Illustration by Goro Sasaki

This method will become one of the premier wellness modalities for the 21st century, and it will behoove all massage therapists to learn it.

By Eileen DeLise Kennedy

...cont'd

Lymphedema is a problem in women who have had surgery and the removal of lymph nodes. "As soon as the patient is wheeled out of recovery, they should have their massage therapist or polarity practitioner working the reflex points on the feet," she says.

Ruggieri described the remarkable case of a client with prostate cancer who opted for a holistic approach to healing, using energy medicine, meditation, visualization, nutrition and exercise before considering surgery. George embarked on a journey of self-healing in his quest for the gold. When he ultimately chose surgery to remove the cancer, surgeons could find no trace of the tumor! "It's all about empowering the patient to take charge of his or her own healing process," she says. "In every case, there are three constant variables that enter the healing model: Repair, Regenerate, Rejuvenate."

Another component of polarity therapy is movement and yoga. According to Maryland-based Paula Phillips, RPP and APTA newsletter editor, "Polarity exercises are easy stretching postures combining sound, breath and self-massage."

"The exercises work with the flow of energy in the body, and help connect the participants by moving or contacting key areas that relate to one another in important ways," she adds.

Phillips has been a polarity practitioner for more than a decade. She began her studies in energy healing while working as a public relations director at a college in Washington, D.C., and commuting on the Washington beltway from her home near Annapolis, Maryland. "I like to give this background to let my students and clients know that I have firsthand knowledge of the kind of modern lifestyle pressures that drive many people to complementary and alternative medicine providers," she reflects.

Job stress led her into dance classes and then teacher training in SynergyDance™, which included 300 hours of studying polarity therapy through theory, hands-on work, movement and music in one integrated course taught by SynergyDance creator Charmaine Lee, RPP, of Washington, D.C. Phillips was so revitalized by her experiences that she made a midlife career change to become a polarity practitioner.

Figure 3: This is a composite picture of the pattern forces of the body and their wireless circuits.

Since that early training, she has expanded and integrated her knowledge and use of the healing power of sound and movement into her polarity practice, which is currently based in the spa at Full Circle Acupuncture and Healing Arts in Annapolis. She teaches polarity energy exercises in group classes and to individual clients as a way to get in touch with their bodies and become aware of the flow and balance of energy, which can also be affected by hands-on healing techniques.

Phillips adds, "To me, polarity therapy is a distinctive modality that challenges practitioners and clients alike to take responsibility for their own health and happiness. Sometimes that means exercising more; suprisingly, sometimes it means reducing physical activity. More is not always better! I try and help people feel the spine, feel the flow of cerebral spinal fluid, feel the chakras that may be over- or undercharged or pleasantly toned. Then, as they go through their work and play, they can begin to choose more healthy activities."

Phillips never encourages her students to work through the pain, as this is harmful and illogical. The beauty of polarity exercises is that it works with the body's electromagnetic currents to improve the flow and balance of energy in a very pleasing manner.

"We can improve circulation, respiration, blood pressure, muscle tone and even tissue health with these restorative exercises. Many of my clients have been professional dancers, musicians and artists. They can't afford to reduce output, but they can and need to improve efficiency of movement. Take out the resistance factors caused by stress and a defensive posture, and you've got a lot more energy to work with during the day," she says.

Phillips notes that polarity exercises are particularly distinctive in that they improve relationships between the brain and body, the head and hips, the feet and related organs, as well as the spine. In working with brain-injured patients at the Center for Neuro-Rehabilitation in Annapolis, Philipps found measurable improvements in clients after even a single group polarity yoga session done in chairs! The ability to balance the nervous system with Dr. Stone's postures was key to overactive and depressed body types. Phillips observed that the head/hip contacts improved left/right brain coordination and the head-to-heart contacts helped bring everyone into the group in a friendly, supportive atmosphere that did not exist at the beginning of class.

Another component of polarity therapy is based on a model of nutrition that views food as energy, and develops an ongoing, ever-changing and creative nutritional awareness rather than a rigid set of rules. In contrast to nutritional systems that measure specific components, the polarity diet is based on the energetic properties of food. Foods that are beneficial to cleansing and rebuilding are key to this diet.

Polarity therapy has a strong dimension in verbal support for clients. Polarity communication is based on the assumption that "right thinking" is the cornerstone of good health. Verbal processes involve understanding and feeling our emotions, taking responsibility for our lives and creating life-enhancing thoughts. The polarity principles of contraction and expansion, or yin and yang, a universal human experience, may support healing in numerous areas, including conflict resolution. Specific touch and verbal tools that support the nervous system and healing are invaluable in dealing with posttrauma symptoms, which engage "fight or flight" responses.

Anthony Deavin, Ph.D., RPP, of Surrey, England, has a background in chemistry, herbal medicine and research experience in the biological sciences, and conducts polarity practitioner training in the United Kingdom that deals extensively with trauma work.

"In polarity therapy, we recognize that the harmonious flow of energy within and around the body is essential for health. For polarity practitioners, the safe release of trauma is a key concern. We seek simple, effective ways to integrate this release within the context of whatever bodywork we are doing," Deavin says.

