How to Listen to Your Body for Optimum Health

Photo by Miguel Salgado on Unsplash

The first time I was introduced to muscle testing was when I was 21 years old. I had gone to see a chiropractor on the recommendation of my boss. The chiropractor had me hold out my arm and would tell me to “hold”. Then he would test the strength of my limb by gently pushing on it. At the time, I didn’t really know what he was doing, but it felt like my body was communicating with the doctor and telling him where to focus his efforts.

A few years later when I met an herbalist and her son, they used muscle testing also, but this time they used their fingers, checking the information from the client’s body and double-checking by using each other to pull one another’s fingers apart to confirm answers.

Watching this I had an “ah-ha” moment and realized this was the same thing that the chiropractor was doing, just on a different muscle. I was amazed, but also this felt very natural to me — why wouldn’t we use this to find out what each body does and does not need?

What is muscle testing?

Muscle testing is also referred to as Applied Kinesiology, Behavior Kinesiology Muscle Response Testing, Muscle Checking, or Energy Testing. Many chiropractors use it to find which parts of the body need adjustment and to check if an adjustment has been successfully made. They use it combined with elaborate knowledge of the body’s systems.

If one touches certain key points of the body and at the same time tests if a certain muscle is weak or strong, that can indicate if that key point needs correction or not. The interesting thing is that muscle testing works just as well on mental or emotional issues as on physical body parts.

Basically, one can put one’s attention on something and then test for a weak or strong response. Increasingly, many other professions are using muscle testing, including dentists, osteopaths, massage therapists, and more. The reason for this is not surprising because the body is not as much of a liar as is the conscious mind. It is much more likely to give an honest assessment of what is going on.

Real answers

The body will give answers to things that are submerged and unknown to the conscious processes, and it will give answers without being biased by wishful thinking or social maneuvering.

Any muscle can be used for the test. Most commonly used is the big deltoid muscles or the arms. The client stretches one arm straight out in front of themselves, or straight out to the side. The practitioner instructs the client to resist and then presses down on the arm. The practitioner then notices if the arm holds up to being pressed down, or if it gives in and becomes weak. There is a certain knack to sensing it, but once one has got it, it is a very finite sign.

Muscle testing is NOT to tell the future, it isn’t fortune-telling and I have yet to find a practitioner who can use muscle testing exclusively to tell if someone is pregnant or what gender the child is. The body doesn’t see these conditions as “dis-ease” so why would it tell us?

How did all this get started? Muscle Testing began in 1964 by a chiropractor George J. Goodheart, Jr. He had amazing powers of observation and the discoveries he made are what most practitioners apply today when using this amazing technique.

Books/References

If you want to learn more about muscle testing, you can find a wealth of information on the Internet as well as close to 100 books and videos on the subject. Many of the books discuss not just the main issue of muscle testing but also using indicator muscles or points to “check” for the client.

Each is different, but the main point is intention. The practitioner must have their heart in the right place to help the client with proper intention to find the problem effectively. If you shoot me an email, I can send you a list of muscle testing books.

When I first started muscle testing it very was challenging to trust the information I was getting. Like anything you do daily, it becomes part of you, and it is definitely part of me. I muscle test everything, food before I purchase or eat it, clothes before I purchase or wear them, and of course, supplements before I purchase or take them.

Like many of my practitioner colleagues, I have been muscle testing for over 30 years and after muscle testing for several years, many people begin to feel the answer before even checking it physically via muscle testing. It is possible to see or feel the energy, like when you stand in the grocery line and can feel someone behind you even though you can’t hear or see them.

Then when doing the actual physical testing, it acts as a “second opinion” and confirms or not what we consider as practitioners.

Anyone can muscle test and I have taught many people in classes that I offer with a local chiropractor to give our experiences, learnings, and helpful tips. I taught one of my customers and she taught her kids how to do it.

Then when they went shopping with her, she told them anything they muscle tested strong on in the store, they could have. This prevented them from purchasing any junk food in the store.

How to do it yourself

To Muscle Test something for yourself do the following:

Stand with your feet flat on the floor facing directly forward. Make sure you are standing on a level surface, NOT a sloping one like a garage floor. You want to make sure that your toes are not pointed in or out but pointing straight ahead.

Your shoulders should be directly over your feet. Then you want to gently bend your knees — this is to prevent you from locking your knees and passing out.

Next, hold an object that you know is good for you, like an organic apple or celery, in your hand, and place it on your chest. You may close your eyes if you like. You may also need to remove your glasses, watches, or any other items that may be affecting your energy. If the item is truly good for you, your body should gently bend forward.

Next, do the same test, feet in the correct place with an item you know is bad for you, like a bottle of Clorox, or a snickers bar! Your body should gently bend backward. The point of this exercise is to start to feel the difference between the two so that when you start testing things that you don’t know about to truly learn the result.

Everyone feels things differently. Once you start to get in touch with your body, you can feel/hear these messages to help you reach your health goals.

If your body gives you the opposite answer on this first test, you may need to visit a chiropractor as your polarity may be off, or you may be deficient in minerals, enzymes, or other basic nutrients which is affecting the reading you are getting. If you don’t move at all, then the product may be neutral for your body — meaning it isn’t good or bad. Adding a bottle of enzymes to a neutral product may give you a more precise answer.

There is a lot more to learn about muscle testing. I encourage you to learn more about your body and what it needs by trying muscle testing yourself. Once you start you may find you get a lot of useful information from your body to help you make better health choices for yourself.

About the Author

Kasara is educated as a Mental Health Therapist, Master Herbalist, Traditional Naturopath and Energy Worker with over 35 years of helping thousands of clients find alternative health options that work. She writes articles on Medium, and on her website http://truhealth.com. You may subscribe to her Medium account or her newsletter to stay connected.