Enkindle Wellness

Category: Science

  • Our Dance Between Stability and Movement

    Our bodies communicate information from one area to another via the connective tissues, a continuum of fibres and cells, reacting to each other, passing messages in a process that is twenty times faster than the nervous system. This is an instant reactivity. Take the example of an insect flying onto your eyelash. The blinking of the eye is so fast it is beyond that which is mediated by the nervous system.

    Our Connective Tissues are essential to the dance between stability and movement – crucial in high performance, central in recovery from injury and disability, and ever-present in our daily life from our conception to the last breath we take.

    In addition, these ongoing reactions are truly electro-magnetic. There is within the body a process known as a piezoelectric response. As soon as any tissue is bent or stretched, there is an outpouring of electricity (energy) that, in turn, creates a magnetic field. Thus a circuitry is created through which energy flows. This constitutes the piezoelectric response and provides the basis for acupuncture meridians. These meridians support the flows of energy from the piezoelectric effect, but they also support many other kinds of regulatory flow, including those involved in emotional expression. This flow of electromagnetic energy is also the basis of transmission of information and even the evocation of the chemical reactions within the body.

    Energy flows best when everything is coherent (when our cells are communicating unimpeded by blockages and tension.) This is the ideal “zone” of exceptional human performance, or the “zone” of exceptional human health.

    Furthermore, this flow of electro-magnetic energy can be detected beyond the body, creating electro-magnetic waves that some people call the “aura.” We all have experienced certain “vibes” and even speak about “being on the same wavelength” as someone. Most of us are sensitive to a good environment or an unhealthy environment, a good person or one who may not be so good. This is an energetic exchange between people or between a person and their immediate environment.

    Our body’s connective tissue matrix is a tensegrity structure (tension + integrity); that is a dynamic balance between the rigid bones and the elasticity of the soft tissues. If we put strain into a tensegrity structure and the deformation will get distributed all over the structure. Where will a tensegrity structure break under strain? At its weakest point.  If our body is a tensegrity structure, the ‘load’ that is causing pain or strain in the low back may be sourced in the foot or the shoulder – so we have to be able to see the pattern to know where to intervene. See my blog article How Did the Diplodocus Hold It’s Head Up? for more about the Connective Tissue Tensegrity Matrix.

    The techniques I use are designed to release tension in the tensegrity matrix. Positive changes to this matrix are more likely to occur with a very gentle specific contact than with a forceful one, because a forceful contact may cause the matrix to go further in a rigid protective mode. With the release of tension there is a greater flow of energy throughout the body causing increased strength and flexibility and improved function of organs, the brain and nervous system, the blood and lymph systems and the digestive system.

  • How To Tell If You Inherited Emotional Trauma and How To Break the Pattern

    Epigenetics

    With new discoveries in epigenetics now making headlines, many of us are asking an important question: What are my children really inheriting? Can my baggage, the unfinished business I don’t deal with, pass on to my kids? Without knowing it, could I be hurting them?

    To answer this comprehensively, we need to look at the science. The newest research in epigenetics tells us that you and I can inherit gene changes from traumas that our parents and grandparents experienced. It goes like this. When a trauma occurs, our bodies make a physiologic change to better manage the stress. This adaptive change can then be passed down to our children and grandchildren biologically preparing them to deal with similar trauma. This can be a good thing, unless of course, the inherited changes create even more stress.

    If our grandparents, for example, were traumatized from living in a war-torn country—explosions going off, people getting killed, the rattle of gunfire close by—they could pass on a survivor skillset to us—a body on hyperalert, reflexes to react quickly to loud noises, and other such protective responses. This skillset would be helpful were we to also live in a country at war. However, living in a safe environment where this inheritance isn’t useful, the constant hypervigilance can create havoc in our bodies.

    Our parents’ and grandparents’ pain—their fears, their angers, their grief, their shutdowns—can all unwittingly become ours.

    So here’s the bad news: Yes, it’s true. Our parents’ and grandparents’ pain—their fears, their angers, their grief, their shutdowns—can all unwittingly become ours, a legacy we can perpetuate in our family. And here’s the sad part: few of us ever make the link between our issues—our unexplained fear, anxiety and depression—and what happened to our family members in a previous generation. Instead, we believe that we’re the source of our problem, that something must be wrong with us, or broken inside us, that makes us feel the way we do.

