Developed by Dr. Randolph Stone DO, DC, ND (Osteopath, Chiropractor, and Naturopath) (1890-1991), over a 60 year period, Polarity Therapy integrates wellness philosophy and wisdom from the East and West.(1)
*Image taken from Franklyn Sills' The Polarity Process: Energy As A Healing Art (2)
With much influence from the Ayurvedic medical system of India, elemental patterns from the five elements of Ether, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth are at the core of Polarity Therapy. It is these five elements, derived from nature, that are used to name five of our chakras; these chakras are named based on the elemental quality of the energy they emit.
*Image taken from Franklyn Sills' The Polarity Process: Energy As A Healing Art (2)
The three currents, as depicted above, represent yet more of our energetic anatomy.
“Energy is the real substance behind the appearance of matter and forms.”
-Dr. Randolph Stone
Polarity Therapy, as a holistic bioenergy modality, utilizes the aspects of body work, movement, nutrition, thought processes, and meditation. Through body work, energy is neither given nor taken away; there’s simply the facilitation of a greater degree of functioning within the energetic system through achieving a heightened state of balance.
Polarity Therapy In the Research
Feelings of peace, rest, or deep relaxation were what both hospital patients, with a wide variety of conditions, as well as hospital medical staff reported after receiving Polarity Therapy sessions as part of a non-randomized investigation of 70 hospitalized patients and 21 hospital medical staff.(3)
In another study, examining the effectiveness of Polarity Therapy in reducing stress and depression and improving quality of life for family caregivers to individuals with dementia, 42 family caregivers were randomized to an 8-session trial of Polarity Therapy or to an enhanced respite control condition that included a choice of activities for the caregiver and respite care for the one with dementia.(3) The Polarity Therapy participants improved significantly more than the control participants on general health, stress, depression, and bodily pain.(3)
Gamma Radiation Fluctuations During Alternative Health Therapy (4)
The objective of this study was to assess the fluctuation of extremely high-frequency electromagnetic fields, or gamma rays, during Polarity Therapy treatment. The researchers posed the question, could polarity therapists induce measurable change in high-energy gamma rays in the electromagnetic field surrounding a person's body?
There were three participant groups, with 10 participants in each group (10 treatment; 10 standing control & 10 standing sham treatment).
A series of gamma detection experiments were performed to establish a baseline and background count for all participants. In addition, multiple background counts were taken prior to the subject tests and following completion of the testing, to account for system drift; little to no drift was found to be present.
The experiment consisted of 3 sets of counts taken, the first when the subject was alone, as the “before” measurement, the next when the sham practitioner was standing next to the subject, termed the “standing” measurement, and the final set during the Polarity Therapy treatment or sham treatment.
The sham treatment consisted of the sham practitioner, who had no prior energy medicine training, slowly and randomly moving her hands in somewhat of a circular fashion 2-3” above the region of the subject's body being monitored.
The Results: There were statistically significant decreases in extremely high frequency electromagnetic fields, termed gamma rays, during the Polarity Therapy treatments.
Gamma radiation decreased in 100% of subjects during the Polarity Therapy treatments, at every body region tested, regardless of which of the certified Polarity Practitioners performed the treatment.
Polarity Therapy for Cancer-Related Fatigue in Patients With
Breast Cancer Receiving Radiation Therapy:
A Randomized
Controlled Pilot Study (3)
Published in the journal of Integrative Cancer Therapies, in 2011, this randomized pilot study “supports previous research showing that Polarity Therapy, a noninvasive and gentle energy therapy, may be effective in controlling cancer-related fatigue.”(3)
45 women, with cancer-related fatigue undergoing radiation treatments for breast cancer participated in this 3-arm, randomized pilot clinical trial.
Arm 1: standard care
Arm 2: standard care + 3 modified massages
Arm 3: standard care + 3 polarity therapy treatments
Primary outcome= revised Brief Fatigue Inventory
Polarity Therapy mean changes were positive, but did not reach statistical significance.
Arm 1: standard care: average increase in cancer-related fatigue of 13%
Arm 2: standard care + 3 modified massages: average increase in cancer-related fatigue of <1%.
Arm 3: standard care + 3 polarity therapy treatments: average decrease in cancer-related fatigue of 6%
Secondary outcome= daily diary score
Showed statistically significant overall differences between the 3 arms of the study.
Polarity Therapy showed a larger reduction in daily diary cancer-related fatigue scores across all 3 weeks.
Arm 1: standard care: average increase in cancer-related fatigue 17%
Arm 2: standard care + 3 modified massages: average increase in cancer-related fatigue 16%
Arm 3: standard care + 3 polarity therapy treatments: average decrease in cancer-related fatigue 11%
The authors of the study speculated in their discussion that, “we think the daily diary measure showed a larger effect size because of its greater ability to detect daily fluctuations in fatigue that are common in patients undergoing cancer treatments.”(3)
Despite randomization, at baseline, participants of the Polarity Therapy arm of the study had a significantly higher level of fatigue then the control participants.
Find out more about Polarity Therapy, through the American Polarity Therapy Association, here.
Dr. Janessa, Naturopathic Doctor
△professional medical wellness facilitator
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References
1. https://polaritytherapy.org
2. Sills F. The polarity process: energy as a healing art. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books; 2002.
3. Mustian KM, Roscoe JA, Palesh OG, Sprod LK, Heckler CE, Peppone LJ, et al. Polarity therapy for cancer-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer receiving radiation therapy: A randomized controlled pilot study. Integrative Cancer Therapies. 2011;10(1):27–37.
4. Benford MS, Talnagi J, Burr Doss D, Boosey S, Arnold LE. Gamma radiation fluctuations during alternative health therapy. Alternative Therapies. 1999 Jul;5(4).