April 2002 Newsletter

Touch For Health

I have been practicing Touch For Health since 1991, incorporating  it into many of my massage sessions. When reading about colon hydrotherapy on the website you will find that I also perform Touch For Health and/or muscle balancing prior to the 1st, 5th, 9th and 12th colonic sessions. I started incorporating Touch For Health prior to the colonic sessions for several different reasons. The first being to help the whole person rather than a specific problem. Secondly, I felt helping the postural balance prior to the colonic session would allow for a better elimination during the session. Third, while doing Touch For Health there is a certain amount of emotional balancing that is taking place just by balancing the meridians as there are emotions that are tied to all of the meridians. For example the primary emotions tied to the Large Intestine meridian is that of letting go and self-worth. 

For those of you that are not familiar with Touch For Health or muscle balancing, I'll try to explain a little further.  (Much of the following comes from the Touch For Health manual written by John Thie, D.C.) 

Let's say you have a muscle that is in spasm, causing it to tighten up, causing pain and pulling the spine out of line.  I could massage you all day long and not strengthen or weaken a muscle. I can soften it, make it more pliable, get rid of knots and etc. But, what if the problem isn't really a tight muscle but in fact a weak muscle on the other side of the body? 

Here is an easy example to understand: Think of a kitchen door held in place by two springs, so it can swing either way. As long as the tension on both springs is equal, the system is in balance. If, however, one spring weakens, the opposing spring ties itself in knots taking up the slack. No amount of oiling the knotted spring will rebalance the system; you must replace (or strengthen) the weak spring. 

So it is with muscles in the human body. For each motion a muscle makes, there is a corresponding muscle which opposes that motion. When working on a client  that has a muscle in spasm I look to the opposing muscle which could be weak. 

Applied Kinesiology, the science of muscle activation, uses muscle testing techniques to determine the need for and effectiveness of treatment. We restore muscle balance, which is essential to good posture and health.

Using the muscle balancing technique, I test for specific muscle weakness and treat them. Please understand, that I am not just treating muscles. The body is all one thing, a coherent whole, with many different systems and functions. 

For example, some of the muscles are related to a specific organ system because they share the same lymph vessel or an acupuncture meridian.

When muscle balancing has improved the muscle by restoring the energy flow of these systems, this also gives relief to the organ which is sharing that system. I am not treating the organ as such, or the disease, or the symptom. I am helping the whole person.

Try to think of the body as a whole, all one piece. What happens in the head, or what goes in the mouth has an effect throughout the body. If there is a tight muscle in the hip, for instance, from a corresponding weakness on the opposite side, then that hip is favored because of the tension restricting  its motion. That puts a different strain on the foot, and with the foot in a different position, there will be strain on other sets of muscles. This is going to change the body's general posture, affecting the internal organs. That, in turn, restricts the nutrition to the organs and changes the excretions and hormonal functions. The chemical/psychological balance of the person is changed, and this affects the individual cells in the body. As the body and mind are affected, the person will think and feel differently, so he is going to assume still a different posture. 

Man is a structural, chemical, and psychological/spiritual being. The primary structure and the natural chemistry work together to influence the psychological, and vice versa. Man's problems can be segmented into different systems: structural, neurological,, lymphatic, vascular, cerebrospinal, nutritional/chemical, and meridian systems. A problem may exist in any part of an area, and disturbances in other systems may represent the body's efforts to compensate for the troubled system. 

Muscle Testing

To balance the musculature most effectively, we first have to find the weaknesses which exist in relation to the symptoms and postures at hand. Muscle testing is the first and last judge of the muscle balancing techniques. These techniques of muscle testing create a whole body awareness in the person.

The testing positions are intended to isolate the muscle from the group that it normally works with. Since the muscle is being isolated, it is at a disadvantage. Muscles don't normally work singly, so one by itself is not going to be as strong as if if were used in the usual way. For this reason, it is important that we test only the first couple of inches of the range of the muscle action, applying pressure gradually and releasing gradually. The muscle will either be strong in the first part of the test, or it will give way completely and swing easily through a larger span of the area. 

