Acupuncture & TCM Articles
Applied Kinesiology
Author: Rod Smith
Applied Kinesiology is a complementary therapy which uses various forms of muscle testing to identify imbalances in the body's structural, chemical, emotional and spiritual energies. By using these tests, the therapist can establish the body's priority healing needs, and go on to evaluate the changes in energy flows that result from any therapeutic procedures applied.
The basic assumption behind Kinesiology is that the body has a natural innate capacity to heal itself, but that sometimes the assistance of the therapist is needed to bring this care into the body's reality. It follows that one of the principles of Kinesiology is that there are energy flows within the body at every level - cellular, tissue and organ level - as well as within the body as a whole organism. And while you're not consciously aware of these energy flows, the vast repository of knowledge in the subconscious mind contains information about every aspect of them. This is where muscle testing allows the therapist to diagnose imbalances in energy flow and then intervene with an appropriate remedial action.
You may realize that Kinesiology has close links with the concept of energy flow in Acupuncture. It's a treatment approach that taps into the energies that other therapies overlook. But Kinesiology is not just a therapy for correcting ailments. When a person's energy is in balance, they are closer to performing at their most balanced and nearer their higher potential. It can therefore bring you closer to achieving any goal: sport, relationships, academic work, or just life in general.
The reason that muscle testing works so well is that the musculature of the body is a natural feedback system which acts as a precision indicator with information supplied by the nerve pathways and energy meridians of the body. Muscle monitoring techniques are applied to identify and correct energy blockages within the body. The basic theory here, of course, is that physical, chemical, and mental imbalances are associated with a muscle inhibition which usually precedes an over-facilitation of an opposing muscle.
A therapist will test a client's muscles in many different positions, both before and after the treatment; this enables the therapist to assess the efficiency of the treatment. When the therapist has found the correct therapy, there will be an improvement in the inhibited muscle. In practice, muscle testing requires the specific isolation of a particular muscle. Next, the therapist asks the client to resist as the tester exerts downward force on the subject's arm. The amount of force exerted by the client gives the therapist a baseline for subsequent testing.
The therapist might then repeat the test with, say, a nutrient substance under the subject's tongue; if the next muscle test shows a weaker result, the assumption is that the substance is contra-indicated. Various hand positions can localize the symptoms even further. For example, to localize testing to the kidneys, the subject would place a hand over the kidneys. A strong arm muscle test suggests healthy kidneys, while a weak test suggests a problem. Some therapists simply ask the client to hold the therapeutic substance under investigation near a particular organ. Another approach is simply to hold a sealed container of the substance to be tested on a particular meridian and then perform the strength test.
The great advantage of Applied Kinesiology is that it's a non-invasive therapy which can quickly locate the right treatment for a client, regardless of whether the problem is emotional, physical or spiritual.
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