S Y M B I O S I S 1 3J O U R N A L O F E C O L O G I C A L L Y S U S T A I N A B L E M E D I C I N E

Ortho-Bionomy is a gentle, effectiveapproach to somatic re-education that usescomfortable positioning and relaxing move-ments to unlock tension, relieve pain,promote structural balance, reduce stressand increase personal awareness and well-being. Ortho-Bionomy incorporates a widespectrum of techniques ranging from hands-on contact to non-physical contactwith the client’s energy field to initiateinnate, self-corrective reflexes that remindthe body of its own natural ability to findbalance.1

In a typical session the client, clothedand without shoes, lies on a table and iden-tifies any areas of discomfort; the practition-er slowly moves the client into positions ofcomfort that allow patterns of tension torelease and to be replaced by a sense ofwell-being. Ortho-Bionomy addresses aremarkable number of painful and debilitat-ing physical and emotional conditions; it istaught and recognized worldwide for its simple, gentle and lasting effectiveness.

Origin and History

The philosophical and scientific roots ofOrtho-Bionomy lie in the field ofOsteopathy. This 100-year old system ofhealth care recognizes the self-healing, self-regulating capacity of the body, and seeks tofacilitate and augment the basic curativeforce inherent in the body. Osteopathy hasdeveloped a system of treatment that

acknowledges the relationship of the physicalstructure of the body (both osseous andsomatic) to the self-healing potential of theindividual.2

A particular osteopathic treatmentprocedure, known as positional release, wasdeveloped by Lawrence Jones, an Americanosteopath. In 1964, Jones described inan article, “Spontaneous Release byPositioning,” that pain and tension couldbe relieved in a few minutes by slowly andcarefully exaggerating an abnormal postureso as to make the patient maximallycomfortable. He found that muscle spasmsthat had been holding the bones in an abnor-mal position would spontaneously relax with-out a forceful manipulation.

Arthur Lincoln Pauls, a Britishosteopath, was inspired by Jones’ work todedicate himself to the principles of non-force corrective techniques. By 1976 Paulshad developed the Phased Reflex Techniquesof Ortho-Bionomy. These techniques encom-pass positional release and energetic tech-niques that enable the client to understand,consciously experience and even participatein their own capacity to self-correct.

In Conventional Health Care

Ortho-Bionomy’s primary benefits lie inhelping people to break the cycle of pain, tocorrect structural and somatic dysfunction,and to release stress. This non-invasive, quickacting approach is an effective preparation

The first in a series highlighting specific healing modalities within esm

Ortho-Bionomy:

The Homeopathy of BodyworkBy Luann Overmyer

Spotlight on ESM Therapies

Luann Overmyer is a

Nationally Certified Therapeutic

Bodyworker and a Registered

Senior Practitioner and

Advanced Instructor with the

Society of Ortho-Bionomy,

International. She teaches

Ortho-Bionomy seminars in the

United States and Australia, and

maintains a private practice in

Albany, California. Luann has

developed techniques to address

carpal tunnel syndrome and

neuritis conditions of the arm

and is currently writing a book

on Ortho-Bionomy self-care.

S Y M B I O S I S1 4 J O U R N A L O F E C O L O G I C A L L Y S U S T A I N A B L E M E D I C I N E

for movement and therapeutic exercise.Ortho-Bionomy incorporates a re-educationprocess that includes isometric and isotonictechniques, posture and gait training, aware-ness-based therapeutic exercise and posi-tional release as part of the client’s self-careprogram.

Ortho-Bionomy facilitates the therapeu-tic process. The body is always moved in thedirection of comfort, allowing the client torelax and develop trust in the practitioner’shands and the therapeutic process. WithOrtho-Bionomy the client experiences agreater sense of well being and ease fromwithin, and learns to move toward comfortand away from pain. The client becomesphysically and mentally attuned to inherentpossibilities of change.

The key to the effectiveness of Ortho-Bionomy lies in the reflex activity and in theproprioceptive nervous system. This systemgenerally works below normal waking con-sciousness, shaping posture and movementpatterns by registering and adapting thebody’s subtlest responses to a lifetime ofexperience.

In Ortho-Bionomy, the slow move-ments, gentle positioning and slight com-pression stimulate the proprioceptors at apace that allows the client the opportunity tobe consciously present and attuned to thestored experience within these movementpatterns. Proprioceptively, the client isoffered alternative and more functional patterns. This respectful non-force approachaffirms the natural wisdom of the body,offering the client possibilities for change.3

The techniques of Ortho-Bionomy edu-cate the client to recognize which positionsrelieve pain or stress. Finding these opti-mum positions stimulates self-correctionand interrupts the reflex arc that perpetuatesthe pain cycle. This is especially useful inchronic cases where the trauma pattern hasbeen proprioceptively incorporated.

For example, take the case of a womanwho suffers an injury that disturbs her nor-mal, healthy structural pattern of movement.

This respectful

non-force approach

affirms the natural

wisdom of the body,

offering the client

possibilities for

change.

She adapts to the trauma and develops compensation patterns somewhat morelimiting, perhaps painful, yet still functional.

