"I had a fantastic night's sleep"

lsabel Brugnoli had two sessions of Body Stress Release, a non-invasive therapy from South Africa, which uses muscle testing and acupressure to locate tension and help the body to release it, so promoting good health.

I didn't go to the session with any particular illness, Just a sense that I was feeling a bit stressed. My therapist, Paul Massureik, didn't claim that he could cure anything that may be silently lurking, just that helping the body to release long-held stresses would improve my sense of well being.

I was reassured that Paul took a detailed history of my health, job and lifestyle before starting the treatment, and talked about how they could affect the tension locked into my body. 'I lay down on a couch, fully clothed, and Paul started to apply light but firm pressure all down my back. As he did this, he checked the length of my legs. This seemed strange but he explained that he was doing a series of muscle tests that would tell him where any stress in my body was focused. Manipulating these located points then stimulates the body's own defense mechanisms to let go of any of the tension being stored. 'He then worked all over my back, spine, shoulders and neck, using light pressure in the directions that he felt I needed to release stored tension. During the consultation, I mentioned that I had problems with my shoulder blade and he worked on that point, too.

I definitely felt better and I was very relaxed during the session, although the pain did come back later. What I noticed, more than anything, was that after both sessions I had a fantastic night's sleep, much better than I've had for ages. I also noticed that I felt fine after the treatment, which is unusual for me. I've had osteopathy and physiotherapy before and I have always felt 'ill' for a while afterwards, but that didn't happen this time.