Polarity Therapy
Bringing Balance to life
By Isa Dollyhigh, MM, RPP, RPE

Many alternative therapies, all with differing perspectives of “energy” are available today. Each one has merits, but an added distinction occurs when the therapy is developed by an allopathic physician during a long and successful medical practice. Polarity Therapy is one such therapy, developed by Dr. Randolph Stone, an Osteopathic Physician and Chiropractic Physician, over the course of his 60 years in practice. Dr. Stone “burned the midnight oil,” as he called it, to deepen his study of the complexity of the human body and its energy field. He investigated healing methods that were available in other countries and cultures regarding our physiology and the life energy, then he formed his own opinions. He wrote a series of six books on optimum health between 1954 and 1957 that he published for his patients. Dr. Stone’s desire was for his patients to take an active role in their own healthcare, a process he called “Health Building,” He taught that each person needed touch protocols, proper nutrition, movement (or stretches called Polarity Yoga), and Lifestyle communication skills in order to attain and maintain optimum health. These four components make up Polarity Therapy today.

Let’s take a closer look at the four components.

1) Dr. Stone developed touch protocols for his patients that were later adapted for trained Polarity practitioners. These protocols are done on a treatment table (with the client fully clothed) using one of three types of touch - light, rocking, or deep/point specific. The protocols address specific imbalances in the energy currents of the body affected by “dis-ease” or stress and support them into a more balanced state.

2) Dr Stone was a huge proponent of nutrition in the form of live or raw plant foods with life force within them. Processed food loses its life force and lacks nutritional value. He stressed that what we eat greatly affects our overall physiology, health, and life energy.

3) Dr. Stone was a supporter of incorporating movement into each patient’s plan for health building. He came up with certain movements and stretches that are today called Polarity Yoga. One example is the Polarity Squat, which he found helped with constipation. By keeping the body active in movement, it helps the energy flow and the physiology to function better.

4) Dr. Stone taught “responsibility for health” to his clients long before the mind-body connection became common knowledge. This is a very important component in his Polarity approach. He incorporated the five ayurvedic elements of ether, air, fire, water and earth in Lifestyle communication skills to give insight into human behavior. Each element exhibits a certain type of energy, both positive and negative. The “element” approach to communication skills is a rich source that allows the client to maintain a neutral, safe space with him or her. By looking at actions according to the elements, the practitioner obtains tools that are non-judgmental.

Polarity is all about balance. There is a space of allowing each student’s current belief system and embracing his or her freedom of personal choice. It is not a therapy in which you have to adopt a certain belief system or receive a certain type of energy in order to practice it. It offers a deeper and more energy-based method than just following a protocol. It is the keen listening to the client, honoring where he or she is, and supporting the journey. It is not about “fixing” or “treating,” but is about “allowing” and “unwinding” according to the comfort level of the client. All work is done with an intention set by the client and agreed upon by the practitioner.

Polarity Therapy is governed by the American Polarity Therapy Association (APTA) with specific Standards for Practice and Education and a Code of Ethics. There are two levels of training in Polarity Therapy: Associate Polarity Practitioner Training (APP), 155 hour program, and Registered Polarity Practitioner Training (RPP), 675 hour program. In order to have an APTA Registered and Approved Training, you must be an RPP for two years and be a Registered Polarity Educator (RPE). To practice Polarity in North Carolina, you must have completed an APP Training Program and be a member in good standing of APTA.

In New York, I was fortunate to study Polarity Therapy and Sound Therapy with John Beaulieu ND, PhD, RPP, the author of The Polarity Therapy Workbook and Music and Sound in the Healing Arts. I had sought relief from my stress of the city at the New York Open Center, where I was referred to a Polarity Therapy practitioner. I did not understand what “energy work” was, but I knew I felt 100% better and more able to deal with daily life. I received sessions for three years and took the APP training. I began a very formative time that tapped into inner resources I did not know I had. I continued with RPP training, and as I learned about energy and vibration in my Polarity training, I had a moment of recognition: all my years of Opera had led me to this point of combining sound and touch, and Polarity was the vehicle that served as the context. Now, as a Registered Polarity Educator, I offer local training using the Polarity Wellness Network curriculum that I studied in New York. It is my wish to share this journey with others to help them find their “niche” and grow as individuals and practitioners.

Isa Dollyhigh, MM, RPP, RPE, owner of Sound Healing Arts, offers sessions and classes in Polarity Therapy, Sound Therapy, and Voice Lessons. Her Associate Polarity Practitioner (APP) Training begins this fall. This training program is a member of the Polarity Wellness Network and based upon the curriculum of John Beaulieu, ND, PhD, RPP. Class size is limited to five students to ensure individualized attention. For more information or a brochure on Isa’s offerings, call 336. 510.0838 or email isa@soundhealingarts.com.