The practitioner, guided by the client’s pre-ferred posture and subtle movement, supportsand follows the movement patterns inherent inthe tissue. This allows the client to self-correcther own structural faults, while at the sametime releasing any emotional and mental trau-ma that may have been generated by the injuryand stored in the compensation posture.

Through the action of the proprioceptivesystem the client can release the trauma, resist-ance and pain, increase her range of motion,and learn to integrate more effectively herphysical, emotional, and mental experiences.4

In effect, Ortho-Bionomy is compatiblewith any system of traditional medicine. Thesetechniques have already been incorporated intoa variety of health care settings: medical offices,physical therapy clinics, sports medicine clin-ics, outpatient chemotherapy clinics, HIV andAIDS clinics, dental and chiropractic offices.Ortho-Bionomy is currently being used byosteopaths, nurses, manual lymph drainagetherapists, physical and occupational thera-pists, massage therapists, bodywork practition-ers, counselors, psychotherapists and socialworkers.

In Allied Health Care Practices

Conventional allied health care benefits fromintegrating Ortho-Bionomy in several ways.The techniques work quickly to release painand discomfort. The average position of releaseis only held for 20-60 seconds, yet the reliefcan be profound. The client becomes engagedin the therapeutic process, learning that pain isnot endless, and that comfort is a realizableoutcome. Health care practitioners find thatonce pain is relieved, patients can communi-cate more coherently about their symptomsand take a greater role in their healing process.Patient resistance to therapy is eliminated andrecovery time can be reduced.

The work has been safely and extensivelyapplied for a wide variety of orthopedic

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S Y M B I O S I S 1 5J O U R N A L O F E C O L O G I C A L L Y S U S T A I N A B L E M E D I C I N E

conditions. Ortho-Bionomy has totallyeliminated pain in post-surgical patientswith bilateral hip replacements who couldnot tolerate any extrinsic movement. It isused to address the chronic and acute painof scoliosis. Low back conditions andsciatica problems quickly resolve with thetechniques and gentle exercise program ofthis work.

Physical therapists use Ortho-Bionomypositional release to relieve muscle pain andspasms, muscle imbalances, and increaserange of motion. The techniques preparethe soft tissue and joints for mobilization,movement, therapeutic exercises, and moredirect stretching and soft tissue work.Ortho-Bionomy is a useful adjunct to tradi-tional physical therapy as it uses physio-logical principles that allow healing andrelease to come from within. Internal cuesincrease proprioceptive awareness to allowreintegration, realignment, and the releaseof habitual or compensated postural andmovement holding patterns.

Ortho-Bionomy effectively treatssports injuries by stimulating naturalneuromuscular reflexes to reduce swelling,decrease pain, increase range of motion,and enhance healing capacity.

In chiropractic clinics, Ortho-Bionomybalances muscle dystonia and dysfunctions,increases joint mobility and range ofmotions, and especially re-educates musclespasm in preparation for joint mobilizationand adjustment.

Ortho-Bionomy is highly effective indealing with the side effects of cancer treat-ment. It alleviates discomfort secondary tosurgical procedures including frozen shoul-der and pain due to access port surgery. Italso relieves nausea, lack of energy, and dis-comfort during chemo therapy sessions.

The hands-on component of physicaltouch helps the cancer patient to relax, toreintegrate a somatic sense of their bodies,and to alleviate fear. Patients appreciate theopportunity to engage and focus on theirbodies within a wellness perspective that

Ortho-Bionomy

allows cancer

patients to slow

down, experience

and reintegrate

their sense of

themselves in a

somatic way that

focuses on wellness

and quality of life.

encourages a sense of their natural healingcapacity. Their somatic and emotional feel-ings are acknowledged in a safe and support-ive manner.

Ortho-Bionomy allows cancer patientsto slow down, experience and reintegratetheir sense of themselves in a somatic waythat focuses on wellness and quality of life.The work helps them to understand howstress and fear affect the body and to imple-ment somatic techniques that empower themto alleviate their own pain and discomfort.

Orthopedic surgeons, neurologists,doctors, acupuncturists, nutritionists,psychologist, massage therapists and chiro-practors all refer patients to independentpractitioners of Ortho-Bionomy. These pro-fessionals find that a wide variety of physicaland emotional conditions respond toOrtho-Bionomy’s non-invasive techniques.The gentle approach allows for physical,mental, and emotional effects of trauma to bereleased effortlessly and re-alignment andreintegration to occur naturally.

R e f e r e n c e s

1 Society of Ortho-Bionomy, International®,P.O. Box 257899, Chicago, IL 60625-7899,(800) 743-4890, offers information onpractitioner training programs, a newsletter with a schedule of classes throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, and sells a directory listing Registered Practitioners and Instructors by state and country.Recommended reading: Ortho-Bionomy, A Manual of Practice, Kathy L. Kain with Jim Berns, is available from North Atlantic Books, P.O. Box 12327, Berkeley, CA 94712.

N o t e s

1 Overmyer, Luann. Ortho-Bionomy. In Bodyworkin America, edited by George Quasha, in press.2 Chaitow, Leon. Osteopathy.Northamptonshire: Thorsons Publishers Limited,1982, pp.13-17.3 Overmyer, ibid.4 ibid

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