Over the past two weeks I have talked about the energy within the body. I have mentioned Tensegrity and how that concept is not only what holds the skeleton in place, but also promotes proper movement. No matter what or how you look at it, the brain is what needs to control all of the functionality of the body. 

The picture to the left depicts electrical energy. Look at the picture and notice within the sphere the energy is controlled but outside of the sphere there is an uncontrolled energy that surrounds the sphere. The human body is the sphere and has many components of uncontrolled energy that will try and offset the energy within. What I mean by this is that when there is a focused and proper balance within the body it is able to maintain control of the many functions it needs to perform. When balance is offset within the sphere the outside energy will pull the inward energy in many different directions.

The question you might have is how would this affect me? If you take a top and spin it, as long as there is positive momentum it will spin in a proper rotation. Once that positive momentum slows down or is altered in any manner the top falters and eventually falls and stops. The same is true of your body. An example of this would be, at a young age I wore orthodontia for almost two years. Well a lot of people wear braces on their teeth and are we all out of balance. The answer to this is no but I would be hard pressed to tell you just how many people I have traced chronic low back, hip and knee pain to individuals that wore braces and possibly were misfit. They accomplished what they set out to but in the long run there was a change to the internal posture. This change is often just enough to alter that positive momentum to allow internal trauma to occur. 

It is this positive momentum that Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® re-institutes so that outside forces have less of an opportunity to create turmoil.  When the body is in a positive internal Tensegrity, the balance of the body in the neurological, hormonal and musculo-skeletal systems are better able to handle outside changes to frequency. 

How does Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® develop this environment? The practitioner first watches for improprieties in movement. When the individual stands is there a splay to either foot? When standing does it look like there is hyper-extension to the knee joint? Remember the knee joint acts as a turnbuckle and if it does not perform correctly the ankle and hip will be dysfunctional. Does the spine rotate or is the rib cage forced to make that movement? Does the Massester or Temporalis muscle create mandibular movement? There are many store rooms for compensation, it is this compensation in movement that alters the frequency of the internal body, this allows the outside frequencies to create havoc within.

Next week we will delve deeper into the theory of Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh®, till then have a great week and enjoy Spring, because HOPE Springs eternally.

a Reason to HOPE!

Dennis Gibbons LMT

    Last week I talked about the term "aura" in reference to a 'glow' that surrounds us as an outward reflection of our inner well being. This "aura" in reality is an electro magnetic field that surrounds us. This is a typical aspect of electrical energy and is brought about in us by the neurological energy that flows through us at all times. Understanding that the brain is continuously processing information that allows us to function is very similar as the electrical energy that continues to run through our households even with the lights off. As  foreign energy enters our energy field the brain starts to process the information to determine what actions might need to be taken. So when the car on the freeway starts to get to close to you sense it, it is not a feeling. As the body senses this change it has many determinations to make and it processes at approximately a bit of information in 1/30000th of a second. It is this neural process that often protects us when we suffer even minor injuries that could have been much worse. 

    For many years I had a difficult time not only understanding but accepting this "energy" theory. It was an area that wasn't black and white and for a guy who just left the construction world it was somewhat over the edge. i believe the one reason was that many of the people who practiced "energy medicine" seemed to be almost to spiritual, not in a bad way but a different way. As I began to develop Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® I fully realized that in order for this to work I needed to tap into that same energy. The energy that Rudolph Nureyev talked about when he danced is the same energy that is emitted from the audience that he experienced. 

    What is this energy? The brain is a large electrical generator that produces the necessary impulses that allow us to live our daily lives. It truly controls all of our functions. How did this come to a realization when both developing and performing Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh®? The full epiphany came when the comparison of all the techniques were made. Whether it was Travell's Trigger Point theory, Neuro-Musclular Therapy, Cranio-Sacral, Positional Release or Strain/Counterstrain, Zero-balancing, Rolfing, Structural Integration, and all of the other theories. I had much success with all of them but what was lacking was active movement when the release was taking place. One commonality I noticed was that whenever one release took place I was able to track a compensatory move some where else in the body. I started studying Tensegrity and realized that the puppet strings that were applying the tension needed to adapt to the release taking place.

    This picture shows a wiring diagram used for an automobile. As you can see there are many relays built in to the system to provide safety, comfort and convenience, how ironic isn't that what the brain does! When the therapist creates an environment for a tissue to release the brain does the same thing, through a series of internal relays it provides a safe, comfortable and convenient environment so that person does not experience pain. In Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® the pattern of release is designed to accommodate all of these because it takes into consideration the movement. In order for the release process to take place the proper format of movement needs to be encountered.  Because of this encountering the therapist does not always follow a standard protocol and instead focus' on the abberration in the movement pattern that was interrupted and thus interfered with the Action Potential of the muscle. Remember a muscle fires in an All-or-nothing response unless it would create an uneven pull on the skeleton that would cause injury. As the brain detects potential injury it aborts movement in one muscle and completes movement oftentimes with another one. Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® addresses this issue as the unnatural pull is detected, positioned to allow a completion of movement, and more often than not removes many of the adaptive patterns that have developed.

This is all accomplished by the "energy" system of the body. The Percuneas part of the brain knows how the movement pattern should be and relays that information through the limbic system to the proper neural pathways from the motor part of the brain. This ensures that prior to the release of the muscle that is causing the problem, the other nerve impulses that needed to engage, disengage and allows the proper reversal to take place.

In September we will be beginning a class on the certification process of Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh®. This class will be 168 clock hours of instruction and hands on. For more information please contact Chagrin Valley Wellness Institute @ 216-364-0159 and we will be glad to take your name and number to keep you posted on the dates, times and cost.

We will continue this discussion next week, so until then have a Blessed week......

a Reason to HOPE!

Dennis Gibbons LMT