Are we taking full responsibility for the health of our children? Body Stress Release practitioner Rory Litchfield lends insight into how this stress could be affecting our children and what we as parents can be doing to help them.

It is worth reminding ourselves that the body’s initial response to stress is in the muscles. A reflex response causes the muscles to temporarily shorten in length under stressful conditions. This same protective response is our body’s way of initially handling stress to which we and our children are exposed on a daily basis.

Under normal conditions our bodies adapt positively by relaxing these muscles. If, however, the source of ongoing stress becomes too great for the body to make a positive adaptation, either as a result of a bad fall or poor posture over a long period of time, the stress becomes locked into the muscles and is called Body Stress. This stored stress has an impact on the health of your child and can manifest in a wide range of aches, pains, or illnesses.

Playing Detective
Is your child constantly restless? Is your baby always crying? Are headaches hampering their academic performance or their participation in sport?

These are all symptoms of Body Stress and can be prevented through a gentle technique called Body Stress Release. This complementary health technique encourages the muscles to release any stored tension and encourages proper coordinated functioning of your muscle groups, helping children and adults alike to better deal with the physical effects of our stressful lives.

Babies and children respond very quickly to BSR as the pressure has not been present in the body for a long time and is readily released. By keeping a child’s body free of body stress, it ensures that the growth and development is normal and healthy.

Encouraging stories for frustrated parents
Let us look at a few instances where babies and children were suffering from the body stress in their bodies, and how BSR proved to be an effective method at reversing these physical effects:
• A two-day-old baby could not suckle, as her tongue kept flicking to the corner of her mouth. After body stress was released in the neck she began suckling normally.
• A mother reported that her twelve-week-old baby had cried almost constantly since birth, and he hunched his shoulders and screamed when he was moved. Immediately after body stress was released in the neck the exhausted baby fell asleep for 10 hours. Much to the relief of the distressed parents, he became placid and contented.
• A five-month-old baby kept his arms in spasm against his chest and his gaze appeared to be unfocused. Cerebral palsy was suspected. After one session of BSR his arms relaxed. After a second session his mother reported that he was able to focus on her face and respond to her. Six months later his grandmother sent a photograph of him and a letter to say that his development was normal in every way.
• A six –year-old brain-damaged boy had both arms and legs bent in constant spasm, and his mobility was limited to rolling on the floor. After four sessions of BSR the limbs had relaxed completely and he began crawling. Two weeks later his parents reported that he was walking.
• A three-year-old girl was described by her father as naughty, as medical tests showed no reason for her continual bed-wetting. During the two weeks after the stress in the lumbar spine was released, the bouts of bed-wetting steadily decreased in frequency, and then ceased entirely.

A common sign that a baby has body stress in the neck is constant crying for no apparent reason. When body stress is present in the lower back the baby will cry when the hips are lifted while the nappy is being changed. The impact on the nervous system may cause constipation. Body stress in the area of the diaphragm may result in colic.

Toddlers who refuse to walk and demand to be carried, or who complain of sore legs, (so-called growing pains) very likely have body stress in the lower back. The leg muscles may be affected, causing a tendency of the feet to turn inwards. Bed-wetting may occur if the nerve supply to the bladder is irritated.

At school, a child with tension in the neck may lack concentration and become disruptive. If there is pressure in the lower back, the child may be restless and unable to sit still.

What are the causes of Body Stress in children?
If the birth process was difficult, a baby may be born with body stress, especially in the neck and lower spine. Small children are likely to accumulate body stress as a result of frequent falls and jerks while playing, or trying to lift heavy objects.

Children may sit incorrectly. For example, reading or studying while sitting hunched over on a bed will induce stress in the neck and lower back. Watching television while in a half-lying position which reverses the normal lumbar curve will cause pressure to build up in the spine.

As they approach puberty children become more self-conscious and may develop poor posture. Hunched shoulders, a contracted chest and downward tilted head occur as a defensive mechanism against the new challenges and stresses of life. Muscles tighten and tension becomes locked into the body.

When should a baby or child be assessed for Body Stress?
The birth process is stressful to the baby and it therefore makes sense to have a baby assessed for body stress within a few months after the birth, even if there does not appear to be any problem. By doing this any potential tension stored in the baby’s neck or back will be released before it accumulates and has an adverse impact on the nervous system.

The BSR practitioner carries out the checks and releases tension while the baby is lying on the mother’s chest or lap. The pressure applied is very light and comfortable for the baby. After the stored stress is released a baby will often fall into a sound sleep.

Small children cannot always verbalise what they are feeling, but the parents may observe signs indicating the presence of body stress. For example, a normally good-natured child will become sullen and uncooperative, or the child may talk about a “funny feeling in the tummy”, or complain of sore legs.

Children enjoy experiencing BSR as it is a gentle procedure and they become aware of how different they feel once the stored tension has been released. Often a small child will be aware of the body stress and will ask to be taken for a BSR session.

For more information on BSR contact Rory at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or on 082-772-0623

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