lifestyle, specific exercises or tasks etc.)

The aim is to change inappropriate patterns of compensation that have been established. Often these ways of responding have been active for many years – and reinforced continuously, day-in and day-out. Most times the patterns were developing long before any problems became evident. A person often compensates when there is an issue without even realizing it. That is why Specialized Kinesiology as a modality is important for maintaining balance and preventing serious problems. It’s here to keep people healthy.

Even if a person doesn’t appear to have any health problems currently, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t one in the making.

Do you have any questions on Specialized Kinesiology?

I have studied and practiced Specialized Kinesiology and welcome any questions that you may have on this wonderful therapy. Please leave a note in the comment section or send me a message if there is anything you wish to know.

Kind regards, Juliet

Image credit: Tiago Ribeirio