Learning Self Muscle TestingSelf muscle testing gives you amazing flexibility because you don't need a partner. In my experience, with practice and objectivity, it can also be quite reliable. There are many variations in the self muscle testing techniques. This is because the idea of applying force to one part of the body, and resisting with another, can be done in many different ways. Movement of a body part and the resistance to the movement can also be used. Here, I will describe two methods that I use, and mention a few others. Try them all an find one or two that work your you. You can even make up your own if you understand the general idea of muscle testing. We are testing muscle stregth and muscle weakness, or the freedom of movement in the body, in the presence or absence of a stimulus. The stimulus can be anything: a substance that you hold close to you, an idea, an emotion, an image, a specific question with a clear "yes" or "no" answer, etc. See History of Kinesiology for information on how muscle testing has evolved to its current form. Self Muscle Testing Techniques I Use
In trying any of these self muscle testing exercises you agree to take full responsibility for your body. Be gentle with the exercises and don't use injured or stiff body parts.
1. Finger over finger: in this self muscle testing technique you place your index finger over your middle finger. You may switch the fingers if that is more comfortable for you. The finger on the top will be doing the pushing down and the finger on the bottom will be resisting the push. This is similar to someone pushing down on your arm, except you get to do both, the pushing and resisting. I recommend you use something you know you go weak on to practice. Try putting pressure on your finger without the stimulus that you respond weak to. Feel how strong that is. Repeat the test while holding the item you go weak on near you. Feel how the bottom finger goes weaker. If the bottom finger does not go weak, you may need to train it to go weak. Consciously allow the bottom finger to unlock so it can bend. This is just temporary. Once your body gets the feel for the weakness, it will do it automatically. Try practicing with the words "yes" or "no". One should go weak and the other strong. Feel the difference in your fingers when you say each word as you press down with your top finger. With practice, the top finger will not need to extert much force to make the bottom finger go down and you won't need to focus on how the fingers feel, it will be obvious when the bottom finger goes down.
2. Ring or O finger technique: in this self testing technique you touch the tips of the pinky and thumb of one hand, making an "O" shape. Using the index finger of the other hand you insert it into the "O" and push where the pinky and thumb meet to try to break "O" they made. At the same time, the pinky and thumb making the "O" resist the force of the index finger, trying to stay closed. If the index finger opens the "O", that is a weak signal, or a "no". If the "O" stays closed, that is a strong signal, or "yes". The disadvantage of this self muscle test, is that you will not have a free hand in which to hold items.Other Self Muscle Techniques
1. Wrist turning, thumb down and up: in this self muscle test you extend one arm out in front of you, curling the fingers in your hand except for the thumb, which points down. You then rotate your fist clockwise, at the wrist, bringing your thumb up and past the vertical positon as far as you can, without rotating your upper arm. Rotate at the wrist slowly at first, so you can gauge how far the thumb can move. The rotation of the outstretched arm occurs only at the wrist. Practice holding the outstretched arm at the elbow with your other hand, if you need help keeping your upper arm straight. Notice how far the thumb goes back, without forcing it. Then repeat the motion again but this time, bring the thumb up only to where it is vertical or close to vertical. This would be the point of resistance or "no". The "yes" position or positon of strength would allow the thumb to go further, past the thumbs-up position. Practice this movement with a "yes" or "no" to gauge the difference in movement and feel. The weak position or "no" will resist full motion or flexibility in the wrist. It will be easy to notice by looking at the postion of the thumb.2. Arm outstretched waist rotation: this self muscle testing involves rotating the waist while your arm is extended in front of you, up to the height of your waist. Arm and fingers are outstreched but not stiff. Steady your legs and move the arm across your body, to the opposite side, rotating at the waist only. Notice how far your arm goes across your body. The "yes" and strong signal is where your waist is able to rotate furthest across your body, compared to the "no" or weak position. Practice holding an item you get a weak signal on. Notice where your waist stops rotating by noticing where your arm ended up. Then place the item away from you, preferably where you can't see it. Repeat the move without it. Try to feel how much more flexible your waist is and notice how much further your arm swings. This is the "yes" or strong signal. If you don't have and item to self muscle test, just say the word "yes" and swing the arm and notice where it stops, then do the same with the word "no". Practice several times until you can feel and see the difference. This technique is not recommended for people with back problems. 3. Standing up with your eyes closed: try this self muscle test technique if the others have not worked for you. It is explained in Muscle Testing. Stand near something you can hold on to, in case you loose your balance. Stand with your eyes closed and feel your balance. Try it again with your eyes closed while holding something near your chest. Feel for the attraction or repulsion that the object has on your body. This can also serve as an indicator or a type of self muscle test. Being pulled forward can mean one thing and being pushed back can mean the other. Try saying or thinking "yes" and then with "no". Have someone muscle test you to find some items that you go weak and strong on, then hold each item so you can correlate the weak signal and strong signal from your arm with the forward or backward movement of your body. Accuracy of Self Muscle Testing
