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Ortho-Bionomy®
It's development, philosophy (and a little politics)...
Robin Wilson, Registered Advanced Instructor
Ortho-Bionomy was born just a bit ahead of its time, near the end of the days of "Flower Power," and at the beginning of what was then called the "Human Potential Movement" -- that is, the late sixties of this century. It was founded by Canadian-born, British osteopath, Dr. Arthur Lincoln Pauls, who possessed a black belt in Judo, and a curiosity about everything. Arthur wondered why it was that he could throw someone's body across a room by a simple twist of the wrist, yet to move a small bone in the back, he had to throw his own body with considerable force against the spine. It was his exploration of an idea published in a then recent article by an American osteopath*, that he found resolution to his paradox. Force was not necessary to change the alignment of the spine!Over time, Arthur discovered through his own experimenting that by comfortably exaggerating misalignments through positioning the body, and with the addition of gentle compression, the body responded effortlessly by releasing the tension which maintained the misalignments and spontaneously realigned itself, sometimes within only a few seconds. These changes were accomplished through a self-correcting capacity in the neuromuscular reflexes, stimulated by the positions. This was the birth of what we call "Phase Four," or the beginning work in Ortho-Bionomy.
Arthur's training in martial arts made him sensitive to touch and energy, and he found that he could feel the patterns of tension deep within the body and position for them almost by instinct. Moreover, as his sensitivity increased, it seemed that peoples' bodies almost positioned themselves under his hands. This was the birth of what we call "Phase Five," and the beginning of our advanced work.
During this time, Arthur began to incorporate other forms into his practice, modifying them in ways which reflected the basic principle of self-healing through exaggeration of a pattern. These included: his own way of working with Chapman's Reflexes -- to promote lymphatic self-cleansing of the body systems; gentle isometrics from the osteopathic tradition -- as a preliminary release for entrenched muscle spasm; rhythmically mirroring movement patterns -- to address unconscious patterning in movement; an extensive set of home exercises for self-correction of the curves of the spine; and later, a special form of cranial work based upon spiral energy patterns. In this way, Ortho-Bionomy developed into an integrated system addressing the whole body.
Not satisfied simply to release patterns of tension nonviolently, painlessly and effortlessly, Arthur wanted to know why it was that with some people he could release these patterns, yet they would return each week with the pattern reestablished. He became intrigued by the idea of energy fields and the aura, and began to notice that these people consistently demonstrated a particular attitude, or mood, in their lives. He began to wonder if there might be some connection between energy fields, mood, and the body.
The answer eluded him until one day, quite by accident, he noticed that he felt something as he moved his hands in the air close to a patient's body -- not just an energy sensation, but something also about the nature of who that person was. Through experimentation, he discovered that there were particular ways he could move his hands according to his feeling, and the person's mood would lift, or a part of the body that had resisted change by physical contact would release. Later, there would be evidence that the person's life had changed in some way, due to a shift in attitude or viewpoint, and the physical pattern ceased to return. This was the birth of what we call "Phase Six," which is the heart of our advanced work.
Arthur Lincoln Pauls, D.O. - 1995
Arthur was so excited, he joyfully determined to share this new technique with his colleagues. He demonstrated to a group of osteopaths at his alma mater, by waving his hands over a subject with an intractable pelvic rotation, which was causing low back pain. The rotation released, with measurable results, yet he was laughed from the room. On that day, Arthur determined that he would share his discoveries with anyone with an open mind who wanted to learn. His work was painless, safe enough for a child to practice, requiring only a developed sensitivity, which anyone could learn. And healing was, afterall, for everyone, not just the province of stuffy professionals who would not believe what their own eyes confirmed!It was around this time that I met Arthur in So. California, and he became my mentor of many years. His work made the difference in my ability to heal from painful injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident years before, but it was his insistence that I was the healer, and not he, that really caught my attention. I happily discovered that I, with a small body and delicate hands, could share this work with anyone with virtually no effort. The emphasis upon patterns of energy and awareness as the source of physical experience suited my vision and purpose in pursuing the healing arts, and when I saw Phase Six for the first time, something in me responded as if I had always known how to do it. A great joy welled up inside me! After a few years of study, Arthur appointed me as the seventh of his Advanced Instructors, as one who naturally recognized and embodied the aura work at a level deep enough to teach to others.
