The history of kinesiology

clouds, atmosphere, great

The history of kinesiology

Kinesiology provides you with a simple bio-feedback tool that allows you to find out what is causing any health issue and what you need to do to resolve it. A holistic kinesiologist is someone who is trained to be able to provide you with your own personalised bio-feedback analysis and plan.

The pioneers of kinesiology

Kinesiology is both a science and an art.  It involves direct interaction between the practitioner and the client, which means intuition and feelings are major considerations when it comes to getting a permanent resolution to physical problems.

R.W. Lovett: The first kinesiologist

The science of manual or physical muscle testing was first developed in the early 20th century by a Boston orthopaedic surgeon, R. W. Lovett. Lovett used his muscle testing to analyse disabilities resulting from polio and nerve damage. He applied muscle testing to trace spinal nerve damage because muscles that tested ‘weak’ often had a common spinal nerve. His was a purely physical approach, but it set the ball rolling for others to follow.

Dr George Goodheart: Chiropractor and Applied Kinesiology practitioner.

In the 1960’s. Dr George Goodheart, a Detroit-based chiropractor, took an interest in the work of Kendall and Kendall who had published a significant work on muscle testing.  He was a very keen observer and one of those rare people who are able to make extraordinary discoveries by looking at research from a different perspective and re-synthesising the information in a different way.

An interesting case history in holistic health

Dr. Goodheart had a client who had a problem with his shoulder blade. When this man pushed against a wall, his shoulder blade  would lift off his back and poke out.  Dr. Goodheart remembered reading in Kendall and Kendall’s book, that a lifted scapula related to a muscle called the anterior serratus, which holds the scapula close to the back. The protruding shoulder blade suggested the anterior serratus muscle was weakened.

After a busy day in his clinic, Goodheart set aside time to work on this client and as predicted found the anterior serratus was weak. He then began to firmly massage the beginnings (origins) and ends (insertions) of the muscle and in so doing found a series of hard little beads or muscle knots. As he worked more firmly, the knots disappeared.  He went along the muscle and pressed all the knots until they disappeared. Then he again had the man push against the wall. This time the shoulder blade was fine. Further, when the muscle was manually retested, it locked strongly.

Physical health changes

As Dr. Goodheart began to increasingly use muscle testing in his practice, he found some clients had specific muscles that would test weak when they had certain types of disease conditions.

For instance, he found the pectoralis major clavicular (PMC), the chest muscle that connects to the collar bone, would generally test weak in clients who complained of stomach ulcers. He would apply certain chiropractic manipulations for the treatment of ulcers and reassess the strength of the PMC muscles.  The change in muscle response was immediate and visible and the physical complaint often improved quickly.

New natural techniques discovered

Dr. Goodheart started looking for answers in other areas. His quest led him to the work of an early American osteopath, Frank Chapman, who had observed that many of the symptoms of disease had their origins in sluggish lymph flow. Lymph is the bodily fluid that carries nutrients to tissues and organs and carries toxins away. Sluggish lymph flow means that over time, tissues become more toxic and less functional.  Chapman published his findings in the 1930’s and called his work the Chapman Reflex Points.

The Chapman reflexes

Goodheart began to systematically investigate the relationship between Chapman Reflex Points and the muscle weaknesses he had found to be associated with the same disease conditions.  He established that rubbing the reflex point Chapman had assigned to a disease would often strengthen the muscle associated with the same pathology. In spite of the great success of his newly discovered origin / insertion technique and the application of Chapman Reflex Points, some conditions and their associated weakened muscles failed to respond.

Holistic medicine: The kinesiology connection

Goodheart kept looking. In the 1930’s another American chiropractor, Terence Bennett, had come up with his own model for restoring health based on proper blood flow. Like the lymph system, when blood flow becomes congested, tissues don’t get the right amount of oxygen and nutrition. Like Chapman, Bennett had worked out his own set of reflex points. Most were on the head and upper body with a few points below the waist and on the legs. Bennett found that applying light pressure to these points would stimulate increased blood flow to the associated tissues and organs.  Goodheart began to systematically investigate the relationships between Bennett Reflex Points and those muscles that would not strengthen with his other techniques; he was delighted to note that in most cases it constituted the missing link.

Applied kinesiology (Known as AK)

Working primarily with the Bennett Reflex Points on the head and upper chest, he was able to assign specific Bennett Reflex points to specific Muscle weaknesses.  This marked the beginning of the new science of Applied Kinesiology.

‘Energy healing’ discovered.

His research contained and included looking at the interaction between acupuncture meridians and muscles.  This was truly pioneering work, bringing Eastern concepts into the western world with a real demonstrable effect that led to a major break through in understanding about how the life-force energy flows through the human body.  Because the Chinese had named their meridians after the organ with which they were associated, Goodheart, in a flash of insight, realised the organ was the key in this relationship. When the organ system was stressed (dis-eased); the muscle may develop an imbalance (weakness); the Chapman Reflex Point may become tender; the Bennett Reflex Point may become active, and the associated meridian flow may be disturbed.

Dr John Thie: A revolutionary idea

Another member of the Goodheart team was chiropractor, Dr John Thie, who saw the synthesis of Western and Eastern knowledge as very exciting. It strengthened his belief that people should be able to take care of their own health, and that the West should change the foundation of its health system from crisis management to prevention.  He realised that if everyone could balance their own energy on a regular basis they would be able to maintain their own health more effectively. Dr.Thie took the basic techniques that had been worked out in Applied Kinesiology and developed a new system that he called Touch for Health.

