What to Expect at a BSR Consultation

After explaining what BSR does, the practitioner will take notes on your medical history and general lifestyle, including any pain you are experiencing. You will be asked to read and sign the “Declaration Form”. This form makes it clear that the Body Stress Release Practitioner does not diagnose or prescribe, and that Body Stress Release is not a substitute for any medical condition.

 

While fully clothed (you can even keep your shoes on) you will lie down on a padded table or be lowered on a specially designed Body Stress Release couch. (This is comfortable for people who, through injury or infirmity, have difficulty climbing onto a raised surface.)

 

The practitioner then does a series of body stress tests, pressing lightly on various points in specific directions. If there is body stress present in an area and in a direction, this pressure slightly irritates the nervous system, which reacts with tiny withdrawal reflex in the legs. This reflex allows the practitioner to carry out the "monitor" manoeuvre to determine whether stress is locked-in in the site and direction tested. If there is no body stress at the site tested, there will be no muscular response. 

 

Once a site of stress has been located the practitioner carries out 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 may then send commands to the structures concerned to release it. Thus, although the practitioner’s actions set the process in motion, the release is effected by the body’s own wisdom. 

 

As the process is so precise, it does not require a forceful stimulus to relay this message of a stressed area to the brain. In BSR we realize “more is not better”. If too much force is applied to the body, it could aggravate a stressed area, causing muscles to tighten further. 

 

After the session the practitioner will explain what s/he has found, i.e explain the relevance of the sites of body stress to the client, by making use of visual aids. S/he might also make some suggestions on how to avoid overloading the body with body stress, i.e. doing core strengthening exercises and not to slouch. 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.  

 

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.

 

Maintenance Appointments

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Most people who seek BSR are looking for relief from pain, stiffness or other discomfort. BSR has a broader objective- it is concerned with assisting the body in maintaining health. To promote efficiency of body function we need to keep ourselves free from stored tension. To prevent body stress from accumulating, it makes sense to be assessed regularly, before problems arise.

 

Clients experiencing relief from long term pain or discomfort are highly motivated to continue with maintenance to prevent the problem reoccurring.