    These unconscious patterns, along with whatever business we leave unfinished, can then pass on to our children

    And it doesn’t end there. These unconscious patterns, along with whatever business we leave unfinished, can then pass on to our children, and even to their children. What could be more painful than to see our children suffering, knowing that he or she continues the pain we’ve left unattended?

    Is there any good news? Absolutely. There are actions we can take that can help break the cycle.

    Here’s the short list of things you can do.

    Heal your own stuff. Reconcile your broken relationships with your parents, as well as with your child’s other parent. When we find someone’s behavior challenging, it’s helpful to consider the traumatic events in his or her family history. Remember, the residue of pain can pass forward. And children, because of their great innocence and loyalty, are easy targets. Children can unconsciously carry what’s unresolved between their parents, and mirror it in their own relationships. Or (as we’re learning from epigenetics), they can relive what’s unresolved behind the parents.

    Shake the family tree and see what falls out. What family secrets have been hidden? What stories didn’t get told? What traumas have never fully healed? It can be important to know these things, especially if we’re unconsciously reliving elements of traumas that don’t belong to us. Some family history questions to consider can be found at: Family History Questions.

    Tell your kids what you know about the traumas in your family. Tell them the terrible things happened to you, and whatever you know about what happened to your parents and your grandparents. They could be the unwitting recipients of painful feelings from the past. When you tell them what tragedies smolder in the family history, it can come as a great relief to them—especially if they make the connection that they’ve been carrying what belongs to you, or to your parents or grandparents.

    I once worked with a guy who unconsciously attempted to atone for the crimes his grandfather had committed. My client had attempted suicide three times. Finding himself still alive after the third attempt, he sought help. When I pointed out that he had been attempting to pay the ultimate price for crimes he never committed, he turned to me and said: “I don’t have to die? You mean it’s not me who needs to die?”

    I’ve found that if we ignore the past, it can come back to haunt us. Yet when we explore it, we don’t always have to repeat it. We can break the cycle of suffering, so that our children can be free from having to live our pain in their lives.

    by Mark Wolynn This article was first published on June 13, 2016 in Mark Wolynn’s Blog

    Ken’s Comments

    After working with people for a while, I find that they often comment about having cleared much of the “baggage” they feel they carry from childhood. Once this is acknowledged, it is common for them to realise that there is additional unresolved “baggage” and “emotional triggers” that seem to arise from somewhere deeper. My experience suggests that these could be inherited epigenetic triggers from past generations of their family.

    What I find amazing (and supported by cutting edge research) is that these inherited triggers can be healed in the present. Addressing our inherited emotional baggage, therefore provides the opportunity to avoid passing emotional pain on to our children and our children’s children. It can be challenging, but people express relief and satisfaction in clearing what they describe as stubborn patterns of behaviour. I regard these courageous people to be Transition People ,  because they are taking action on behalf of the future.  I have written about Transition People in an article which can be found at:  Are You a Transition Person?

  • Profound Tension Release

    Profound Tension Release (PTR) is a technique developed by Chiropractor Dr Ken Stewart, for releasing tension within the connective tissues of our bodies.  Tension in our bodies develops as a response to injury and trauma arising from physical, emotional, mental and/or spiritual stresses we inevitably experience throughout our lifetime.

    Profound Tension Release is based on an understanding of the body as an interactive, interconnected, energised (energetic) and highly sensitive entity. The connective tissue network forms a three-dimensional matrix of structural support within the body. It contains and shapes the body, holding the organs in place and aligning the spine and the joints, while allowing mobility. Every muscle, bone and organ in the body, including our brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves, indeed every cell in the body is encased in and supported by connective tissue.

    When a person presents for Profound Tension Release, I will ask questions about their life and symptoms and then use that information while carefully observing patterns of tension in their posture and movements. I will explain how one movement can affect other movements in the body. For example, lifting a leg may cause the body to lean to one side, or turning your head may cause one elbow to tense. These movements are called “compensations” and they are our body’s best attempt to adjust to its restrictions (due to injury or trauma). Often these compensations may have been present for years but have gone unnoticed until they reach the point of causing pain or noticeable restriction in movement.