Touch For Health.(TFH)

Despite huge resistance form the AK community, John Thie started to teach the basic principles of Touch for Health in workshops that could be taken over a couple of weekends by anyone.   Often his very simple system could produce profoundly positive health outcomes. From California, it quickly spread throughout the United States and from there to many other countries across the world. Now there are millions of people in over 50 countries who know about Touch for Health and who can practice it with great effect in the comfort of their own home.

Touch for Health made the basic principles of Applied Kinesiology available to ordinary people and became the foundation for the development of a wide range of new discoveries.  This is a testimony to John Thie’s fortitude in the face of great adversity and the world is a much better place because of it.

Dr Alan Beardall: Seeing what others could not see.

One of George Goodheart’s most brilliant protégés, Dr Alan Beardall, made several crucial discoveries that added additional tools to the developing field of kinesiology. As you delve into kinesiology you will come across certain concepts which we now take for granted.  But as a newby to this work they will seem as strange and far fetched as they must have done when first discovered.  Suffice it to say that Dr. Beardall’s hand modes and complementary technique of ‘pause lock’ are some of the most important tools used in modern kinesiology systems.  You will understand their significance as you delve into the fascinating world of energy healing, holistic health and kinesiology.

Dr Albert Abrams: Biomarkers

One of the more recent additions to the kinesiologist’s tool box is the introduction of BioMarkers. BioMarkers are test vials that have been specifically programmed with a range of frequencies that enable them to ‘mirror’ the frequency related to an organ, gland, hormone, neurotransmitter, amino acid, enzyme, toxin, allergen, etc. They are based on the concepts developed by Dr. Albert Abrams, professor of pathology and director of the medical clinic, Stanford University, California. In the early 1900s, Abrams found that when tapping certain areas of a patient’s abdomen, the percussion note changed according to their state of health. Abrams showed that this technique could identify a variety of ailments, including cancer and tuberculosis. Abrams subsequently demonstrated under test conditions, his ability to accurately detect various types and states of illness. Abrams called this procedure for detecting the body’s different dysfunctions through the frequencies emitted PhysicoClinical Medicine.

The use of BioMarkers, in conjunction with a manual muscle test, allows a logical and systematic approach to the investigation and assessment of the body’s biochemical and neurological functions plus a targeted approach to restoring any imbalances to good health. The BioMarkers used at Health Transitions have been produced and extensively researched by a London based kinesiologist called Trevor Gale. To assess their efficacy, a series of trials to compare the findings his Energetic Active BioMarkers with laboratory tests were conducted on the same subjects. This survey of over 400 candidates showed an average compliance of 98% in their results. Information taken from: “A Revolutionary Way of Thinking” by Dr. Charles Krebs

Conventional medicine can’t fix my problem

If this is you, then you’re joining a growing family of like minded people. Strange as it may seem this very issue has been the driver for quite a few of the most powerful kinesiology systems that have been developed.  People finding themselves unwell were driven to find different more holistic solutions to their health challenges. Lets take a look at a few:

PKP (Professional Kinesiology Practitioner)

This was the case for PKP and Dr Bruce Dewe.  Bruce was an exceptionally gifted medical doctor and surgeon, but he became unwell with what at the time was considered an incurable medical condition.  As he says himself, when he woke up with 10% of one lung working in an oxygen tent, he realised that if he didn’t do something different he was going to die.  The ‘something different’ for Bruce became PKP (Professional Kinesiology Practitioner). This form of kinesiology is undoubtedly the most comprehensive and all-encompassing kinesiology available today anywhere in the world. It is highly structured and easy to learn. You can start knowing nothing and over 4 years can become a highly trained professional with a full diploma. However  you can start helping people after just a few weeks training.

This is an example of how great good came out of great adversity. Every challenge can either defeat us or make us stronger. It depends on your attitude.

LEAP (Learning Enhanced Acupressure)

The same is true for the LEAP program developed by Dr Charles Krebs.

Charles is a marine biologist and a very experienced diver.  However on one occasion after a dive on the Great Barrier Reef he ended up with a nitrogen Benz bubble in his spine and was told that he would never walk again.  In fact he was told he would be paralysed and in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.  Charles however, like Bruce Dewe discovered Touch for Health and PKP and despite what the neurologists say, and they still say, it should be impossible for him to walk, Charles is walking.  His journey in kinesiology led him to develop a tremendous system for helping people with learning difficulties which he calls LEAP.  Charles has also trained many excellent practitioners around the world and it is possible to learn his system.

Applied Physiology (AP)

The list goes on and there are many worth mentioning but one in particular is Richard Utt.

Richard was an aeronautical engineer working for the US Air Force in Tucson Arizona when he became very sick with an inflammatory disease that no one could cure.   On his road to survival, Richard discovered some extraordinary new things about how kinesiology worked and he put this together in a program called Applied Physiology.  Amongst his discoveries was the reality that the human body operates in a holographic form and that many deep and buried traumas get locked into this hologram.  Richard found ways to access and release these traumas in a very profound and simple way.  Richard was also responsible for discovering the concept of formatting and the work he did on the human brain was instrumental in helping Charles Krebs and others to develop their systems.

Neuroenergentic Kinesiology

Hugo Tobar, who developed ‘Neuroenergetic’ kinesiology built a lot of his work on the discovery that Richard had made. His discoveries move holistic kinesiology to a new level of understanding of how the quantum field of healing works. Again his work is based on the discoveries of Richard Utt in Tucson and the amazing reality that the human body functions in a holographic way.  His material is highly structured and can be learned in a modular way..

What  can I do to help myself ?

This is a very valid question in the light of all the different types of kinesiology that are out there.  The answer thankfully is simple.  Start at the beginning with a 1 or 2 day course and see how you like it.  Because I started my training in the 1980’s, I myself have been privileged to train with many of the folks mentioned above. You will find details of courses on this website.