What is muscle testing?

When you use muscle testing, also called kinesiology, you are checking the status of your body's electrical system. When your electrical system is fully connected and functional, your body is at ease. When your electrical system is disconnected or distorted, dis-ease can take hold.

There are two types of muscle testing. Muscle testing, you can use by yourself using your hands or body, and there is the type of muscle testing requiring two people, where the testee holds their arm out while the tester asks a question and pushes lightly down on the testee’s arm. The testee resists, and their arm weakens if the answer is no and stays strong if the answer is yes. What you’ll find in this publication is based on the same principle, just a different application.

What does muscle testing do?

Muscle testing is a technique to help you recognize two answers: YES and NO. If your testing circuit stays strong, that's a YES. It means your body is supported by whatever you’re checking. If the testing circuit weakens, that's a NO. It indicates your body is NOT supported by whatever you’re checking. 

What is my electrical system?

The electrical system of your body is your brain and central nervous system. It also extends into your subtle energy field or aura. It’s similar to the electrical system in your home. There are circuits in every room or area of your home; likewise, there are circuits throughout the organs and systems of your body. In both cases, when the circuits are fully connected, energy is moving freely and everything works fine. If they get overloaded or broken, the flow can become distorted or cut off causing problems. At home, if a circuit keeps blowing out you realize you can't run the space heater, air conditioner, and hair dryer all at the same time if they are plugged into the same circuit. 

Being a clever human, you reset the circuit breaker and plug these items into different circuits to alter the demand. Your body works in much the same way. If you overload a circuit you can disturb or blow out your electrical system. 

Issues or situations that can cause this include unhealthy thought patterns, poor quality food and water, lack of sleep or exercise, unhappy personal or work relationships, and physical or emotional trauma. Muscle testing helps you select essences that reconnect your electrical system, restoring proper function. There are several ways to do muscle testing and we’ll explore a few of them here. 

The following techniques are techniques used by yourself or with your own body.

The Perelandra Technique*

Generally, if you're right-handed, your right hand is your dominant hand (the one you write with) and your left hand is your non-dominant hand. If you are left-handed the opposite is true. To simplify this explanation, I will use right hand to mean "dominant," and left hand to mean "non-dominant." If you are left-handed, please adjust the directions. Thank you!

If, as you proceed through these directions, you find your testing isn't working well, try switching hands. You may just be wired differently. You can also check out the "Simple Fixes" on page 7.

1.  Connect the thumb and pinky finger of your left (or non-dominant) hand. This is your testing circuit. You may touch the tips or pads together, or overlap the fingers with your thumb over your pinky nail.

2.  Next, touch the pads of the thumb and first finger of your right (or dominant) hand together. Now, insert the right-hand fingers into the circle of your testing circuit (left thumb and pinky) so the knuckles in your thumbs are touching.

3.  To test or check yourself, spread your right thumb and finger apart at the same time you try to keep the fingers of your left hand together. Use the same amount of pressure with each set of fingers. You want see if your circuit fingers (left hand) will stay connected while you try to separate them with your test fingers (right hand).

4.  The test is quick and firm, not a battle to see how long it takes to separate the fingers if you just struggle with it long enough. Maintain equal, steady pressure in each set of fingers, test firmly and quickly, and release.

5.  If the circuit fingers stay connected, that's a YES; if they weaken or the connection breaks, that's a NO. Your NO may be very obvious, or just a subtle weakening. This will become easier as you practice, pay attention to your body's response, and practice some more!

6.  Relax between tests ­ that is, after testing one essence, relax just a second or two then test the next essence.

At the beginning, you may feel awkward and uncoordinated doing this. THAT'S NORMAL! In a short time this technique becomes second nature.

* for more details plus a video of Machaelle Small Wright of Perelandra demonstrating this method on youtube.

Finger Dowsing

1. Begin with your dominant hand (the one you write with). Touch your thumb to the fingertips of your first two fingers of the same hand, then rub your thumb and fingertips together in whatever way is natural for you. Just notice how it feels.

2. Now, ask your body, "Show me my YES." You may find your thumb circling over your fingers in one direction or the other, or sliding back and forth. Your thumb may slide over your fingers very easily, or you may feel friction or stickiness between your thumb and fingers. Whatever you feel is correct for you. Just notice how it feels, then go on to the next step.

3. Now ask your body, "Show me my NO." Notice what your thumb and fingers want to do now. Most likely, they'll respond differently than they did in step 1. For example, if your fingers slid easily in step one, you will feel more friction or more stickiness now, or vice versa. The direction your fingers move may change. You may feel more or less heat. These are just some things to watch for. Remember to LISTEN TO YOUR OWN BODY. It's telling you the truth.

Practice until you can easily discern the difference between your YES and NO. Any time you are using this technique you can stop and check to remind yourself how your YES and NO feel.

For some people the difference between YES and NO is very subtle, for others it's very obvious. If it's hard to tell the difference between your YES and NO, ask your body to make it more obvious so it's easier for you. Keep practicing to become more comfortable with the technique and trust your body's wisdom.