A couple of things first. In some healing systems, the weak muscle is read as a "yes" and the strong response as a "no". This is OK because the body conforms to the convention of the mind. The body is an instrument for comunication, and as long as the default settings are clear in the mind, the answers we get will be consistent. Also remember: this is not a contest of strength. Don't be intent on pushing through the resistance, or you may miss a strong signal.Accuracy is higher when you are holding a physical item close to you while doing the self muscle test. In this case, it is very clear what you are testing, and the result will either be strong or weak. Try it 2 or 3 times to check yourself. The more consistent the body's response, the more sure you can be that the result is accurate. You can also get inconsistent results when you are tired, under the influence of a toxin, or unable to be present to the moment. If your results are inconsistent, try drinking water, if this doesn't help, stop. Try it again when you are more clear headed and energetic. Accuracy also depends on "getting yourself out of the way". This means doing the self muscle test without attachment to the outcome. If you are vested in getting one answer and would be disappointed if you got the other, you are not being objective. The test can give you information that you don't have at the conscious level, but you need to be OK with what it says, or you will get yourself in the way. If you don't keep an open mind, you will get the results you intend, and block from awareness unwanted information. You don't want to do this! Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of self muscle testing. We want access to what is hidden from our conscious awareness. Being specific is also important for accuracy. If you are testing something that is not physically available to touch, like an emotion, food you ate yesterday, dust mites, etc., you need to clearly focus on the item in your mind and then do the test. If you are remembering your plate of food from yesterday and you get a weak signal, you don't know which item of food on your plate is giving you that signal. You will need to test each item of food individually. The same goes for ingredients in packaged food. Read the label and test each item you read. Once you feel confident testing individual items, you can begin playing with "yes" or "no" questions. Determining accuracy is more difficult here because the question needs to be clear and specific so that it can only be interpreted one way. It also needs to be phrased in a way that can be answered with a "yes" or "no". If I ask, "Do I feel like cooking?" I get a "no", but if I ask, "Do I feel like cooking chicken for dinner?" I get a "yes". I do not feel like cooking just to do something, but I do feel like cooking chicken for dinner because that is what I want to eat. Asking "yes" or "no" questions is an advanced self-muscle testing technique, but feel free to play with it. Try asking the questions in different ways so you can see how the response changes. If you are a beginner at muscle testing, don't be too sure of your accuracy with "yes" or "no" questions until you get consistency by asking the same question different ways. Some people want to use self muscle testing to get advice on what they should do, or information about the future. I don't recommend this. It is not advice or fortune telling. It is a good way to find out what beliefs and perceptions you are holding about things, yourself, others, etc. It is accessing what Gary Craig, EFT founder, calls "writting on our walls". This writing is made up of thoughts, beliefs and values we acquired from parents, school, culture, religion, experiences, etc. Self muscle test yourself and ask, "Do I believe good things are coming my way? or "Do I believe I am lovable?" If you get an unexpected "no", it is not a problem. Our subconscious mind holds many beliefs that no longer serve us. Help in clearing these beliefs is what Emotional Freedom Techniques offers. See How Does EFT Work. Remember, your "no" is just your belief and good information because if you are looking for greater abundance or a loving relationship, these beliefs will work against receiving that. It is important to only believe what we want to attract! I have also found self muscle testing useful in reconnecting to my feelings. Because I grew up believing it did not matter how I felt about things, I disregarded my feelings and later could not even identify what I was feeling. Self testing has helped me reconnect with what I feel (identify the feeling with its name). It also gives me access to feelings that I may try to hide or conflicting feelings that work unconsciously to self sabotage me.
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