-
On the Shoulders of Giants – a scientific model for kinesiology ethics
The IASK (International Association of Specialized Kinesiologists) forum this year brought forward a question of ethics. Specifically, how we can move forward as an industry while respecting the intellectual property of course writers and authors. As you can imagine, this sparked some pretty interesting responses! The forum is supposed to allow each person who wishes to, to speak briefly on the topic but without referring to the remarks made by anyone else. This gets a little intense when you have a lot of people speaking a variety of languages who are all passionate about their craft. The responses ranged from rants about the sanctity of copyright laws, to how to…
-
IASK Meeting of Associations and Conference in Bergamo: A few thoughts.
I don’t often write about my travel experiences. After all, this isn’t a travel blog; it’s about health. But when my love of tromping about in far off places meets my passion for Specialized Kinesiology? Well that’s about as good as it gets! In April I attended the 4th Annual Meeting of Associations in Bergamo Italy as a representative of the IASK (International Association of Specialized Kinesiology) Board and speaking on behalf of the Canadian association as well (CanASK). Top 3 reasons (in my opinion) why the MoA is a good idea: Many of the challenges encountered by Specialized Kinesiology associations are universal – in discussing challenges as a group,…
-
International SK Week
Every year it becomes a little less weird. Specialized Kinesiology is becoming more mainstream, but we still have a long way to go to increase public awareness. At the 2nd Meeting of Associations in Portugal, 2015 (hosted by IASK, the International Association of Specialized Kinesiologists), we decided to declare a week for just this. Seven days when, as kinesiologists all over the world, we will all make an effort to bring muscle testing out to the public and educate as many people as possible. International SK Week is March 13-19. I encourage all my peers to find a way to talk about their work with as many people as possible.…
-
When muscles won’t act like they ‘should’
It’s all about accurate muscle testing. Finding an accurate indicator muscle is the absolute most important thing to teach Specialized Kinesiology students because, if you can’t trust what the muscles are telling you, there is no point to moving ahead. One of the most frustrating things that can happen to a new SK student is when the muscle just won’t do what it’s supposed to. I remember way back when I took my first Touch for Health class. I can home super-excited because I loved it so much. In class, everything was easy and I felt like this was something I could be really good at. And then I tried…
-
Matthew Thie on Touch for Health Basics and Why They Matter
Originally published in Specialized Kinesiology Magazine, Winter 2017 Back to Basics issue. Photo credit: Jan Cole, 2016 TFHKA Conference Growing up with the creator of Touch for Health for a father, the system seems to be in Matthew Thie’s blood. Any conversation with Matthew about kinesiology work eventually makes its way back to the core tenants of self-responsibility and why basic, simple techniques are the best ones; and he has made a career out of travelling the world speaking on this subject and teaching others. And so for this issue, Matthew and I sat down for a long-distance conversation about the basics of kinesiology, what has changed and why it…
-
5 reasons why your holistic business is failing (and how to fix it!)
You have mistaken ‘holistic’ for ‘unprofessional’. Holistic business means a business model that touches all aspects of your life and is more personal and vulnerable than the corporate model. It allows for you to make some of your own rules. It does not mean that you don’t need proper licenses or training, or that you are above traditional business methodology. You can skip shoes, but not pants, know what I mean? Show your clients respect. You haven’t properly defined your business. What I mean by this is that you haven’t taken the time to sit down and really think about what your business offers and who you want to attract.…
-
Is kinesiology ‘Un-Christian’?
Every once and awhile I get questioned by someone who believes that kinesiology and muscle testing are not Biblical and should not be sanctioned by true Christians. As this has come up for myself and a few of my students recently, I thought I would take a minute to write about it. If you believe in an almighty and benevolent Creator, it makes sense to think that He would make our bodies in a way that would allow us to heal ourselves. We have brilliant systems for self-healing in place; the procedure your body goes through to close up an open wound for instance, platelets, plasma and fibrin working to…
-
The Body is Electrical
The body is electrical. You often hear people in the holistic health field referring to the body as energetic, but not giving any thought to what that actually means. If the ‘energy’ that we are referring to when we talk about ‘energy work’ is electric in nature, then we can begin to explain how it works a little better – it means that we can discuss energy in terms of physics, rather than esoteric terminology. This idea appeals to people like me who want to know the ‘how’ of what holistic practitioners do. If you tell me that you can help me feel better by waving your hands around and…
-
Why SK Magazine?
Why put together a magazine? I love to write. When I was a little kid, I figured I would be a poet and fiction writer when I grew up. When I was in high school and began to understand that poetry may not be a lucrative field, I decided I was going to be a journalist. That career path was unceremoniously tossed aside when I fell in love with the natural health world, but I have always kept my toes in it. Over the years I have written for newspapers, magazines and websites as a freelancer, usually on the topic of health and wellness, trying to demystify subjects like kinesiology…
-
Specialized Kinesiology – What I Wish I Knew Before I Started
Lately, as I have been attempting to navigate my way through new adventures in homesteading, I have been reading a lot of blog posts. Many of these have had similar titles of the, “5 things I wish I had known before getting goats” or “10 things you should know before buying chickens” variety. This has lead me to think a lot about one of the most common questions I am asked as an instructor of Specialized Kinesiology – what do you need to know before you start? The truth is, looking back, I am embarrassed by how little I knew when I started out. I had a background in nutrition…
