What Is Applied Kinesiology?

Applied Kinesiology (AK) is a unique form of complementary therapy that relies on very light touch to asses the state of the body. In an AK session, the patient usually lies on a massage couch, fully clothed, and the therapist will test various muscles to determine what is wrong with the patient. Often, it can feel like nothing is happening at all, but people report some amazing relief, often from very chronic problems. This form of alternative therapy treats everything from structural imbalances to headaches, insomnia, allergies and stress related disorders.

In AK, the idea is that internal organs are linked to outside muscles, and the state of one reflects the state of the other. It was developed in the 1960s by a man named Geogre Goodheart. Goodheart was a chiropractor and occultist and combined some elements of chinese medicine meridians with some older chiropractic manuals to form the system.

Muscle testing is the cornerstone of applied kinesiology. The usual one demonstrated is called the "delta test" and costists of the patient standing with an arm outstretched while holding a food substance that they might have an allergy to. The therapist or practitioner will press down on the arm between the elbow and wrist and asses the strength of the muscle. A muscle that is weak will show up with the arm dropping inexplicably, indicating an allergy. A strong muscle indicates no allergy.

This therapy should not be confused with Kinesiology (which is simply the study of human movement).

Applied kinesiology is taught in many colleges of natural medicine and can take 4 to 7 years of study leading to BS, MA and PHd degrees. However there are several simpler forms that are taught, mostly outcrops of one of Goodheart's students who simplified much of the theory and practice into a system called Touch For Health. This is a very popular form of AK because it is quick and easy to learn and easily taught to the general public.

Some of the major outcrops of AK are:

Touch for Health

Heath Kinesiology

Systematic Kinesiology

Three in one

Progressive Kinesiology

AK comes under a lot of criticism from the scientific community, though, as usual with alternative healthcare, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence to support the effectiveness of the therapy.