The Lydian Center for Innovative Medicine :: Cambridge, Massachusetts

What is AcuNeuroSync/LEAP?

Energy Kinesiology is a non-invasive, holistic approach to health and wellbeing based upon the principles of both Western neurological models of muscle function and Eastern models of energy medicine, predominately those expressed in Chinese and Ayruvedic Medicine. Energy Kinesiology uses a form of direct biofeedback called muscle monitoring to identify and treat areas of stress/imbalance within the body, brain, and energy systems.

AcuNeuroSync/LEAP is a holistic health care practice that uses Energy Kinesiology together with other techniques, to synchronize the timing of neural feedback loops within the brain. This innovative melding of ancient techniques with cutting-edge scientific knowledge of neurology has produced an effective system with an unusually broad scope of application.

AcuNeuroSync/LEAP techniques can be highly effective in assessing and correcting many learning challenges including dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, and many difficulties with reading, spelling and mathematics. These techniques can also effectively rebalance functional deficiencies or imbalances in the nervous system as well as in the musculoskeletal, immune and hormonal systems.

AcuNeuroSync/LEAP is the outcome of 25 years of work by Dr. Charles T. Krebs, in collaboration with clinical psychologists, speech pathologists, neurologists and other health professionals. This work was previously known as the Learning Enhancement Acupressure Program (LEAP), but has been renamed AcuNeuroSync/LEAP to reflect the expanding applicability of the method.

AcuNeuroSync and Health

Our health depends upon synchrony among skeletal-muscular alignment, the flow of neural signals in the brain, the release of hormones, and the interaction of the many parts of the immune system. With the recognition that these systems are all highly interactive, the new field of Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) has developed in recent years, linking how we think and feel to how our neurological, hormonal and immune systems are functioning. Changes in the homeostasis of any of these systems are often reflected in muscle tension and structural alignment; conversely, imbalances in structural alignment can create imbalances in the neurological, immune or hormonal systems. Thus, disruption in the synchronous function in any one of these systems may lead to discomfort and pain, or to difficulty thinking and remembering, or to thyroid and/or adrenal dysfunction or other hormonal imbalances (PMS/menopause), or to sickness and disease in the case of the immune system.

How are we to detect the underlying stressors that cause this loss of synchrony? What can we do to re-synchronize these systems to return to the health and harmony of a fully functional body? AcuNeuroSync/LEAP approaches these questions by utilizing direct muscle biofeedback to inform the practitioner of the client’s stress at many levels – the physical, emotional and mental levels, as well as within the energetic systems of the body, such as the Acupuncture meridian system. A central technique in AcuNeuroSync is “acupressure formatting”, which is the use of mudras from the Yogic Chakra-Nadi system and acupoints from the Chinese Acupuncture meridian system in conjunction with muscle biofeedback. When specific mudras and acupoints are held together, and an indicator muscle is monitored, this biofeedback can detect stressors in very specific areas and functions within the brain and body. Biofeedback can also identify the most appropriate acupressure technique(s) to release the underlying stressor(s), thereby resynchronizing these systems and returning the person to a healthy state of being.

LEAP/Brain Integration for LEARNING DISABILITIES AND CHALLENGES

Unfortunately, neurological conditions are becoming increasingly widespread. Such conditions include:

A wide variety of learning challenges related to reading, writing and spelling
Dyslexia
Sensory Integration problems
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Central Auditory Processing Problem (CAPP) or Disorder (CAPD)
Vision and visual perception problems
Cognition and memory problems
Closed Head Injuries (e.g. resulting from concussion, etc.)
Stroke and brain injury

These neurological conditions normally result from or involve imbalances in brain function. AcuNeuroSync/LEAP is particularly well suited to address these imbalances by re-establishing and maintaining the precise synchrony of the brain. Brain synchrony is the basis for…

Learning and effectively processing information
Making appropriate and timely decisions
Regulating emotions in stressful circumstances

Almost all of the functions that the brain performs are the result of information flowing through widely distributed systems. No task, whether simple or complex, activates just a single brain area. Rather, vast networks of often widely dispersed processing centers – from the unconscious brainstem system through the largely subconscious limbic areas to our subconscious cortical processing – are activated by a given function before we even begin to consciously “think” about the action we are considering. Therefore, proper integration of these widely distributed systems is crucial to effective brain function. Loss of integrated brain function literally equals loss of effective emotional and mental processing, the primary source of “stress” in our lives.

