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Ortho-Bionomy |
March 10th and 11th 2007 I took an ortho-bionomy class at East West school of Massage. The class focused on gentle techniques to help align the spine, ilium, sacrum, coccyx, sternum, clavicles and ribs. I loved the class and I have been using the techniques on just about all of my clients with great results. So far this past week using simple techniques of ortho-bionomy, I have helped relieve sciatic pain, pain at the clavicle that resulted from a car accident, chronic neck and jaw tension and the sternal release helped a client that was holding emotional stress in the chest. Ortho-Bionomy (O.B.) is a system that allows us to integrate our physical, emotional and mental experiences.
The thing that I really like about O.B. is that change happens from within not imposed from the outside. The practitioner is a facilitator allowing the bodies’ innate wisdom to release tensions, holding patterns, blocked energy and emotions. O.B. is natural, gentle and the effects last longer than they would if the practitioner "forced" the body to release its patterns. These principles, the path of least resistance and change from within, are the main reasons that I resonate so well with O.B.; they are the same principles that are applied in other modalities that I have been trained in, such as Chi Nei Tsang and metapsycology. And are principles I try to carry over in my daily life...change from within and the path of least resistance.
O.B. is based on osteopathic medical principles and was founded by Arthur Pauls, D.O. who expanded on positional release work and added his understandings of energetics. With this modality, the body is positioned in a way of least resistance, and a place of comfort. O.B. works with the proprioceptive nerves, a complex system that transverses our entire body letting us know where we are in time and space. The use of gentle movements, comfortable positions and light compression are incorporated. No forceful movements are used. So this approach is great for the elderly and the medically frail person as well as the healthy athlete. O.B. helps people break the pain cycle, without causing pain. O.B. is great for easing headaches, back and neck pain, acute and chronic pain, restricted movement, soothing joint pain, increasing range of motion, improving circulation and easing muscle tension.