Muscle Tone And Energy Flow

Muscle performance amounts to the contraction of muscle fibers, drawing together at the center. The origin of the muscle, usually spread out along the bone, pulls against the insertion of that muscle where it attaches to another muscle or bone. The body is in a steady state of contraction which holds its posture and maintains a certain firmness. This is called muscle tone. Movement is essentially the unbalancing of tone. When one muscle is contracting to move, the opposing muscle must let go, until it is time to return to the original position. Then the process is reversed, with the muscle having to relax in order for the second to contract and work. This is the normal way our bodies work. 

In order for the muscles to perform in this way all the energies from all the systems in the body which affect that muscle must be able to flow freely. If, for any reason, this energy is cut off or turned off, then the muscle weakens. That is, it fails to respond to the message to contract, and we say it is weak. With this application of kinesiology, we restore the energy flow with the reflexes of the different systems. These reflexes act like electrical switches in turning on or off the energies to the muscles.

What Is A Meridian?

Acupressure vessels, or meridians, are located throughout the body. They are the pathways of the positive and negative energy power which carries on some of the communication between the parts of human beings. These meridians have been measured and mapped by modern technological methods; electronically, thematically, and radioactively. There are specific acupuncture points along the meridians. These points are electro-magnetic in character and consist of small palpable spots which can be located by hand, with micro-electrical voltage meters and with muscle testing, when they are abnormally functioning. These points are connections between the positive and negative meridians and functions of the body, including the internal organs and muscles. 

The meridians have been named by the life function with which they seem to be associated. In most cases, this name is similar to the name of a gross organ we're familiar with, yet muscle indication of energy power blockage does not mean there's damage to the organ named. We cannot say that a weak muscle means a weak organ, we can only note that a portion of the meridian energy power flow indicates blockage or constriction.

The traditional Chinese physician can detect imbalances in the meridians by feeling the pulses, but this is a sensitive touch, and it may take 10-20 years to develop proficiency. Touch For Health uses muscle testing to detect some of these same imbalances, taking advantage of the body's intelligently designed mechanisms to let us discover what is going on inside from the outside.

Meridians are classified yin or yang on the basis of the direction in which they flow on the surface of the body. Yang energy flows from the sun, and yang meridians run from the fingers to the face or from the face to the feet. Yin energy, from the earth, flows from the feet to the torso, and from the torso along the inside (yinside) of the arms to the fingertips.

The meridian flow is actually one continuous unbroken flow, flowing in one definite direction and from one meridian to another in a well determined order. When this energy flow is unrestricted, the body harmonizes the flow to optimize body functioning. Sometimes the life we lead and the abuses we heap upon our bodies cause stress, and sometimes the stress is so intense or so constant that, in effect, it "overloads" the circuit. The "circuit breaker" pops, and needs to be reset before energy can flow properly. Our indication of whether this has occurred is the muscle test. If a muscle tests weak, we know we have to go to certain spots on the body and press or hold to reset the body and restore the proper flow. This restoration of flow is immediately indicated by a strengthening of the muscle.

Muscle Balancing

In Touch For Health, we use muscle testing to find out how well energy is flowing with the body. A muscle which tests weak indicates some blockage or constriction in the energy flow. The process we use to unblock the energy and restore balance to the system is called balancing. There is no such thing as a Touch For Health treatment. Instead, no matter what the person has in the way of symptoms, we balance the body energies, and strengthen all of the weak muscles we find; this brings the posture into better balance.

Touch For Health does not cure or heal anything. In fact, no "healer" ever heals--it is the body itself which performs the healing process. Each cell contains the complete blueprint for constructing an entire body; in fact, all of the cells in our bodies (except those in the central nervous system) are replaced at least every seven years. Some authorities now believe that all elements are replaced every nine months, and many cells are replaced much more quickly than that--cells of the intestinal tract live only 36 hours. Nothing is beyond the power of the body's own healing process. Our understanding is not great enough to know why or even precisely how this process works, so what we do is balance the energy flow and the posture, putting the body in the best possible state from which to heal itself.