As Ortho-Bionomy grew in the experience of Arthur and his early followers, it developed into a coherent philosophy about the true nature of healing. Each individual is seen as affirmed sovereign creator of her/his own unique experience, including that of the body. As such, no other can really "fix" that which we experience in our bodies: It is for us to create, or uncreate it. Health and happiness at all levels spring from living in harmony with our essential nature, and pain is the signal that we have misunderstood and are resisting that nature. Self-correction occurs naturally and safely through self-recognition, when we cease to resist and begin to accept that which is within us, both in body and/or spirit. Hence, all a healer really need do to initiate change is mirror to the body/person, or exaggerate in some way the pattern that is being created. Ultimately, there is no need to analyze, diagnose, or even understand the pattern -- the understanding already exists within the person, waiting to be released. Recognition may occur simply in the neuromuscular system, via subconscious channels in the body and energy field, or consciously, as the person begins to see herself in the pattern. Either way, change will ensue when recognition occurs, when and only when the person is ready, for it is the nature of life to flow toward its own highest good, once we cease to resist it. Only we, as an individual expression of that life which is flowing, ultimately know within ourselves the path that we must follow. An Ortho-Bionomist, or any healer for that matter, can only "remind us of that which we already know."
Today, viewing community through the window that is the simple yet profound philosophy of Ortho-Bionomy, I see that the proliferation of licensing, regulation, and most recently the new federal "anti-quack law," is only evidence of a lingering resistance in human consciousness to the knowledge of its own true nature. It is founded in a superstitious, misguided (and sometimes deliberately propagated) belief that we are powerless, unable to discern what is right and true for ourselves, unable to heal ourselves, unable to create our own reality, unsafe and hapless victims of life, the world and people around us. Ultimately it is an expression of a profound fear of the unmanifest, the unknown and death. Pain, which is an expression of our misunderstanding about the unknown and death, will not go away by our attempts to box, diagnose, regulate and insure it!
Ortho-Bionomy teaches that these experiences are a part of Life, existing within us as a part of ourselves. Some call this the "Shadow Self." By acknowledging and accepting all that we experience, even the fear, we bring our shadow self back to its proper and special place within us, that of "Dark (subconscious) Counselor," teacher and healer. Without resistance to this part of ourselves, we can begin to ask the right questions, setting our feet again upon the path of personal harmony. The answers lie within us, as surely as the Life which springs forth irrepressibly from our Being -- if only we will ask. Beyond the lies and misunderstandings, as we heal by accepting ourselves in all our facets, we find there is nothing here to fear -- only ourselves and this little gem of a planet of which we are a part. This life, this body, this self, this world is ours to create and enjoy, our Garden, our place to play, our gift. Let us celebrate it, as we were meant to do!
No one can take from us the knowledge of, and the right to be, who we are. Nor can anyone rescue us from what we have created, for that is our gift to ourselves. What we can do as healers is listen, mirror, share our own experience, stand firmly for the truth within ourselves for ourselves, and assist others in that process. This is the gentle yet vigilant message of Ortho-Bionomy. Ortho-Bionomy was deliberately created for all to practice. The healing principles it represents are fundamental to Life, belong to everyone, and cannot be quenched, regulated and controlled. Our attempts to do so can only delay an inevitable process that is far larger, more meaningful than the human politics of fear masquerading as altruism. Eventually that attempt will fail. The Party Planet is coming!
*Jones, D.O., Lawrence, "Spontaneous Release by Positioning," [The D.O., A Publication for Physicians and Surgeons 4:109-116, Jan 1964.
© 2000 Robin Wilson
Article originally published in Twin Cities Wellness, September 1997 issue.
Revised by author 8/22/2000.