The Low-Down On Body Stress Release by Kerry Teakle

What is Body Stress Release?

Developed by South Africans, Ewald and Gail Meggersee, in response to Ewald’s own crippling adversity which had plagued him all his life, since a fall from a tree when he was five, Body Stress Release (B.S.R.) is an incredibly effective, complementary health practise.

Based on the work of Dr Richard van Rumpt, a retired chiropractor, who had perfected a way of reading the body’s reflex responses and the Meggersees own research based on numerous case studies, Body Stress Release encourages the release of muscle stress and tension that may have become locked into the body as a result of stress overload.

How does it differ to other stress-relieving therapies?

B.S.R. is a gentle, non-manipulative bodywork technique, carried out on a client fully-clothed. It uses information provided by the body to determine where abnormal muscle tension is undermining the efficiency of the nervous system and disturbing the body’s ability to co-ordinate its functioning. Once the tension – or body stress – is detected, it is ‘released’ using light but definite pressure.

Why and how did you become a body stress release practitioner?

Following a redundancy from a career in public relations and having suffered from inexplicable back pain since I was fifteen, I had heard about B.S.R. from my mother, who had experienced great relief from it for her own back pain and arthritis. I visited a practitioner in Surrey and was so impressed with the results that I travelled to South Africa to retrain at the Body Stress Release Academy in Rondevlei on the Garden Route. The five-month training course attracts applicants from all over the world but they only take 18 students a year.

What will happen during a treatment?

During the initial thirty minute appointment, a detailed medical history is taken. Body Stress Release is carried out on the client fully clothed, lying down on a special couch.

I carry out a series of tests to locate the exact sites of body stress, watching the reaction of muscles to indicate where and in what direction the tension lies. The stress is then gently released by means of light but definite pressure, encouraging the body to let go. The process may provide instant relief or require a number of sessions, depending on the severity and duration of the stress. This is because tight protective layers of muscle tend to relax by degrees back to their normal tone.

I then provide feedback on my findings, suggest some simple self-help techniques and advice on the importance of posture and correct exercising, giving tips where necessary.

I’m feeling slightly under the weather. Could it give me a ‘pep-up’?

Most definitely by encouraging the release of stress and tension that may otherwise be preventing you from achieving optimal health, no matter how healthy your lifestyle!

What else can it help with?

Body Stress Release may help to alleviate musculo-skeletal pain such back and neck ache, R.S.I., slipped discs, arthritis and frozen shoulders; headaches and migraines; respiratory, digestive and gynaecological problems and general fatigue.

Money’s a bit tight at the moment. Will I need dozens of treatments or will one be enough to sort me out?

As B.S.R. is a process and not a quick fix, I always recommend that initially, clients book in for three appointments; ideally on day one, four and eleven. Effects may be dramatic, with instant relief from pain. However, if the body stress has been present for a long time, it may take more sessions to release the layers of locked in tension. Remember your health is your wealth!

Where can I find out more about this treatment?

For further information or to book an appointment with Kerry Teakle, call Medicalternative (www.medicalternative.com) , Edinburgh on 0131 225 5656. To find a UK practitioner in your area, visit www.bodystressrelease-uk.co.uk or internationally visit www.bodystressrelease.com.

Copyright 2006 Kerry Teakle. Originally a public relations consultant, Kerry Teakle, M.B.S.R.A. (U.K.), travelled to South Africa to retrain at the Body Stress Release Academy in Rondevlei. Scotland’s first Body Stress Release Practitioner, Kerry practises at Medicalternative, a private GP clinic in Edinburgh, in addition to working part-time freelancing in P.R..