Body Stress Release
What is Body Stress Release?
Developed by South Africans, Ewald and Gail Meggersee, in response to Ewald's own crippling adversity which had plagued him all his life since a fall from a tree when he was five, Body Stress Release (BSR) is an incredibly effective, complementary health practice.
Body Stress Release encourages the release of muscular tension that may have become locked into the body as a result of stress overload, thereby facilitating the body's inborn healing ability.
What can it help with?
Body Stress Release is for everyone, from infants to the elderly. Usually people are looking for relief from pain, stiffness or other discomfort.
Whilst Body Stress Release is not a diagnosis or treatment of any specific condition, many of the following complaints would benefit from some 'releases'.
- Musculo-skeletal complaints: back and neck ache, hip pain, slipped discs, poor posture, repetitive strain injury, sports' injuries, arthritis, frozen shoulders, headaches and migraines, whiplash;
- Respiratory conditions: hay fever, asthma, recurring colds, sinusitis, catarrh;
- Gastro-intestinal: heartburn, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, diarrhoea;
- Gynaecological disorders: menstrual problems, infertility, menopausal symptoms, including hot flushes;
- Emotional problems: stress, insomnia, depression, anxiety, general fatigue;
- Nervous system: neuralgia, facial paralysis;
- Skin disorders: psoriasis, eczema;
- Childhood conditions: colic in babies, poor posture and growing pains in children
Body Stress Release also has a broader objective. It is also concerned with assisting 'wellness' and many people can benefit from having an occasional 'release' to maintain health.
What happens in an appointment?
During the initial thirty minute appointment, a detailed medical history is taken. Body Stress Release is carried out on the client fully clothed, lying down on a special couch.
The nervous system controls the function of every cell, tissue, organ and system of your body and has controlling mechanisms, which continuously adapt to both outside influences and to internal changes and stresses.
Body Stress Release uses information provided by the body to determine where abnormal muscle tension is undermining the efficiency of the nervous system and disturbing the body's ability to co-ordinate its functioning.
Once the tension - or body stress - is located, it is 'released' using light but definite pressure. Body Stress Release is a process and not a quick fix. Releasing is rapid, but if stress has been stored for a long time, more releases may be required over a period of time. This is because the tight, protective layers of muscle tend to relax by degrees back to their normal tone.
Clients are provided with feedback on findings, simple self-help techniques are suggested and advice is given on the importance of good posture and correct exercising.
How does Body Stress Release differ from other bodywork techniques?
It is probably easier to explain what Body Stress Release is not. It is not a massage. It does not diagnose or treat any disease or condition, nor does it use any high velocity thrust techniques or adjusting of vertebra or joints.
Instead Body Stress Release is a gentle, non-manipulative bodywork technique, carried out on a client fully-clothed, using the body as a biofeedback mechanism to locate stored stress. By 'releasing' the stored muscular tension, Body Stress Release encourages your body's inborn healing capabilities.
