Media Releases
Stress busters
Marie Claire – we road-test 5 ways to worry less February 2010
Anxiety is the biggest health issue in the developed world*, but few know how to deal with it. We asked five stressed women to try everything from pilates to psychology in a bid for inner calm.
Kinesiology
"My experience with natural therapists has been limited (read: almost nonexistent). While friends have dabbled in iridology and homeopathy, my health horizons haven't strayed beyond my doctor, dentist and the occasional massage. But several friends have visited kinesiologists and raved about it. Kinesiologists, I've learnt, use 'muscle testing' to identify emotional blocks.
"I'm a worrier – always have been. I worry about everything from work deadlines to whether I've left the iron on after I leave the house. Frequently – and particularly after several glasses of wine – I wake up at night, my mind alert, my body blanketed in pinpricks of fear as I comb through the events of the day and analyse what I've said and done. Sometimes, my anxiety blinds ides me, and I'll be hit with the kind of sharp panic… that usually accompanies the realisation you've just lost something important.
of women have suffered or currently suffer from anxiety – compared to 11 per cent of men
"My first appointment is with kinesiologist Robin Ferguson, and I approach her suburban bungalow with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. The softly spoken therapist begins muscle testing by lifting my arm, asking me questions and pressing down; if my arm gives way, her questions have detected a weakness. The point ofthe exercise is to detect long–trapped emotions that my body still remembers.
"As I lie there, feeling a little like a human lie detector, Robin, a reiki and Attractor Field Technique (AFT) practitioner, 'asks' my body for a number (by counting until my arm weakens) and cross–referencing it in an AFT book to come up with a word like 'frustration'. My pragmatic mind struggles with this concept. But, simply being asked point–blank to explain how I relate to words like 'inadequacy', gives me unexpected licence to own up to deep insecurities I wouldn't even admit to a close friend. Robin finishes the session by balancing my meridians (or energy) and making me repeat affirmations. This is a selfhelp step too far for a natural–therapy novice like me, but I leave the session having unloaded my feelings.
"Having realised kinesiology is practised in combination with other disciplines, I visit chiropractor Peter Bablis, of Universal Health, who uses a mixture of kinesiology, chiropractic and Neuro Emotional Technique (NET), and has reportedly treated a number of Australian A–listers.
"With his preppy appearance and straight–talking style, Peter's approach is different to Robin's, and he admits that while some GPs think kinesiology is 'psychobabble', others strongly advocate it. Like Robin, Peter takes me through muscle testing – and his direct, rapid–fire questions force me to examine my feelings about past events (and people) I haven't thought about for years. At the end of the session, he corrects my back using a NET/ chiropractic technique.
"After two sessions, I still don't understand how kinesiology works, but it has helped my self–awareness, which is an important first step towards relieving anxiety." Laura Contact robinjjerguson@gmail.com.au. Visit www.universalhealth.com.au.
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