"With some therapies, if there were an emotional release during the session, the practitioner would seek to bring the client to a safe place and then refer them to an appropriate therapist to deal with the emotional problem or issue. In polarity therapy, the time when the emotion is present is recognized as a time of potential for healing. For this reason, we would aspire to resolve the issue while the problem is within conscious awareness," he continues.

Deavin focuses on the importance of practitioner training to create a safe environment for trauma release. He introduces the concept of "tissue memory," or how the body retains memory, on the cellular level fairly early in his training classes. His students are introduced to the concepts of listening and stillness, and the techniques of focusing, trauma energetics and journey work.

Deavin concludes, "The bottom line is safety. The students have an awareness of the delicacy of the human being and its life process, and will do no harm."

Polarity therapists sometimes combine touch while working with the energy vibrations of sound in their practice. Beaulieu, the pioneering developer of BioSonic Repatterning, comments: "BioSonic Repatterning is an energy approach to healing, and its practitioners are trained to evaluate and balance the human energy field. They use sound-based modalities, which include the use of different music, tuning forks, voice, rhythms and mantras to balance energy."

Polarity and BioSonic Repatterning use the same evaluation methodologies. Bealieu makes the point, "Polarity practitioners focus on touch and BioSonic Repatterning practitioners focus on sound for the same outcome. The two areas work together. For example, a polarity practitioner may use both touch and tuning forks to balance the energy field in alignment with his or her energy evaluation. In this sense, BioSonic Repatterning is a sonic modality of polarity."

Polarity Practitioners
Polarity practitioners are certified by the American Polarity Therapy Association (APTA), the governing body for polarity therapy. A Registered Polarity Practitioner (RPP) must have 650 hours of classwork, plus clinical experience hours. They are highly skilled and trained practitioners with knowledge of, and training in, anatomy and physiology, theories and principles of polarity, polarity bodywork, communication, energetic evaluation, energetic nutrition, stretching postures, and ethics and standards for polarity practitioners.

Paula Phillips, RPP, combines polarity therapy movement and yoga in her practice.

An Associate Polarity Practitioner (APP) is an associates certification with 155 hours of training, plus supervised clinical work. All polarity practitioners must adhere to the American Polarity Therapy Association's Standards and Bylaws in order to practice.

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Eileen Kennedy, M.A., NCTMB, APP, has been active in the health-care industry since 1979, with advanced degrees in information science and business. She earned her certification in therapeutic massage in 1996, and is nationally certified in therapeutic massage and bodywork. Kennedy is certified in Swedish massage, pre- and postnatal massage, infant massage instruction, cancer and mastectomy massage, and geriatric massage. She is also a nationally certified associate polarity practitioner. Kennedy practices in Short Hills, New Jersey, and Union, New Jersey. She can be reached via E-mail at: ekennedy180@home.com.

Bibliography
Beaulieu, John. Music and Sound in the Healing Arts. Berrytown, New York: Station Hill Press, 1987.

Beaulieu, John. Polarity Therapy Workbook. New York: BioSonic Enterprises Ltd., 1994.

Burger, Bruce. Esoteric Anatomy: The Body as Consciousness. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books, 1997.

Chitty, John and Anna Chitty. Relationships and the Human Energy Field. Boulder, Colorado: Polarity Press, 1991.

Chitty, John and M. L. Muller. Energy Exercises For Health and Vitality. Boulder, Colorado: Polarity Press, 1990.

Gordon, Richard. Your Healing Hands. Berkeley, California: Wingbow, 1985.

Muller, Mary Louise. You Have a Fine Head on Your Shoulders--Self-Help For Cranial Integration.Murrieta,Californa: Pacific Distributing, 1994.

Murrietta Foundation. Murrietta Hot Springs Vegetarian Cookbook. Summertown, Tennessee: The Book Publishing, 1987.

Phillips, Paula. "Polarity Therapy: Bodywork to Address our Energetic Nature." Massage Magazine, (May/June 1998): 28-33.

Seidman, Maruti. Guide to Polarity Therapy. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books, 1999.

Siegal, Alan. Polarity Therapy: The Power That Heals. Garden City Park, New York: Avery, 1987.

Sills, Franklin. The Polarity Process. Longmead, England: Element Books, 1989.

Stone, Randolph. Polarity Therapy, Vol. I. Sebastopol, California: CRCS Publications, 1986.

Stone, Randolph. Polarity Therapy, Vol. II. Sebastopol, California: CRCS Publications, 1987.

Stone, Randolph. Health Building. Sebastopol, California: CRCS Publications, 1985.

Stone, Randolph. The Mystic Bible. Chicago: Radha Swami Satsang, 1956.

Wilson, Will. "Polarity Therapy: An Introduction." BodyWork, (December 1998).

Young, Phil. The Art of Polarity Therapy. Garden City Park, New York: Avery, 1990.

Energy: Newsletter of the American Polarity Therapy Association, Boulder, Colorado.

Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Paula Phillips, who provided supportive documentation, contacts and encouragement in the preparation of this article. Thanks to all contributors to this piece, and to the American Polarity Therapy Association for research assistance.

Art Credits
Figures 1, 2 and 3: Used with permission from the American Polarity Therapy Association. These images are from Randolph Stone's Polarity Therapy: The Complete Collected Works on this Revolutionary Healing Art, published by CRCS Publications, Sebastopol, California, 1987.