What is Polarity Theraphy? Balancing the Elements of Life™
By Mary Jo Ruggieri, PhD, RPP

An integrated and holistic approach to healthcare, polarity therapy is based upon the energetic concepts of healing.

Life force, chakras, auras, prana and chi are words often used when discussing the human energy field. Chinese acupuncturists believe that channels of energy run through the body. When these channels are blocked or out of balance, pain and disease can result. Practitioners of polarity therapy use their hands to help balance the human energy field, believing that, when in balance, the body will begin to automatically heal.

James Oschman, in his book Energy Medicine, says that in the past few decades scientists have gone from a conviction that there is no such thing as an energy field around the human body to an absolute certainty that one exists. Moreover, he offers that science is explaining the role of energy fields in health and disease.

The Energy Model
Chinese and Indian traditions have used the principles of energy as the foundation for their health-care system. The basis for tai chi, qigong, yoga and meditation is balancing the energy flow in the body.

Dr. Andrew Weil, in his bestseller, Spontaneous Healing, believes that “Health, according to the energy model, is the harmonious flow of life energy, while imbalances in this flow (due to unhealthy habits) result in illness.” He points out that conventional medicine has long used technology – such as X-rays, lasers and EKGs – that record various forms of energy to diagnose or treat disease.

Polarity Therapy Turns The Circuit Breakers Back On!
The human body is like an electrical plant that runs on high-voltage energy. The spine, representing the utility pole, sends energy out to every part of the body via all the nerves. The nerves could be compared to wires and if there is a “short circuit” or an injury to the system, the flow is interrupted. Knowing how to restore the flow is the essence of polarity therapy.

Disease prevention can be a matter of first identifying problems at the energetic level, and then bringing that energy back into balance, effectively removing the blocks before the disease occurs. Pain usually is an indication of an energy blockage which will eventually lead to disease and structural dysfunction.

Polarity as a Practice
Polarity therapy is a synthesis of many ancient theories and techniques derived from Indian ayurvedic medicine and Chinese healing traditions. The term “polarity” relates to one of the basic universal laws of nature – electromagnetic force or attraction and repulsion. Polarity therapy centers on the attraction and union of opposites through a balanced middle point.

Dr. Randolph Stone, the founder of polarity therapy, created a very detailed healing system that involves reflex points and energetic balancing protocols. A polarity practitioner will use various types of touch, from working with the hands off the body to a specific contact on the body. This system can be combined with gentle rocking to release tension patterns and/or the use of acupressure points to relieve pain and congestion held deep in the body.
A polarity session often can get to the heart of the problem, tracing the energy blocks to the physical centers of pain. Once the source of the pain is identified, with the assistance of the polarity practitioner, the client will be able to remove the blocks.

The Elements and Polarity
Polarity therapy is based specifically upon the “step down” theory of energy. Energy moves from source to form and then returns to source. In the human body, as energy steps down into form it moves through energy centers called chakras (transformers). There are five interrelated energy patterns emerging from each chakra and these are called elements. Polarity, which is based upon understanding the five elements – ether, air, fire, water and earth – makes use of hands-on protocols, energetic assessment, energetic foods and ayurvedic lifestyle skills to bring these elements into balance. The five-element theory of polarity gives meaning to the interconnected nature of life.

Expression of the Elements
Understanding each element, as well as the areas of the body to which the elements reflex, provides a wealth of knowledge that signals when something is out of balance before it becomes a major problem, much like a car computer that signals the driver that there is a potential problem such as low oil, an overheating radiator or a nearly empty fuel tank. The chart at the right is a summary of the basic qualities of each of the five elements.

Polarity practitioners study each element and how it manifests on the physical, mental and emotional levels. When the elements are in balance, the body experiences structural symmetry, physiological and psychological balance, as well as a positive motor and sensory relationship. In essence, polarity therapy provides another dimension to understanding our lives and our healthcare issues.

Mary Jo Ruggieri, PhD, RPP, is the director of The Ohio Institute of Energetic Studies and Bodywork, which offers certificate- and diploma-training programs in polarity therapy, science of energy, ayurvedic principles, holistic healthcare education and teacher training in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. She has a private practice in polarity therapy and energy balancing besides being an author of various books and manuals. Mary Jo speaks and consults with numerous centers, community colleges and universities in setting up effective holistic health-care and CAM programs. For more information, call Cleveland Polarity at (216) 226-2912, visit www.ohioinstitute.com or e-mail satnam170@aol.com.