Release that stress
Karen Murray discovers body stress release
I'm sure there is no-one out there that can say they don't and never have suffered from some form of stress, be it emotional or mechanical. We all get stressed or put stress upon ourselves, but it's how we cope with it that counts. Juggling work and family life generally makes me pretty stressed and I tend to ignore the effect the emotional stress has on me physically, so the offer of an alternative treatment called Body Stress Release piqued my interest. I had never heard of this particular form of therapy and no wonder.
There is only one practitioner in the whole of Scotland. Kerry Teakle is that practitioner and she has worked wonders on the build up of tension down my neck and across my shoulders, as well as my constant headaches, despite my initial scepticism.
Body Stress Release (BSR) is a pioneering complementary health technique from South Africa. It assists the body in its in-built ability to maintain 'and heal itself, 'unlocking the stress and tension'. Developed by a South African husband and wife, Ewald and Gail Meggersee in the 1980s, BSR has a huge following in the country. Ewald had suffered all his life from continuous shooting pains and cramps in his lower back and legs since falling from a tree as a young boy. Traditional avenues of medical and chiropractic treatment had no real effect and he was faced with the possibility of life in a wheelchair by the the time he had reached his 30s.
The Meggersees decided to retrain as chiropractors in America, but Ewald felt he couldn't subject people to the manipulation used in chiropractice. The couple met Dr Richard van Rumpt who had researched a different form of manipulation and talked about listening to the body and using it as biofeedback mechanism that would be self-healing. The Meggersees returned to South Africa and built upon van Rumpt's method, developing what today is known as BSR. The word is gradually spreading worldwide as the Meggersees train potential practitioners from across the globe; Kerry being the first Scottish practitioner. She was also a sceptic but saw how well BSR worked for her mother, extremely cynical about such alternative treatments. She was persuaded to take a course of BSR for her own back pain and so impressed with the results was she, that she signed up to train in South Africa. I went along full of cynicism and unsure what was to happen to me.
Kerry had said that BSR involved a series of light touches to the muscle groups to encourage them to let go and release the stored tension. Lying fully clothed, a series of tests are carried out to locate the exact sites of body stress, with Kerry watching the reaction of muscles to indicate where and in what direction the tension lies. Once the stress is found, light but definite pressure is applied in specific directions. "It is not a massage," says Kerry, "but stimulation of the muscles to take the pressure off the nerves." It felt great whilst I was being 'worked on' and Kerry gave me some exercises to do on my own. She said I might feel tired after the treatment and she was right. I slept for hours and woke relaxed and not my usual stiff self.
Apparently if the stress is recent, BSR will work very quickly, but if stress has been stored for a long time, it may take longer to release. I'm sure I've been stressed for years, between hunching over a computer and dealing with small children, but I have to admit that the tingling in my fingers has gone, the headaches subsided and the shoulders are a lot less tense. I have also noticed that I am not suffering so badly from indigestion, caused, according to Kerry, by stored up tension. I will also try and adhere to Kerry's advice of sitting properly at my computer-no slouching and no crossing of legs!
If you feel stressed and feel in need of some BSR, call Kerry on 0131 225 5656 or 0780 1103528.
