What is an intuitive practitioner?
The term "intuitive practitioner" is not standard in alternative health care, but I use it to describe myself professionally in order to convey to the public that I use my intuition as a primary tool in the work that I do with clients. For me this means that in all of the decisions that I make during a consultation (e.g. what questions to ask, what areas to focus on, whether the individual needs a new remedy or not, what potency to recommend, etc), I connect with a part of myself that is deeply intuitive for the answer.
One of the techniques I use for externalizing my intuition is a technique called muscle testing. If you're not already familiar with muscle testing, this is a technique that is commonly used in alternative health care, in which the practitioner tests the client's muscle strength in order to obtain information from their body wisdom. (See below for more details on muscle testing.)
The idea is that we each have an "innate body wisdom" that knows all of the answers to our questions about our healing process, and by tapping into that wisdom, we can get clarity on how to heal. My experience has been that through muscle testing I am able to create a direct link between my intuitive "antenna" and the individual's body wisdom. It's a little bit like doing an internet dial-up - when the link is there I have access to an almost unlimited amount of information about the individual's healing process.
Developing and refining my intuition has been a primary focus of mine for over thirteen years, and has involved literally thousands of hours of personal growth work. Most of the work has involved working through, integrating and letting go of all the parts of myself that block my intuition (e.g. fear based inner voices, intellectual dominance, perceptual biases, inner skepticism, over-confidence, self-doubt, distorted perceptions based on past traumas, etc). It has also involved a process of clearing layer after layer of mental/emotional/physical blockage - each time bringing my spine into greater alignment and each time improving my intuitive antenna more and more. I've found that the more I heal, the more my nervous system relaxes, and the more clear my intuition becomes.
In recent years I have felt confident enough about my "antenna" to bring the technique of muscle testing into my practice and depend on it as a primary tool for working with clients. This is a little unconventional compared to most homeopaths (who tend to do more intellectual analysis), but I have found through my professional experience that it works better for me and my clients. I get the information I need much faster (allowing me to make my consultations more affordable), I get much more information about how to assist my client, and I have greater confidence in the accuracy of my recommendations.
My belief in the concept of an "innate body wisdom" and my motivation for developing my intuition in order to better connect with it were born out of my own 18 year struggle with chronic illness. I not only struggled with many physical health problems, but also many mental/emotional blocks and life issues. Not getting any significant help from more conventional approaches, I started asking my own body wisdom for guidance and listening for the answers to my questions. Essentially, I was seeking help from something beyond myself that could guide me in how to regain my health.
For me, developing my intuition and connecting with my own innate body wisdom proved to be my way out of a very difficult period in my life. I felt that it was necessary for my survival, so I put a great deal of energy into it for many years. Eventually, when I moved into private practice, my intuition proved to be a great asset, and as such I was motivated to put even more energy into developing and refining it. I knew that it would make my work easier, and allow me to better assist my clients. Today, I use my intuition (via muscle testing techniques) as a primary tool in working with all of my clients, and my perceptual abilities continue to expand as I continue to heal.
More on Muscle Response Testing - The technique usually involves the client holding one of their arms out in front of them. The practitioner tries to push the client's arm down while asking their body wisdom a question and the client tries to resist. If the arm goes down (indicating a weak muscle response), this is interpreted as a No answer to the practitioner's question. If the arm remains strong (indicating a strong muscle response), this is interpreted as a Yes answer to the question.
In my practice, I often use muscle response testing to help navigate the homeopathic interview. I may ask "Do I need more information about this particular emotional issue?", or "Do I need more information about your digestive problems before proceeding?" In this way, I am able to hone in on what we need to cover, shorten the interview time and save you money.
I also use muscle response testing to discern the potency of the remedy I recommend for a client, the frequency of dosage and number of days the client takes it. I might also use muscle testing to select a flower essence for the client, or to confirm the appropriateness of a particular nutritional supplement, herb, or adjunct therapy.
For individuals that I work with over the phone, I have the ability to do muscle testing remotely by doing an O-ring test. An O-ring test is another common technique amongst practitioners. With this technique, I make a ring with the middle finger and thumb of my left hand and then test the muscle strength of this connection by asking a question and then trying to pull the fingers apart with my right hand.