BODY STRESS RELEASE assists the body in its in-built ability to maintain and heal itself. It is a gentle procedure, in which areas of body stress are located, using the body as a biofeedback mechanism. Light, precise stimulation encourages the body to release stored tensions, which usually manifest as backache, headaches, postural distortions or fatigue.

STRESS AND HEALTH

We are constantly subjected to various forms of stress in our daily lives. A certain amount is necessary, to provide us with challenges, and to stimulate us to strive for survival and progress. For example, a mind that is not challenged by problems to be solved becomes bored and stagnates; to maintain and strengthen muscles, they must be provided with the mechanical stress of exercise.

The body is designed to be self-healing. It has mechanisms that constantly monitor every function that is taking place, and is continuously adapting to both external influences and stresses, and to internal changes and stresses.

Health may be defined as: The body's ability to constructively deal with all the stresses to which it is subjected. In this way it is constantly repairing itself, and maintaining its optimum level of efficient functioning.

Certain stress factors will cause a temporary reduction of the body's efficiency, or health, eg. A strained muscle will be stiff and painful for a few days; then it will return to its normal condition.

The body is capable of healing wounds and fractures, counteracting harmful chemicals, adapting to sudden changes in temperature, etc.

STRESS OVERLOAD

Stress becomes a negative, destructive factor in life when it goes beyond the individual's ability to adapt to it. When the point of stress overload is reached, instead of the stress being released from the body, it becomes stored within the body as "body stress". As we differ in our emotional and physical makeup, we have varying degrees of susceptibility to stress overload.

THE CAUSES OF BODY STRESS

Emotional/Mental Stress Factors

These include fear of the future, financial worries, competition in the work-place, disintegrating family relationships. At times we experience sudden violent emotions, such as anger or shock, or we undergo milder but ongoing forms of mental strain, eg. anxiety, depression and resentment. We may become aware of the physical effect of emotional pressures, as the diaphragm, jaw, neck and shoulders tighten in a defensive posture, to armour the body against the onslaught of life's stresses.

Mechanical Stress Factors

The body is designed to withstand a certain amount of physical force – bumps, jerks and falls, but if the mechanical stress goes beyond the body's limit of adaptability, the effects may become stored as body stress. The causes may be sudden and violent, such as a car accident, a severe fall, or lifting a heavy object incorrectly. Or, there may be a gradual accumulation of milder mechanical stress, eg. habitually sitting incorrectly, or doing inappropriate exercises.

Chemical Stress Factors

The sources of chemical stress include pollutants in the air, insecticides and certain food additives and preservatives. Harmful chemicals may be consumed, inhaled, or even absorbed when contacting the skin.

THE EFFECTS OF BODY STRESS
When the point of stress overload is reached, the stress becomes "locked" into the body and manifests as lines of tension.

The body adopts a protective mode of action by means of automatic reflexes, causing adjacent and overlying muscles to splint the area.

It appears that this action has a dampening effect on the nervous system, causing the brain's filtering mechanism to ignore the areas of body stress, thereby reducing the efficiency of its functioning. This may in time lead to degeneration and disease.

Furthermore, when the body is required to take greater defensive action, stiffness may become noticeable, ultimately leading to postural distortion. It may also lead to loss of flexibility, pain or numbness.

A person with body stress may also feel tense, tired, and lacking in energy and enthusiasm for life. Body stress in the neck may result in headaches, dizziness, vision impairment, shoulder pain or "pins and needles" in the hands. Body stress causing compression in the lower back may lead to pain between the shoulder blades, leg pain and foot cramps and indigestion. Babies who cry constantly for no apparent reason, toddlers with so-called growing pains, children who cannot concentrate: in all such instances body stress is likely to be present.

It is also possible for the body stress to be present without the individual feeling any pain or stiffness – he or she will simply come to accept as normal their sense of having less than 100% well-being.

While the stress or tension remains stored in the body, the normal tone of the body is disturbed, causing a reduction in its general efficiency. As its defence mechanisms become weakened, the body becomes less and less able to deal with further stresses to which it is subjected daily. In this way the individual moves increasingly further away from the optimum state of health.

THE BODY STRESS RELEASE TECHNIQUE

This technique is designed to help the body release its stored tensions.

With the person fully clothed and lying down, the practitioner carries out a series of tests to locate the exact sites of body stress, and determine the precise directions in which the lines of tension exist. This is done by applying light pressure to various points on the body, and observing the response. In this way, the body acts as a biofeedback mechanism, supplying the information required.

The practitioner then applies stimuli, by means of light but definite pressure,in the exact directions necessary to encourage the body to release the stored tension.

If the body stress has occurred recently, the process of releasing it is usually very rapid. However, if the stress has been stored for a long time, the stress releases may have to be carried out a number of times, over a period. This is because the tight, protective layers of the muscles tend to relax by degrees back to their normal tone.

Because Body Stress Release works with the body's natural striving to be stress-free, it is a gentle procedure that does not require force.

NOTE: Body Stress Release is not a diagnosis or treatment of any condition or disease. It is concerned only with locating and releasing stored tension, so that the body is assisted in its in-built ability to maintain and heal itself.

WHO NEEDS BODY STRESS RELEASE ?

Body Stress Release is for everyone, from infants to the elderly, whether sick or healthy.

We are all subjected to the stresses of living, we all tend to accumulate stored tension, with the resultant decline in the body's efficiency. Even babies may have body stress after a difficult birth. Therefore, everyone's quality of life may be enhanced, by being assessed for body stress and having it released from time to time.