Graf Stress Management uses its signature Stress Evaluation with every client. The Stress Evaluation draws individualized information about problem-causing stresses from the client’s intelligence. It consists of a question and answer format used in combination with a muscle response test known as “applied kinesiology.”
Those who have not personally tried applied kinesiology may find it hard to envision, and a verbal description is no substitute for direct experience. However, it appears to operate on the same principle as a polygraph, which registers different physiological responses for true and false answers to questions.
During the Stress Evaluation, the client is asked questions which he then answers. After each answer, the consultant applies light, steady pressure to a contracted indicator muscle on the client’s body — generally the deltoid muscle of the left shoulder, while the client attempts to resist this pressure. Whether or not the client is able to resist the applied pressure determines the correctness of the clients answer.
When the client’s answer is correct, the client’s energy remains strong as is demonstrated by strength in the indicator muscle, but when the answer is incorrect, there is a momentary loss of energy followed by a corresponding loss of muscle strength. Graf Stress Management uses this question/answer/test sequence to identify the specific stresses causing problems for a client.
Applied kinesiology appears simple but it is an art more difficult than it looks and it requires a great deal of practice to use it with skill and confidence. In addition, it is subject to constraints, the foremost being that it can only with willing participants; it cannot force information out of an unwilling party.
In addition, accuracy can be compromised if either party tries to control the outcome to get a desired answer. Both participants must make a good-faith effort to be neutral and truth-focused. However, when both are intent on accuracy, applied kinesiology is a highly reliable diagnostic tool for the purposes of Graf Stress Management.
Many other disciplines used applied kinesiology for diagnostic purposes, and it is also sometimes used by individuals as something of a party trick. However, a basic tenet of Graf Stress Management is that applied kinesiology is to be used only in its proper sphere. This means limiting it to only those questions to which the client legitimately needs answers for the sake of her health and well-being. Whereas some devotees of applied kinesiology claim it can be used to answer virtually any question in the universe (e.g., Power vs. Force by David R. Hawkins, M.D.), Graf Stress Management does not support this view. We believe it is not possible to properly, accurately, or righteously use applied kinesiology as a ‘crystal ball’ to pursue private details about another person, or to diagnose car problems, make investment decisions, predict future events, nor is it a parlor trick for entertainment. Above all, it should not be used to circumvent life’s important growth process of learning to use our free agency to make right choices.
I received a memorable lesson along these lines during my second visit as a client of Jan Graf. At the time, I had symptoms which caused me to believe that I was pregnant, and muscle testing confirmed that indeed I was. Predictably, my next question was, “Is it a boy or a girl?” Graf smiled, stopped muscle testing and replied, “I could tell you, but I’d have a 50% chance of being right.” In other words, the only answer he was willing to give was a personal guess. He was unwilling to muscle test because the baby’s gender was not something I needed to know for health or well-being. I’m aware that muscle testing is used by others to answer this and similar questions–perhaps with accurate answers–but the practice of Graf Stress Management is to use it only on a need-to-know basis.