Polarity Therapy is a comprehensive health system involving bodywork, diet, exercise and self-awareness. It works with the Human Energy Field, electromagnetic patterns expressed in mental, emotional and physical experience. In Polarity Therapy, health is viewed as a reflection of the condition of the energy field, and therapeutic methods are designed to balance the field for health benefit.

Caduceus Symbol

Basic characteristics of the Human Energy Field are described in many sources, and Polarity has strong, mutually supportive connections to many other holistic health systems. For example, the term Polarity refers to the universal pulsation of expansion/contraction or repulsion/attraction known as Yang and Yin in Oriental therapies. Similarly, Polarity integrates the Three Principles of Aryuveda and the concept of Chakras found in several healing traditions.

Polarity Therapy has a particularly strong link with Craniosacral Therapy, which is based on the profound intelligence of the Breath of Life within cerebrospinal fluid. Polarity and energy-based Craniosacral methods inform and support each other, and are often practiced together.

Polarity Therapy was developed by Randolph Stone, DO, DC, ND (1890-1981), who conducted a thorough investigation of energy in the healing arts. He found that the Human Energy Field is affected by touch, diet, movement, sound, attitudes, relationships, life experience, trauma and environmental factors. As Polarity Therapy lends an energy-based perspective to all these subjects, the scope of Polarity practice is often very broad, with implications for health professionals in many disciplines.

The Energy Anatomy within Polarity Therapy is comprehensive and specific. A multi-layered system of electromagnetic fields is described and employed to facilitate wellness. The shape of the energy field was depicted long ago by ancient Greeks and Egyptians as the Caduceus or Staff of Hermes, commonly recognized today as the business emblem of allopathic medicine.

The parts of the symbol show four distinct but interdependent parts of the Human Energy Field. The globe at the top and staff in the center refer to Primary Energy, found in the Craniosacral (skull and spine) structures and functions. The intertwining snakes depict the Three Principles of attraction, repulsion and transitional stillness, known in the Orient as Yin, Yang and Tao. The five intersections along the central core are the Five Elements or Chakras, located at the throat, chest, solar plexus, abdomen and pelvic floor. The wings represent Consciousness, humanity's potential to transcend materialism and reunite with its spiritual Source. In the healing arts, Polarity Therapy is special in its comprehensive exploration of all these dimensions, and in its effective bridging of the full spectrum of experience, including body, mind and spirit.

Polarity Therapy asserts that these four energy systems underlie the totality of human experience, integrating spirit, mind, feelings and body. Understanding these four dimensions of the Human Energy Field, and their applications, is the scope of Polarity Therapy. The Polarity model holds that health arises from within, rather than being applied from outside, and emphasizes personal responsibility and ownership of health conditions.

In the Polarity model, health is experienced when these systems function in their natural state; energy flows smoothly without significant blockage or fixation. When energy is blocked, fixed or unbalanced due to stress or other factors, pain and disease arise. Blockages generally manifest in sequence from the subtle to the dense levels of the field. Polarity Therapy seeks to find the blockages and release energy to normal flow patterns, and to maintain the Energy Field in an open, flexible condition.

In a typical Polarity Therapy session, the practitioner assesses energetic attributes using palpation, observation and interview methods. Sessions usually take 60-90 minutes, do not require disrobing, and involve both touch and verbal interaction. Touch contact may be light, medium or firm. In the session, the practitioner supports a client in increasing his or her self-awareness of subtle energetic sensations, which are often experienced as tingling, warmth, expansion or wavelike movement. The results of Polarity Therapy sessions vary, and may include profound relaxation, new insight into energetic patterns and their implications, and relief from specific problematic situations.

The American Polarity Therapy Association, headquartered in Boulder, is the national organization for Polarity. It maintains a Standards of Practice to define the work, a Code of Ethics to govern professional conduct and systems to certify practitioners and trainings. Information is available at (303)545-2080.

Source: John Chitty, RPP

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