As a Professional Diplomat member of the Association of Systematic Kinesiology I am required to undertake 3 days of CPD (Continuous Professional Development) each year.     For someone like me who LOVES learning new things this is absolutely no problem at all…!  Continuous learning is essential for anyone in any profession but with new discoveries being made in the Natural Healthcare field all the time, it is even more critical for us to keep aware of developments.

As part of my general thirst for knowledge – and nothing necessarily to do with CPD – I have just read “Dirty Genes” by Dr Ben Lynch.   As a child, many excuses were made for a range of health problems, one of which was “its genetic” or “it’s in your genes” – thereby implying we were “stuck” with whatever we were given.    As a Practitioner, I have become fascinated with the growing realisation of the science of epigenetics which is the understanding that genetic destiny is not fixed – we can turn specific genes on and off and can work WITH our genes and not against them.

In this wonderful book Dr Lynch explains in some detail 6 key SNPs, pronounced SNIPS.  These are, put simply, “kinks” or aberrations in the “perfect” DNA code which we all have.   All genes have a purpose and should be formulated in a certain pattern, but through the ages this string of DNA has got “mutated” along the line creating potential for health problems.  Notice I say “potential” not “certain”.  We are learning that with diet and lifestyle these genetic ”kinks” can be helped so they don’t cause those problems

Now there are of course many Scientists, Nutritional Therapists and Epigeneticists with far greater experience in this field than me.  One of the “down-sides” of learning more is that we realise there is so much more we don’t know…..

            and here’s the rub – Enter feelings of self-doubt and worry… “oh no, how will I ever understand all this…”   “oh no, maybe I’ve been doing things wrong….”   “oh no I’ve been recommending this but maybe it should have been that…”… and on and on it goes

This is when I have to remember – as my Tutor kept telling us back in my Foundation training days (AND what I tell my own students…!) -  be comfortable with what you DO know, not with what you don’t.  This doesn’t mean resting on our laurels but understanding that as a Kinesiologist we have the MASSIVE advantage of being able to muscle test the client and ALSO check our findings with further muscle testing to be sure that what we are going to recommend is always in the best interest of the client at that moment.  We are all such unique human beings and having Kinesiology tools and techniques is just so wonderful to be able to find out what is required – for that person at that time. 

So in terms of epigenetics - Yes I will continue to learn what I can through reading, social media and seminars.   This will enhance my own understanding and give me greater potential to notice client symptoms that may relate in their kinesiology session.    I understand that certain SNPs will be a contributing factor to a clients health - along with all the other elements we look at in kinesiology - emotions, chemicals, nutrition, physical pain, lymphatic congestion and electro-magnetic pollution factors.   I will also continue to attend other workshops on other topics and meet new and wonderful people.  However, in my Kinesiology Practice, the absolute critical factor for me, is belief that my own chosen modality will provide the answers I need to help my clients with their health.  I’m comfortable with what I know and with what I CAN do - and through CPD, what I CAN do is growing