There are fourteen major meridians. The simplest Touch For Health balancing involves checking one muscle associated with each of these fourteen meridians. 

Strengthening Techniques

Incidentally, I have never muscle tested anyone that did not have at least one weak muscle/meridian. 

I hope this newsletter gives all a better understanding of how Touch For Health can be used to help with postural balance and energy flow. 

 Does bringing the body into better balance make since?  Can you see how if the body is in better balance, the energy flow is greater? Can you see how better posture and energy flow can help the internal organs as well? Does it make since that when the posture and energy flow is better this puts the body in a better position to heal itself?  Wouldn't it be nice if you could bring your posture into better balance and open up your energy pathways every single day?  

Always Experimenting

Many of you that know me, know that I am constantly experimenting with different techniques, modifying the techniques I already use, going to workshops to learn a new technique or developing techniques of my own. For the past month I have been experimenting with the muscle testing techniques and essential oils, in particular a blend called "Valor". 

Obligatory Disclaimer: I do not have any kind of equipment to accurately measure that a muscle tested weak and then had been strengthened and the energy flow restored. I do not know of any Touch For Health practitioner that has this kind of equipment. Most of the Touch For Health experiments were observed by my assistant Abby Hamilton, who took notes as to what muscles tested weak and then strengthened either from manual muscle balancing and/or the use of Valor.  However, due to the lack of scientific measuring devices I cannot scientifically document my findings. My findings are based on my 11 years of using Touch For Health techniques, the observance by Abby and client feedback. 

Phase One Of My Experiment

I first started muscle testing only massage clients that were receiving the  Raindrop Therapy Technique. I  muscle tested them before the application of the 9 essential oils used in this technique. When I found a weak muscle or meridian I did not strengthen it, I simply noted that particular meridian and went on with the muscle testing. Everyone had at least 3-4 meridians that tested weak, one client had 8 weak indicator muscles. I would then apply the 9 oils used in the Raindrop Technique and continue with the session. After the session I retested them. I did this after the session to allow time for the oils to be absorbed into every cell in the body. When I retested these clients all of the muscles were strong. 

Note: Several clients have purchased the RDT kit to use at home and  would also bring them in for me to apply during their session (at no charge). When I did the muscle test I was finding that none of them were using the oils on a daily basis. These clients were surprised to see and feel the results of the muscle test and assured me they would start using the oils faithfully.

Because not all of my clients receive the Raindrop Technique I wasn't collecting data as quickly as I wanted so I decided to modify my test by just using the most important oil used in the RD technique, "Valor". In my mind I could justify only using one oil of the RD technique on all of my clients and not charging them. (I charge an additional $20 for all of the oils used in the RDT). 

Phase Two

I muscle tested clients first and again did not balance them. I applied Valor to the soles of their clients feet and along the inside edge of their feet. (When it comes to foot reflexology the inside edge of the foot is the spine.) I would then cup the heels of their feet in my hands and hold for several minutes. I then applied Valor to my hands and held their shoulders lightly for a few minutes. This is actually the first part of the RDT technique, but the spots held are also part of the Bladder meridian which flows from the top of the eyes over the head down the back, legs and along the outside of the foot to the little toe. 

Since I was only using Valor I also started muscle testing my colonic clients prior to every session. I would then apply Valor as explained above. 

To my astonishment and my clients I got the same results. Muscles that tested weak prior to the application of Valor tested strong afterwards and I didn't have to do the muscle balance.  

Phase Three

Time to find out just how quickly Valor works. I started muscle testing all my clients but again did not muscle balance them. I would then apply Valor as explained above and then re-test immediately after applying Valor to the feet and shoulders. With the exception of one client that muscles were still a little "mushy" all other clients muscles tested strong. 