    Profound Tension Release technique involves the practitioner applying gentle hand pressure to the specific area in the body at the source of the compensations already detected. These specific points vary from individual to individual – they can be within muscles, bones or organs and often manifest in different places during the course of the treatment as the tension unwinds and the body readjusts. A light sensation, either locally or somewhere else in the body, might be felt and usually a person will experience a peaceful feeling accompanied by an urge to stretch in order to create a release of tension. People often yawn during their treatment and feel tired afterwards.

    For further information go to: http://enkindlewellness.com.au/profound-tension-release/

    Typical symptoms of people who seek relief from connective tissue tension are:

    • Poor posture.
    • Back and neck pain.
    • Stiffness and pain in the peripheral joints such at the hips, knees, ankles, shoulders, elbows and wrists.
    • Pain and tightness in the calves.
    • Restricted walking or running style.
    • Jaw pain, stiffness, locking and clicking.
    • Chest and abdomen pain.
    • Restricted breathing and rib pain.

    Other symptoms can develop from the above restrictions such as:

    • Lack of energy, lethargy, feeling “down”.
    • Poor sleep.
    • Feeling stressed and generally tense.
    • Feeling anxious or out of control.
    • Feeling that no-one understands what’s going on.
    • Headaches, dizziness and brain fog.
    • Discomfort in the abdomen and pelvis.

    By focusing on the connective tissues, Profound Tension Release reinforces the idea that the body is interconnected and operates as an active “whole” or matrix. A wholistic body knows what every other part of the body knows (every cell, every interior of every cell) and is interactive. It is this wholistic approach that our conventional scientific and medical research fails to appreciate.

    The connective tissues provide the pathways for blood vessels, nerves and acupuncture meridians to travel through, so that energy, nutrients and hormones can be delivered to each and every cell in the body. It also provides a pathway for lymph vessels, thus enabling toxins to be carried out of the cells to be eliminated. I advise that people drink plenty of water after a treatment in order to flush the connective tissues after their release.

    How many treatments will it take to experience tension release?

    Individuals adapt differently to Profound Tension Release technique, depending on variables to do with the depth and longevity of their embodied tension, their lifestyle, level of fitness, diet etc. Dramatic release of tension can be experienced but more usually a person will progress through a series of visits. Assessments are made during each visit to determine progress towards the person’s goals. 4 – 6 visits will see significant positive change.

  • Core Strength – Questioning the Prevailing Beliefs

    There has been much emphasis on the concept of building core strength over recent years; it’s a concept that is incomplete to me. I see the key issue is actually core energy not core strength: I will explain.

    The “core” refers to the lower part of the body: the pelvis, the lower back, the abdominal wall, and the diaphragm, and this region’s ability to stabilise the body during movement. Every activity we do in life, from running to swallowing, is more efficient when we have a stable and yet flexible core. It’s a dynamic stability that involves a balance of movement and strength of our connective tissue: our bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons and the matrix of connective tissue that interconnects them.

    It’s more about how you can use your energy than about your strength.

    Try sitting in a slouched position and taking a sip of a drink and swallowing, notice your inner feelings. Next sit in an upright and relaxed posture (engaging your core) and have another sip. Observe the difference in how you feel between the two postures. While you may feel stronger and more energetic (and perhaps that the drink “went down” better) in the upright posture, you didn’t strengthen your core but simply used its current strength more efficiently. That is, it was more about energy than strength.

    Because the core muscles and other connective tissue components are being used every day to maintain posture and for activities – sitting, walking, breathing, digesting etc.; they are already as strong as they need to be. My experience is that when people are told that they have a lack of core strength (“a weak core”), the problem isn’t weakness in their core muscles but the fact that these muscles and other aspects of the connective tissue matrix are too tight!

    It is a fact that a tight core is weaker than a core that is relaxed.

    It is a fact that a tight core is weaker than a core that is relaxed. Many people advising on exercise recommend exercises to “strengthen the core”. There are two problems with this: putting exercise strain on already tight muscles causes them to become even tighter and it focuses on the muscles when the main restriction may well be in the connective tissue matrix.

    Muscle building exercises put more stress into the core and can increase the stresses on other pelvic and abdominal structures, e.g. vertebral discs and the pelvic and abdominal organs. This can have a negative effect on the function of these organs and discs. Stress or trauma can become even more embedded when working these already tight tissues.

