(In this segment of our interview series, Tania Bandak, MD, a primary care physician at PersonalMDs in Chestnut Hill, turns the tables on Rachel Rice, President and Founder of Five Rhythms Consulting, and interviews her about how the Eden Method enables her to get to the root of the issues. Tania and Rachel have collaborated on increasing the wellbeing of over 50 mutual patient/clients in the past 4 years.)
Tania: Rachel, you recently told me about a client of yours who had excema on over 80% of her body. You said that the rash had been getting increasingly red and itchy for a year and then remarkably cleared up within days of the session. Can you tell us about what you did in the session that you think may have helped?
Rachel; Yes, this client (who has given me permission to share her story) first developed excema about a year ago. It started with patches on her arms and slowly progressed onto her torso and then legs until it was thick, red, itchy and keeping her up at night. Skin creams weren’t helping and the corticosteroid cream that had been recommended for the rash on her arms wasn’t practical for her whole body. Benadryl helped to reduce the intensity of the itch but did not clear the rash. Within 3 days of our energy session, the excema was 60% healed and by the end of 14 days it was 90% healed. It is now completely gone.
Tania: What did you do in the session to help?
Rachel: First I used muscle energy testing to track and balance her energy systems. This helped with the itching but didn’t make the rash disappear. Then, with the idea that something ingested or touching her skin on a regular basis might be causing the issue, we used muscle energy testing as a way to figure out if any of her body care products (like shampoo, toothpaste, soap, lotion) or any foods were impacting her. This testing process revealed that a handful of foods were impacting her strength. When she removed the foods from her diet, the excema improved dramatically over the next three days.
Tania: So, muscle testing is how you got to the root of the issue?
Rachel: Yes, muscle testing is a tool that I use to identify where energy is flowing well and where it is stuck in the body, as well as what energies are impacted by external factors. It is a way of communicating with the body about which energies need support.
Tania: Is muscle testing something anyone can learn? Because honestly, it looks pretty subjective: like you’re just pushing down with differing strength.
Rachel: I agree with you about how fake it looks. I felt the same way the first time I watched Donna Eden do it. I thought it must be fake, or that she must be pushing harder. But that’s not the case. And, yes, absolutely. I believe that everyone can learn to use their muscles to test their energy flow. In fact, when I’m working with a skeptical client, I teach them how to use their muscles to check their own energies so that I am out of the loop. I also teach it as part of sessions, during Introduction to Energy Medicine Classes and in my Level 1: Fundamentals class. It is very liberating and empowering to learn. My client with the excema has learned how to “test before she ingests” in order to avoid foods that will cause her excema to flair.
Tania: How exactly does muscle testing work?
Rachel: In general, muscle testing works on the principle that muscles weaken when stressors are introduced within the testing loop. The stressor can be touching a part of the body that is sick, introducing a challenging thought, or bringing a substance that isn’t beneficial to the body into its field. Muscle testing food and supplements works because everything has a vibration and vibrational signature. Our bodies are made of atoms. In fact, all matter is made of atoms, which have a charge. That charge is always moving at a frequency, which I’ll call its vibrational signature. Some signatures are easily metabolised by our bodies and make us strong. Others are more difficult for our bodies to metabolise and make us weaker. When we have difficulty metabolising a thought or substance, it can result in stress on the body which can show up as various symptoms like muscle weakness, headaches, bodyaches, rashes, IBS, etc. Muscle testing uses this principle that things that are true for us or in sync with our vibrational signature will keep us strong or make us stronger and things that are not in sync with our vibrational signature will make us weaker in one way or another.
Tania: How do you use muscle testing in sessions?
Rachel: Muscle testing is my primary process for figuring out what is happening with the flow of energy through the nine energy systems of the body. It can also be used to figure out the impact that thoughts, beliefs, foods, supplements and medications have on the nine energy systems of the body. Once we figure out what is impacted, we work to balance the energies. This often helps people with symptoms, as it did with my client who had the bad case of excema.
Tania: Can people learn how to do muscle testing on themselves?
Rachel: Shall I show you?