Body Forward, Body Backward

Another way to recognize a positive and negative response from your body is to feel how it moves when you ask a question: If you step forward or your body leans slightly forward, that's generally a YES. If you step backward or move backward, that's a NO. (To be certain of your unique signals, ask your body to show you its YES and NO. Remember you are looking for YOUR body's answers, not someone else's. Trust what you get!)

Now What?

When you feel comfortable with one of these techniques you're ready to check yourself for essences and other remedies, You can also use your new-found skill to ask questions about any part of your life.

The key is asking one clear question at a time that can be answered "YES" or "NO."

At first, keep your questions as simple as possible. Ask, "Does it support me to take _________ now?" or "Is _________ a priority for me now?"

Keep your questions in present time and act on the answer you receive. If you ask the same question over and over, you will get conflicting answers and this will lead to confusion and frustration. In the beginning, keep it simple.

Another technique I use if I feel like I'm not getting a clear answer is called P-A-T: PRIORITY, APPROPRIATE, TOLERATE, developed by Bobbi Brooks. You can use these three questions to ask about food, supplements, and many other areas of interest. When you get into the habit of asking your body, it will thank you!

The three P-A-T questions go together. Ask them one at a time:

1. "Is __________ a Priority for me now" (check)

2. "Is __________ Appropriate for me now" (check)

3. "Will my body Tolerate __________ now" (check).

If you get a NO to any of the questions, STOP. Don't take the remedy, eat the food, or do whatever it is you're asking about.

Avoid asking "should I...?" questions since "should" is often a judgment call, refers to a duty or obligation, and is often used to make you feel guilty. Shoulds don't often lead to healing. Also, "Can I...?" means exactly what it says -­ you are asking if you are able to do something or take something, not if it will do you good or harm. If you are physically capable of putting something into your mouth and swallowing it, for example, you will get a yes to a question like "Can I eat this?" and that's not what you want to know!

Tips for Successful Testing

Muscle testing comes in handy for choosing the best foods to eat and the most helpful supplements to take; whether you should go somewhere, be with someone, do something now. Any question that can be answered YES or NO can be asked using one of these systems. Just remember to keep your questions simple and in present time.

Your responsibility is the practice, practice, practice, until you are comfortable with the technique of your choice.

When you're asking questions, be sure you're willing to hear the answer. If you have already decided what answer you want, make your free will choice, take responsibility for the consequences, and do whatever it is you want to do. Don't waste time asking an insincere question. You will receive an insincere answer.

For example, "Will this Rocky Road ice cream support me right now?" You know it won't support your physical health and your body is certainly aware ice cream is not the best choice for you. However, since you are asking a question you already know the answer to (you've made up your mind to eat the ice cream, after all), your body will simply acknowledge that you're going to eat it and give you a yes or give you an unclear response. REMEMBER: Your body's wisdom will never override your free will!

(In these weight-conscious times, I'll add a side note: If, from time to time, you choose to eat something you consider less than healthy but you REALLY LIKE IT, please eat it and ENJOY! Smile over every bite, smack your lips, taste every morsel with gusto and appreciation. You are feeding your body emotionally positive energy so be grateful. Eating so called "bad" foods and hating yourself afterwards creates very negative energy in your body, disrupting digestion and putting your body into a state of high stress. I encourage you to learn to honor and bless every bite of food you put into your body-it will raise the vibration of the food and fill your body/mind with positive energy.)

Above all, be willing to be honest with yourself and hear the truth your body is telling you. It takes practice and may require slowing down a bit and paying attention. This is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself!

Intuition: Your "Inner Dowser"

Intuition is our built-in system for knowing YES and NO answers and I often call it the "Inner Dowser." You might also think of it as your "gut feeling." You may take this skill for granted because it answers your questions quickly and with so little effort, or you may ignore it altogether because you've learned to suppress this natural part of yourself. When you ask yourself a question, trust the first thought that comes in, NOT the next one that says, "Oh, you're just making that up!"

One common experience of the Inner Dowser is discerning when people are telling you the truth. Have you ever spoken with someone and you immediately trusted them and what they were saying? Somewhere inside (your gut, your left pinky finger, the shiver running up your back, that tingling in your feet...) you just knew this was a real person speaking his or her truth with sincerity.

By the same token, you've probably had a conversation with someone you couldn't get away from fast enough because you knew he or she was lying or trying to put one over on you. Perhaps they were smiling and saying wonderful-sounding things, but somehow you knew they were not in integrity. Maybe your skin crawled or your stomach knotted up, perhaps there was a sour taste in your mouth or a tightness in your jaw or around your head or heart. However your body responded, you knew this was not a person you trusted.

You may be familiar with these signs of your Intuition or Inner Dowser, although you may not have called them by this name before. I encourage you to explore this important aspect of yourself and learn to rely on your intuitive knowing.

Ressources shared with the permission of Nanci Wesling