    So how do the core muscles become too tight?

    So how do the core muscles become too tight? These muscles and the rest of the connective tissue matrix react strongly (often without people noticing) to the stresses we experience throughout our lives. The cause of the stresses can be physical, emotional, mental or chemical.

    Think of what happens to the muscles in your pelvic region when you have a sudden fear. Try it: tense your body in the way you would if you were experiencing fear and notice the parts of body where you feel that tension. For most people the tension is mainly noticed in the upper body, neck and shoulders. Tense your body again and take particular notice of the way the deep muscles in your abdomen and pelvis tighten. This lower body tightening is often not noticed by the person experiencing the stress.

    So how can we release this deep set tension? Rather than putting more effort into an already “stuck” core (there is high energy stuck there that we cannot access) with strengthening exercises, we need to use methods to connect to and relax the tension.

    The Network Chiropractic and Matrix Repatterning techniques that I use are an efficient and effective way to achieve that release and gain the extra energy and better body and organ function that is denied because of deep tension.

    As this release occurs you will be able to further improve the dynamic stability of your core with Pilates and yoga sessions and other forms of exercise. Meditation is another component to making the connections you desire to enhance your energy and posture. As the result of these changes you will also experience benefits in other aspects of your  life.

  • How Did the Diplodocus Hold its Head Up?

    You may experience some neck tension with stress and prolonged sitting at the computer, driving or working at a bench. But think of the poor old Diplodocus, how did they manage to hold their heads up with a 7 metre long neck?  They didn’t have a tall frame on their shoulders and the cables that we see holding up the long boom of the cranes on high-rise building sites.

    The Diplodocus used a wonderful structural design which is actually the structural basis of all life forms. It is the structure of all parts of us from our DNA to our cells to our organs to our bones, muscles and nerves.  It’s called the tensegrity matrix.

    The term tensegrity (“tension” + “integrity”) was coined by Buckminster Fuller (best known for the geodesic dome). Use of a tensegrity design creates a structure with the strength, stability, and flexibility far greater than would be expected of its individual parts.

    In plants and animals the matrix is the material that forms the structure of every part, from within the individual cells to the whole plant or animal. It is the tissue that supports, connects, binds together and transmits information.

    This is a vastly different model from the conventional understanding of the body as a skeleton clothed in muscle and skin.

    The Diplodocus’ very long and flexible neck, able to move in all directions and support its head, was due to its tensegrity structure rather than the lever and pulley system we see in a building crane.

    The tensegrity model explains how cells and the whole body can move and respond to forces from the outside and forces within. It also utilises the body’s energy and nutrients to remain strong and flexible. It is known as the tensegrity matrix.

    When we look at our body as a whole, the matrix is made up of connective tissues. Connective tissue consists of cells and fibres which weave their way throughout our bodies surrounding our brain, organs, bones, muscles and nerves. Connective tissue also includes: bones, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, fat tissue and blood and lymph systems.

     

    In addition, the matrix has specific structural and electrical properties that respond to changes to its tension and shape. These changes have been shown to have a significant effect on everything from the function of individual cells to the function of the whole body. In humans, these changes can have a dramatic influence on health and wellness.

    The tensegrity matrix is amazingly resilient and flexible, allowing us to perform all kinds of activities – from simple bending to gymnastics. It is even capable of bouncing back into shape after significant forces are applied it. But there is a limit – sometimes the forces are too strong for our structure to absorb.

    Trauma, as the result of a physical injury or from mental/emotional stress, results in a change in tension and shape of the matrix. This causes a region of the body to become more rigid and have a decreased flow of energy (electrical charge). This isn’t always experienced as local pain, but as the rigidity continues it can result in pain and stiffness in other parts of the body that are connected via the matrix.

    The techniques I use are designed to release tension in the tensegrity matrix. Positive changes to this matrix are more likely to occur with a very gentle specific contact than with a forceful one, because a forceful contact may cause the matrix to go further in a rigid protective mode. With the release of tension there is a greater flow of energy throughout the body causing increased strength and flexibility and improved function of organs, the brain and nervous system, the blood and lymph systems and the digestive system.