What Causes the Loss of Brain Integration?

The primary cause of loss of integration is the activation of the brain's survival defense mechanisms in response to emotional stress – the very same fight-or-flight reaction invoked in our primitive ancestors by life-threatening situations. Such distress "shuts down" the thinking and problem-solving abilities of our frontal lobes. This may be expressed as the loss of ability to perform specific mental functions such as reading, spelling or mathematics (in the case of learning disabilities), or the loss of more general mental functions such as making effective decisions when under stress, or forming and articulating thoughts and controlling general emotional states. Of course, loss of brain integration has equally devastating effects on physical performance. The athlete who “chokes” in the Big Game is a classic example.

How Does LEAP Restore Brain Integration?

AcuNeuroSync/LEAP restores brain integration by re-synchronizing important neural flows. Acupressure techniques that employ the Law of Five Elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine have been shown to be very effective in re-synchronizing neural flows, and re-establishing brain functional integration.

Far too many of us, adults and children alike, experience cognitive deficiencies that are a direct result of the loss of proper brain integration. AcuNeuroSync/LEAP techniques have helped tens of thousands of individuals to overcome these challenges.

AcuNeuroSync for the MUSCULOSKELETAL SYSTEM

Skeletal-muscular disorders and imbalances are very common, and are the primary source of pain and physical limitations. These disorders include:

Lower back pain
Joint problems particularly in the knees, hips and shoulders
Neck pain
Headaches
Poor sports performance

AcuNeuroSync/LEAP resets the proprioception of the muscles, tendons and ligaments to restore normal muscle function, which both relieves pain and profoundly affects structural alignment. Proprioception is the unconscious feedback from the receptors in our muscles, tendons, ligaments and skin created by movement. This feedback is essential to maintain balanced upright posture and to coordinate movement. Disruption of coherent proprioceptive feedback is one of the primary causes of structural misalignment and physical pain.

What Causes Musculoskeletal Imbalances?

Sudden, unexpected actions like tripping or slipping, or physical injury to the muscular or skeletal systems may “unset” the function of these subconscious sensors that control muscles, posture and structural alignment. Once these muscular and skeletal imbalances have been created, they may persist indefinitely, creating compensations that result in pain, limited range of movement, and restricted life activity.

How Does AcuNeuroSync Restore Normal Musculoskeletal System Function?

Application of AcuNeuroSync/LEAP techniques can quickly reset these proprioceptive imbalances by directly activating the meridian system, using the Law of Five Elements of traditional Chinese medicine. Specific acupressure techniques reset the proprioceptors by removing the energetic blockages that had “unset” these receptors, thus restoring normal function to the body.

AcuNeuroSync for the IMMUNE SYSTEM

In the modern world, our immune systems are under attack more than ever before, resulting in many new conditions (such as multiple chemical sensitivity), and rapidly increasing rates of conditions that were previously less common (such as allergies and asthma). Disorders of the immune system include:

Allergies (classic immune system IgE reactions causing rashes, itching & inflammation)
Sensitivities (reactions that do not include IgE release, but disturb normal fuction)
Frequent flu & colds
Autoimmune disorders (e.g. lupus)
Asthma

AcuNeuroSync/LEAP can rebalance the immune system, taking it out of chronic states of imbalance. It is particularly well suited to alleviate and often eliminate allergies and even some types of asthma. Reducing or eliminating these allergic reactions can also have a significant impact on asthma, since asthma attacks are often triggered by allergic reactions.

What Causes Imbalances in the Immune System?

There are three primary stressors of the immune system: 1) viruses, 2) bacteria and 3) allergens/toxins. Exposure to a virus or bacteria can result in disease or illness, but only if the immune system is suppressed. Allergens, by contrast, initiate an inappropriately high immune response.

