Ease and harmony - that's what the body seeks to rediscover with Ortho-Bionomy, a gentle osteopathically based system for working with the body's self-corrective reflexes. According to Ortho-Bionomy founder Arthur Lincoln Pauls, D.O., ease and harmony are things we already know, and Ortho-Bionomy is one way of remembering. While Ortho-Bionomy is mostly identified as a bodywork modality, it is also a way to approach life and can help anyone to function more harmoniously.

Ortho-Bionomy is a comprehensive system which includes positional release, postural re-education, subtle touch and energy work. These techniques are effective for chronic stress, injuries, and pains or problems associated with postural or structural imbalance.

In the structural application of Ortho-Bionomy, positional release techniques are utilized to correct physical imbalances and to restore efficient functioning in muscles, joints and organs. It is gentle, non-intrusive and safe, even in cases of acute injure and severe pain. The guiding principle in Ortho-Bionomy is to work with the body to activate self-correcting reflexes.

Consider a stuck door. Trying to force it requires a lot of effort. However, simply pushing into the door where it is stuck will often prompt it to release, opening easily. Ortho-Bionomy works in a similar way, instead of trying to stretch a muscle that is tight, an Ortho-Bionomy practitioner will compress into it, giving the body direct feedback that the muscle is "stuck" and allowing the muscle fibers to slide apart.

More precisely, through positioning, gentle touch and focused compression, proprioceptive reflexes in the joints and the stretch reflexes in the muscles are activated. Our proprioceptive system tells us where we are in space and where the different body parts are in relation to each other; the stretch reflex lets us know what the relative tension in the tissue is. When the "self-picture" arising from these activated reflexes is processed by the nervous system, the body can decide whether the current state is optimal or not.

Since our bodies naturally seek balance and most efficient function, the organism will self-correct once it becomes aware of an imbalance. Unless there are additional complications in other parts of the body or in the body-mind-emotion interface, corrections occur spontaneously and the consequent changes are long lasting and well integrated since they are initiated from within rather than being imposed from without.

It is this concrete body of positional release techniques for which Ortho-Bionomy is best known. Working with the body, rather than merely on the body is one thing that differentiates Ortho-Bionomy from more mechanical positional release approaches. However, Ortho-Bionomy works on energetic levels as well. Pauls also discovered that the self-corrective reflex could be stimulated without physical contact. These applications provide invaluable options where people may be in too much pain, physical or otherwise to be touched.

In a world of experts, Ortho-Bionomy offers a refreshingly comprehensive system of healing that is simple, direct and accessible. Ortho-Bionomy honors the instinctive wisdom of the body, facilitating self-healing to occur as the body remembers its natural ability to move away from pain or tension and toward ease.


Excerpted from "Teaching The Body To Remember" by Barry Kapke published in Massage & Bodywork Magazine, February/March 2000.

Ortho-Bionomy® and the Sand Dollar Design are registered trademarks of the Society of Ortho-Bionomy International, Inc. and are used with permission.