By this time clients that had purchased the RDT kit for home use were returning for another session. When I muscle tested them, the ones that were using the RDT faithfully all tested strong. In all of my years of doing Touch For Health this was the first time I have ever muscle tested when not one single muscle tested weak. I explained to these clients the results of my testing and that they only needed to use Valor, if they so desired. This way they could save the other oils for other uses or other times when they wanted or needed a RDT from their spouse/friend. The clients that did not use the oils faithfully, did not test strong. I then demonstrated how Valor works alone, emphasizing how little time it takes to apply Valor. 

I could not be upset with the clients that did not use RDT on a regular basis, as I wasn't either until I started doing the muscle testing experiment. Sometimes we in the alternative health care field get so involved with helping our clients we forget that what we do for them also works on ourselves. I knew  my body was absorbing the oils when I applied them to clients and I was getting benefit as well. However, it was not until  I started experimenting with the muscle testing that I too was using the oils on a daily basis. Prior to the experiment there were days when I might do 2-3 RDT sessions but then go a few days and do none at all. 

Additional Testing

David Hulse, a massage client was in for a massage on 3/21/02. David is a minister and the developer of the Solfeggio Scale Tuning Forks. I have used Touch For Health techniques on David many times in the past so he was quite familiar with muscle testing. However, this time I did not manually balance the muscles, instead I used Valor. David was quite impressed and invited me to demonstrate my findings at his SomaEnergetics workshop being held 3/24/02. I attended his first SomaEnertgetics workshop in February of this year and have incorporated the oils and tuning forks into many of my sessions. Both David and myself felt the oils and the tuning forks would complement each other.

There were 7 people in attendance for this workshop in addition to David. None of the attendees were familiar with Touch For Health and only one had any practical experience with essential oils. I picked the only man in attendance as guinea pig and asked for 2  volunteers. I  demonstrated my findings in the following manner:

First Volunteer: I massaged a couple of drops of Valor on the inside edge of both feet and the shoulders of this volunteer. I did not muscle test her beforehand.

Second Volunteer: I choose the man for this demonstration as I didn't want the women in attendance thinking their muscles tested weak simply because I overpowered them. The really interesting thing about Touch For Health is that it does not matter how big and strong you are, if the energy is not flowing to a particular muscle it will test weak. I love testing a big man, you can see them thinking...I don't have any weak muscles.... then when a muscle tests weak their eyes bulge out of their head and they say "How'd you do that?"  On this man I demonstrated muscle testing, when I found a weak muscle/meridian (he had 4 weak) I manually balanced it. Quite typically, everyone was surprised at how by massaging a couple of points on the body this would strengthen the muscle.

Third Volunteer: With this volunteer I muscle tested her but did not use Touch For Health techniques to balance her. This volunteer had eight muscles that tested weak. I then applied Valor to her feet and shoulders and retested. All muscles tested strong with the exception of one, this one tested stronger but was "mushy". Incidentally, when doing muscle testing if the muscle tests strong, yet there is pain during the test this counts as a weakness. This volunteer had one muscle that was strong yet the test hurt. When it was retested after the application of Valor the test was no longer painful. 

Back to the First Volunteer: Before she got on the massage table for the testing she said she needed to explain what she experienced when I placed Valor on her feet and shoulders. To begin with she explained she has not been able to work full time for several years because of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I have to admit when I heard her say that, I thought oh boy I may of picked the wrong person for this portion of my demonstration. At any rate she said she felt a sudden surge of strength flow through her body when Valor was applied. I was pleasantly surprised myself when I muscle tested her and not one single muscle tested weak. Incidentally, David was out of the room and did not know that I had placed the oils on this volunteer beforehand. While I was doing the muscle testing David made the comment "she is really strong" the other attendees all chimed in "Valor was put on her first".

For additional information about a SomaEnergetics workshop or the Solfeggio Scale tuning forks please visit: www.lightwithin.com/somaenergetics.asp

Valor-"Chiropractor In A Bottle"

VALOR - used to balance. Valor works on both physical and emotional levels, supporting the electrical and energy alignment of the body. The key to using this blend of oils is patience. Once the frequencies begin to balance in these areas, a structural alignment can then occur.

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