What is Stress?
To most,the word stress conjures up images of something unpleasant. This is usually related to emotional situations. We are all subjected to various kinds of stress in our daily life.
However, we need a certain amount of stress to evolve and grow, as it provides us with challenges that stimulate us to strive for survival and progress.
Stress of the body can occur in numerous ways including mental & emotional stress, chemical stress and physical stress.
Body Stress & Stress Overload
Stress overload may be defined as: the overriding of the body's inner resistive powers by an outer, invasive force.
When the stress forces applied to individuals go beyond the limits of their adaptability, stress overload occurs and some outside help is needed. For example, an overload of stress to a bone will break it and the body will need outside help in setting the bone with a cast or pins, in order that it can then heal it.
A less extreme case of stress overload:- if the body is subjected to a lighter force, it may still go beyond its ability to deal with it. If the body is unable to release it, the tension becomes 'locked' into the physical structures - the muscles, tendons ligaments or other tissues remain tight and constricted. We call this 'body stress'.
The BSR Technique & Assessment
The client, fully clothed, lies face down on a couch. The practitioner activates the biofeedback mechanism of the body by moving the feet in a very specific way - in BSR this is known as the monitor.
The practitioner carries out a series of body stress tests, pressing lightly on various points in specific directions. If there is body stress present this stimulus will trigger a tiny withdrawal reflex from the nervous system, indicating a site of stress.
Once a site of stress has been located the practitioner performs the releases. This is done with a thumb or finger with a slight pressure or impulse, in the specific direction indicated by the monitor. This has an effect of initiating an organised sequence of messages to the brain, alerting it to the stored tension. The brain can then send commands to the structures concerned to release it. As the process is so precise, it does not require a forceful stimulus to relay this message of a stressed area to the brain. The pressure the practitioner uses is very light
As BSR is a process, initially three appointments are made for a new client. Then, depending on the body's responses to the releases, the client is advised regarding follow-up appointments. During a consultation the practitioner takes the case history details, making notes on past accidents, fractures and operations, as well as establishing what the client is experiencing at present.
Most people consult a BSR practitioner when seeking pain relief, especially for lower-back, leg, shoulder and neck pain and headaches. These symptoms are all noted, as they provide insights as to where the tension may be stored in the body. After attending to the client the practitioner explains the relevance of the sites of body stress, using charts to link possible cause and effect, e.g. a person with numb hands can see on the nerve chart the conections from the painful lower neck to the hands.
Body Stress Release does not involve the diagnosis or treatment of any condition, thus it does not in any way replace medical care.
BSR and the health care spectrum
BSR stands squarely under the title 'complementary'. It is a health-care profession that works alongside medicine, in co-operation, not in competition.
A BSR practitioner does not in any way diagnose or treat conditions, nor give advice on the process of a disease - that is the field of medicine. Over the years medical doctors have recommended their patients to BSR. BSR practitioners enjoy reciprocal relationships with GPs, surgeons and paediatricians, as well as physiotherapists, fitness coaches and psychologists.
There have been cases of patients who were scheduled for back surgery who responded so positively to BSR that the surgery was cancelled. In instances when medical tests have been negative, releasing body stress has proved beneficial.