Allergens initiate the release of antibodies (especially IgE), causing a cascade of uncomfortable physiological symptoms (runny nose, itchy eyes, rashes, etc.) in people who are allergic to these substances. In many ways, an allergy can be considered a biochemical phobia – a survival system reaction to the presence of a normally neutral stimulus such as cat hair or pollen. Since not everyone has an immune reaction to cat hair or pollen, the cat hair or pollen itself does not cause the allergy. Rather, the allergy is the immune system’s reaction to the stimulus. From the perspective of the immune system, the allergen has become associated with danger and must be avoided for survival. The allergic reaction is the body’s way of making you avoid this dangerous substance.

A toxic substance at sufficiently high levels will initiate negative physiological reactions in everyone. But for some people these substances act as potent allergens, even at levels that are “safe” for most people – e.g. the aflatoxin in peanuts or some of the histamine releasing substances in seafood that produce life-threatening anaphylaxis in sensitive people.

How Does AcuNeuroSync Restore the Immune System?

AcuNeuroSync/LEAP techniques can effectively restore the immune system’s ability to eliminate bacteria and viruses by resolving the physiological, emotional and/or mental stressors that suppress immune function. It also offers a way to detect which substances a person is allergic or sensitive to, and to identify the most effective acupressure techniques to rebalance immune system function. These techniques “dissociate” the allergen from its associated survival reaction, so that the allergen becomes once more only a neutral environmental stimulus, and no longer elicits an immune reaction. In the case of toxins, it “resets” the body’s reaction to levels that are physiologically relevant – that is, reactions occur only when exposure reaches a level that is truly toxic.

AcuNeuroSync for the HORMONAL SYSTEM

Hormonal imbalances are increasingly prevalent in today’s society for a wide variety of reasons including chronically high stress levels, increasing exposure to toxins and metabolically active substances in our food and environment, and the fact that we are living longer than ever before. In particular, high stress levels are associated with adrenal exhaustion and thyroid imbalances. In addition, some toxins are known to be hormone disruptors (e.g. phthalates and other plasticizers), and are associated with increasing levels of hormonal imbalances. Conditions that are often related to hormonal imbalances include:

Thyroid (Hypo- & Hyper-thyroid problems)
Adrenal conditions (adrenal fatigue and/or exhaustion)
Early puberty
Pre-menstrual symptoms (PMS)
Periomenopause and menopause

AcuNeuroSync/LEAP techniques can facilitate significant improvement in hormonal conditions such as PMS, periomenopause, hypothyroid, and adrenal fatigue by resolving the energetic imbalances underlying the physiological, emotional and mental stressors so that normal hormonal function is restored.

What Causes Imbalances in the Hormonal System?

High stress levels disrupt hormonal function by releasing high levels of cortisol and adrenalin as part of the “fight-or-flight” reaction. Release of these stress hormones in turn has a disruptive effect, especially upon thyroid and pituitary function. If there is chronic ongoing stress, the adrenal glands become progressively depleted of their ability to make enough adrenalin and noradrenalin, and begin to pump the thyroid gland to produce more energy, which increases thyroid dysfunction. At the same time, the high levels of cortisol both suppress the immune system and disrupt sleep, making recovery from chronic stress progressively more difficult.

In addition, the individual glands that regulate metabolism and energy, such as the adrenal and thyroid glands or the glands that release sexual hormones, may be thrown out of balance by environmental toxins and chemicals that act as hormone disruptors. The widespread presence of hormone disruptors in our food supply and the environment is one of the reasons early puberty has been increasing at an alarming rate in recent years.

How Does AcuNeuroSync Restore the Hormonal System?

Much of the stress in our lives results from emotional and mental factors that activate the Fight-or-Flight system. The brain integration techniques from AcuNeuroSync/LEAP are highly effective at assessing the source issues and re-establishing brain integration, providing emotional and mental resources to assist in the resolution of these underlying problems. As the reactive Fight-or-Flight survival responses are calmed down, the release of stress hormones decreases and the hormonal system can once more achieve equilibrium.

The hormonal system is controlled by the hypothalamus, which in turn is controlled by a myriad of inputs from other parts of the brain, particularly the emotional centers. Loss of synchrony in brain areas that regulate the hypothalamus and thus the pituitary gland alter release of pituitary hormones that control all of the other glands in the body. AcuNeuroSync/LEAP techniques can resynchronize these areas of the brain, to restore homeostasis (equilibrium) to the hormonal system.