polarity revealed

The Dance of Polarity

An article by Chris Reedyk. Former Chairperson of the United Kingdom Polarity Therapy Association.

Life is a song. It has its own rhythm of harmony. It is a symphony of all things which exist in major and minor keys of Polarity. It blends the discords, by opposites into a harmony which unites the whole into a grand symphony of life. To learn through experience in this life, to appreciate the symphony and lessons of life and to blend with the whole , is the object of our being here Dr Stone

Dr Stone, the founder of Polarity Therapy, saw a deep link between Eastern and Western thought. This link is the concept and the reality of energy and its flow.

At the centre of Chinese philosophy is the belief in a single cosmic universe with no beginning or end, called Tao. Tao is the source of all things; the knower and the known, the mover and the movement if you like.

In a positive burst of creative energy movement polarities arise, symbolised in the yin/yang circle – half black and half white. Yang is the phase of energy which is outgoing, positive and expansive. Yin is the phase which is contractive, negative and receptive. Interacting they set up a process which instigates the movement of energy from the most subtle realms to the coarser manifestations of matter or physical form.

It is the dance of contrast and merging that leads to creation at every level.

The fusion of yin and yang at the Center comes in a moment of self-mastery; in love or in artistic creation; one may find it in calligraphy; in poetry, dance or all other forms of art – Schipper

Whereas Tao, or underlying unity, presupposes an interrelatedness between all aspects of creation, in the West a different perspective evolved. Descartes’ view of the universe as a perfectly functioning mechanism led him to believe that the body was subjected to similar rules; consisting of a complete mechanism with separate compartments for mind and soul. Newtonian physics, building on this understanding led to the establishment of physical laws such as gravity, chemical reaction, electromagnetism etc. Within this context illness was perceived as a mechanism that could be treated by pinpointing its ‘habitat’ and fixing the part.

It is with the arrival of modern physics and neuroscience that an underlying wholeness is being revealed rather than the separateness we’ve grown up with, to explain the natural phenomena that do not seem governed by Newtonian laws.

Dr Stone recognised that movement is essential to life, or the manifestation of energy. The relationship between two opposing forces creates a tension and a potential for flow between them, which he termed the “Polarity Principle”.

In Polarity Therapy the energy model is best described as an expansion or descent from the neutral source into being (physical form), also known as the involutionary phase, followed by a contraction or return to the source; the evolutionary phase.

The push and pull of gravity which holds the solar system together; the push of blood from our hearts and the receptive pull back; the movement of water from high to low; the heat of the sun and the cool of night. Yin and Yang potentials underline the movement of life –Sills

Since the human body is part of the world of nature it is subject to the same laws that govern the universe. As we travel through life though, we learn to have limits. We experience restraints, norms and experiences that shape us. We form arbitrary and relative definitions of ourselves, alienated from our true nature, which is the unconscious mind, filled with potential.

These limitations lead to a restriction of the energetic flow, a tendency to stay with the pole we are familiar with. We cease to be able to act creatively, and deny ourselves the chance to engage with the dance of life, to sing our song.

The focus in Polarity Therapy is therefore on the one hand to attend to the integrity of the body and the relationship between Spirit (Tao) and matter. The Polarity therapist’s aim is to release tension and resistance in the body to bring the physical into deeper harmony with the spiritual. At the same time (s)he encourages the client to take responsibility for the healing process and their ongoing, evolutionary journey by actively engaging in Self-development through the use of awareness and process skills, polarity yoga, nutritional advice, and bodywork.

There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist….The world will not have it Martha Graham

Shall we dance?

Origins

Dr Randolph Stone (1890-1981) studied the major healing arts in East and West, and earned Doctor’s degrees in Chiropractic, Naturopathy and Osteopathy.

Practicing for over 60 years, he remained a dedicated student of the art and science of energy healing all his life. It was through his studies and practical work that he gained an understanding of the principle of energetic flow, which culminated in the development of Polarity Therapy.

Polarity Therapy combines four different approaches to encourage a return to health, or wholeness. A polarity therapist engages with the health of the person, not their disease, and there is a strong emphasis on self-motivation through the application of the four ‘pillars’ of intervention mentioned above. It is after all your body!

Working with the polarities within (and outside) clients gain an understanding of the patterns underlying their lives, and are supported to make life enhancing choices.

Benefits

Due to the very nature and scope of Polarity as a complete energy healing system, clients experience a wide range of benefits. Some of these include: