Interviews

Homeopathy and Muscle Testing

muscle testing image

Homeopath Diane Fuller shows us how learning various forms of muscle testing can help us select the right remedy, right potency, right number of cups, succussions and anything else we might need to know in prescribing.

Let’s start with an explanatory video, as many of you may not know what muscle testing is:

Diane Fuller is back with information on how we can be more accurate with our remedy selections through something called “muscle-testing”, which allows us to find out what foods, drugs, remedies, etc. are making us strong, helping us to heal, and which ones we don’t need or are making us weak.

Elaine @ Sabrinas Elaine Lewis

I love muscle testing, Elaine!  It helps me to determine where there are weak areas in the body, and which remedies will be most helpful.

DianeFuller Diane Fuller

I like to muscle test clients on their first visit.  There are many versions of muscle testing.  I use a simple test.  I have the person extend one arm at shoulder level and resist my pressure on that wrist, while using their other hand to touch an area to be tested.

I find that when an area of the body is touched that has some kind of a blockage of energy (i.e. a bruise or pain or infection etc.) they will be unable to continue to extend their arm when it is pressed at the wrist.

If they are tested again while holding a helpful remedy on that specific point, they will be able to hold their extended arm very rigid and strong when it is pressed down.

I usually test lung, liver, spleen, adrenals, small intestine, colon, lower pelvis, and kidney areas, as well as any area where there is pain or difficulty.

Areas of pain make the extended arm instantly weak!  There is always a look of astonishment after muscle testing and finding several very weak areas that go strong immediately when an appropriate remedy is held on them.

I always test the areas of the body before giving a remedy because the instant a remedy is taken, all the weak spots test strong.  This happens when a remedy is inhaled or taken by mouth.  If the person is already taking a homeopathic remedy that is helping, their weak points will be strong and the muscle test will not show them.  They will, however, test weak or strong with any remedy you are testing, even though testing their body for weak spots will not give accurate information.

You can also muscle test to discover how often the remedy should be taken and to find the best potency.  I encourage clients to learn to muscle test so they can test before each dose of the remedy to see if they really need it that day, and how often they need it.

I won’t give a remedy unless it tests strong on all the weak points… that is, each area that has tested weak without the remedy, tests strong when the remedy is held on it.

There are also two points that I like to use to confirm the remedy and they are on the cheek and the knee.  I don’t know why, but in my experience, if a remedy tests strong on those points, it seems to test strong on all the other points.

Let’s advise our readers that there are many ways to do muscle testing, especially if you don’t have a partner to push down on your wrist.

Right!  There are several simple muscle tests that can be done by an individual without having to have another person to press down on their arm.  The one I find the best is the “leaning test” also known as the “sway test”.

If you hold your remedy, or whatever it is you want to test (food, vitamins, herbs, etc.) to your chest or solar plexus, close your eyes and ask the question, “Is this good for me?” or “Do I need this right now?” then, keeping the question in mind, stand quietly until you begin to sway.  Normally, people lean forward, toward what they are holding, if it is good for them, and backwards, or away from the item if it is not good for them.

Some people don’t lean in the usual directions – one man went around in circles for “Yes” and sideways for “No”.

Oh wait!  I just found a youtube video on the sway test!  Go to youtube and type in “sway test” and many of these videos will come up.  In this video, the expert is showing us how to select the right essential oil using the sway test but it could just as easily be a homeopathic remedy or food supplement or anything else:

Some people become very good at muscle testing themselves and it makes taking remedies much easier and more effective because they are taking them according to their body’s needs, and not somebody else’s ideas of what they need.  But, some people just don’t seem to get the knack of it and can’t seem to make it work.

Diane, how do you muscle-test an uncooperative child, a bed-ridden person, an unconscious person, etc.?

Testing very ill people who are not able to extend their arm, as well as testing babies, small children and animals or plants can be done through another person.  For example, the mother can, with one hand, touch the areas to be tested on her baby while her extended arm is pressed down at the wrist by her partner to see if the areas are weak or strong.  Over ten years ago, this method worked very well on my infant granddaughter who was suffering from colic.  By testing the different areas of her body we could find the exact spot on her abdomen that was painful.  Testing several different remedies on that spot led us to the one that was the most helpful.  As a new remedy was needed, the first one would test weak, and then it was time to look for a new one.

When a baby is screaming and unable to tell the parents where the pain is, it can be a very frightening experience.  Parents using muscle testing as a tool, can test the different areas of the body and discover if the pain is from an earache, a chest problem or an abdominal ailment by touching those areas.

My daughter, Catherine, is a great believer in muscle testing.  She told her doctor she wanted to muscle test herself on some pills he wanted her to take.  When she muscle tested weak, she said she didn’t want them.  He didn’t object.

There are many different ways of muscle testing or kinesiology, as it’s called.  This method is one that I have developed over the years since I first discovered that it could make such a difference with Catherine.

We should probably impress upon our readers that the “sway test” is another way to test someone who will not hold still and allow even a surrogate to touch their body while you muscle-test the surrogate.  You can simply stand and ask the question, as shown in the video above, “Does my daughter need this remedy?” Yes/no.  “Is 30C the right potency?”  Yes/no.  “Twice a day?” Yes/no, or any variation of that question– “Does she need the dose in water?” yes/no.  “Does she need the dose in the first cup?” yes/no.  “Does she need more than 2 succussions?” yes/no.  And so on until you’ve learned everything you need to know about the remedy and the dosing schedule for that particular day—you have to specify, be very careful with your questions that they can’t be interpreted in more than one way.

Muscle testing has served me well, and I am very thankful for having learned it those many years ago.

Let me just ask you, if a person has a headache, do you ask them to touch their head with their free hand while you try to push down their arm?

Yes, I ask them where the pain is in their head, and tell them to put their hand on that spot.  They can’t hold their other arm up with their hand on that spot.

Then, you have them hold a remedy to their head and hopefully, if it’s the right remedy, their arm will be stronger than it was the previous time?

Yes, if the remedy is a good one, they will test strong.  If the remedy is not good, their arm will be weak and they won’t be able to hold it up.

Do you test several remedies or just the one you’re interested in?

I normally muscle test to find the weak areas of the body when I take the case.  After I study the case and choose a remedy, I test them with the remedy I have chosen.  Sometimes when I am testing to find the weak areas of the body, I will test them with a remedy that I think will make them weak, especially if they are skeptical.  I test the remedy on their strong areas, and it makes them very weak. If there is a remedy I think may be good for them, I may have them hold it on their weak areas just to show them the difference.  But I normally study the case and use the muscle testing to confirm my choice of remedies.  

If it is an acute condition and I need a remedy right away, for example Arnica, I may test them on several potencies of Arnica to see which one they are strongest with.  I encourage clients to buy a homeopathic home remedy kit, and to muscle test when they are unsure which remedy to use after they have narrowed it down to the ones they think are most suitable.  This really helps them to develop confidence in their abilities to find an acute remedy from their kit.

If a female is muscle-testing a big strong man, isn’t it likely that she won’t be able to push his arm down no matter what?

I love testing big macho young men!  They can’t believe that a little old lady can make their arm fall so easily when they put their other hand on (for example) their liver area (which often tests weak) or an area where they have a bruise or an old injury.  Normally, there is no way I could pull that arm down even if I hung from it, but give them a vial of a remedy they don’t need, or have them touch a weak area of their body, and they are instant wimps!  The looks on their faces are wondrous to behold!  Usually they just look bewildered and ask me to do that again because they can’t believe it really happened!  Then they want to know “Why?”, “How did you do that?”

Once I asked a man who was waiting for his wife to come and see how to muscle test, so he could help his wife to be tested at home.  I usually like to muscle test relatives, so they get an idea what is happening and will be better able to test other family members.  I knew this man was very ill and on kidney dialysis a couple of times a week.  His wife had told me how sick he was and so I expected him to be weak on most of the test areas.  You can imagine my astonishment when I began to test him and every point was strong!  I knew that couldn’t be right.  And then I noticed he was wearing a large stone on a chain around his neck.  I told him that the stone might be affecting the muscle testing.  He looked a bit surprised and then told me that he was wearing the stone as it was supposed to help eliminate toxins from his body.  As a matter of fact, he added, the lady he had consulted had given him these other stones to help him as well.  With that, he emptied his pockets of about 6 other large stones. After unloading his treasures, I again muscle tested him, and just as I had thought, he was indeed weak on most points.  I told him that the woman’s choice of rocks seemed to be very good for him, and he agreed as he loaded them all back into his pockets.

When you muscle test, do you have to use several potencies to see which one is best?

When a person is strong on a remedy, they will normally be strong on all the potencies.  Sometimes I would test them with the highest and lowest potency I had of a remedy.  If they are strong on them, that would mean the remedy is a good one for them.  I would then test them on individual potencies and quite often there would be one that would be stronger than the others.  If you want to give that remedy again the next time, you will often find that they test weak on the original potency but very strong on a potency they haven’t had.  Normally after a few potencies, they will test weak on the rest of the potencies which means they need a different remedy.  Sometimes after the first potency, they are no longer strong on any of the other potencies which means they are finished with that remedy and need a different one.

Before giving the first dose of the remedy, you could test with different potencies to find which potency tests the strongest.  If you normally give one dose, then you would give one dose.  If you want to find out from the child if he needs more than one dose, you could ask while muscle testing “Do you need more than one dose?”  If his arm goes weak, that is a “No.”

If his arm stays strong, that is a “Yes”.  Since you only get yes or no answers, if you want to find out how many times he needs the remedy you might ask, “Do you need more than 2 doses of this remedy?”  If you get “Yes” you can ask, “More than 3 doses?” etc.

If you want to know how often, you can ask, “Do you need this remedy once a day?” If “No”, then “Do you need this remedy once a week?”  If “yes”, then you know to give the remedy once a week for however many weeks you arrived at with the last question.


If a child who’s on, let’s say, Pulsatilla is acting whiny, and the parent is concerned that maybe the remedy is wearing off, how would one determine this using muscle testing?

Testing the child with Pulsatilla in the potency he has been taking would tell you if he needs another dose of that potency.  If he tests weak with that potency, and you still think he needs the remedy, you could test a different potency.

Another possibility is that the remedy may have been too strong, and needs to be diluted.  In that case, I would muscle test and ask if he needs the remedy diluted.  If so, from what glass, i.e., “Up to glass 6?” “No” “Up to glass 12?” “Yes” “Glass 10?” “No” “Glass 11?” “Yes”.

It often takes a bit of muscle testing and a few good yes or no questions, but handling the case is much easier, and when they learn to muscle test themselves, they are happy to figure it out more precisely as they go along.

Once you master the muscle testing, you have much more confidence in the chosen remedies.

If you’re testing a remedy and it’s a partial match, what sort of result will you get in terms of the arm strength or the “swaying” if you’re testing yourself?

Depending on how close the remedy is, you might find that it tests strong on some points and weak on others.  When that happens, it isn’t good enough for me, and I search for a remedy that will be strong on all points.  This can also happen near the end of a good remedy – if you test, it will be strong on some points and weak on others so you know it is time to either change the potency which should test strong on all points, or change to a new remedy which tests strong on all points.

The same will happen with the sway test.  You might find it difficult to figure out whether you are going forward or backward because you will seem to hesitate and it could be confusing.  Before, with that remedy you probably went definitely forward.  Some people get so good at the sway test that they just have to pick up the remedy and they start to go in the forward or backwards.

Very helpful in a store where you don’t know which brand is best for you.  People may look at you as if you have lost it, but it will save you time and money on vitamins etc. that you don’t need!

When people look at me curiously, I tell them what I am doing and ask them if they want me to muscle test them.  Most are quite intrigued and want more information.  Some think you are nuts whatever you try to tell them, but when they hear about muscle testing from another source in the future, it might click.

Does it get easier to tell if you test with a high potency, or would a 30C test the same as a 1M or 10M?

If a 6C or a 30C is really good for you, or really bad for you, you will get a stronger reaction than if it is a so-so remedy for you.  If it is a higher potency, it is a stronger remedy and so the reaction to the remedy is usually stronger – unless of course it isn’t a very potent remedy because of the way it was made or stored, etc.

What I am trying to say is that the more that remedy will affect you, either positively or negatively, the stronger your muscle testing reaction will be.  For example if you slam your fingers in the car door and need a remedy, Arnica may test ok, but in your particular case you may test much stronger with Hypericum.  And if you test several potencies of Hypericum, one will probably test stronger than the others because it is more precisely matched to your particular condition.

Diane, if you’re testing a remedy for, say, a headache, which may be a belladonna headache, and you test with Calc-carb, which may be your constitutional remedy, will you test positive for calc-carb even though it won’t help your headache?

Great question, Elaine.  If you decided to test a person on 6 or 7 remedies that you think could help them, you might find that several of them test strong on most test areas.  The best one would be the one that tested the strongest on all areas.  So, Calc-carb may test strong for the person with the headache, but during the headache, Belladonna would probably test stronger.

If a person needs a certain remedy, i.e. Calc-carb, but doesn’t need a dose now, they may test strong, but if you ask when testing the remedy if they need a dose now, you would get a weak response indicating “No”.

So, “Do I need a dose right now?” seems to be a very important question.

Sounds a bit complicated, but as you do it you learn what questions to ask and how much pressure is needed for testing etc.  It becomes an art.  Some people are better at it than others.

When testing an item, you are asking or intending to find the answer to “Is this good for me?”  If you want to find out something different such as, “Do I need this now?” you must keep the question very simple and basic.  If you ask long confusing questions, since you only get a yes or no answer, you won’t know which part of your question is being answered.

Excellent point!

For example, “Do I need to take this remedy (Arnica) twice a day for a week?” may get a “no” and leave you confused because you already asked if you needed it twice a day and got a “yes”, and you asked if you needed it for a week and got “yes”.  On further testing, asking more specific questions, you may find that you need to take the Arnica twice a day for 4 days and then once a day for the rest of the week.  So, keep the questions simple and if possible, test for a day at a time.  That is why it works so well when people learn to do their own muscle testing.

My ten year old granddaughter told her surprised mother that she was showing her friends how to muscle test because it was such a good way to find out what treats were good for them.

There are lots of books on the subject of Kinesiology or Muscle Testing, and there is lots of information on the Net about it.

Who should ask the questions? For instance, should the patient say, “Do I need this remedy?” or should the practitioner ask, “Does Harry need this remedy?”

When I began using muscle testing to find remedies, I simply found the weak spots on the body and then put the remedy I thought would work for them, on the weak spots.  If they all tested strong, it was a good remedy.  If they didn’t, I looked for one that did.  Then I tried different potencies to find the strongest.

I listed the weak spots on their chart and checked new remedies on those spots in the future, because, as I said, those spots immediately become strong after the remedy has been taken.

Once that method was mastered, I tried other ways of using muscle testing as I thought of them or read of them (I love to try new things because one never knows where they will lead!)

Hope I haven’t overwhelmed you with too much info!

Can I muscle test to find that out?  What if I just ask you one more question?

If you’re getting an ambiguous reaction to a remedy, would it be smart to test the same remedy in a higher potency?

Yes.  But, if you test a potency of that remedy that the person has already had and is finished with, they will test weak.  In that case, you may decide it is not a good remedy for them, when it could just be that they need a higher potency.

My daughter is very aware of that.  She will do the sway test and say, “Am I getting a no because the potency is wrong?  And very often the answer she gets is Yes.  Thanks, Diane; I know this is a very ponderous methodology for a lot of people and they may be thinking, “I can’t do it!” but otherwise, if you don’t try to learn it, you’re just guessing!  Not all the time, but, some of the time you really are.

OK, I’m wrapping this up!  Thanks Diane, come back again soon, I really appreciate your teaching us this very important remedy-finding tool.

______________________________________

Diane Fuller is a former Registered Nurse who studied homeopathy with Misha Norland from The School of Homeopathy and completed Lou Klein’s Master Clinician course. She practices in Prince George, B.C. Canada and can be reached at [email protected]

Elaine Lewis is a graduate of Robin Murphy’s Hahnemann Academy of North America. Elaine takes online cases. Write to her at [email protected] and visit her website at elaineLewis.hpathy.com

About the author

Diane Fuller

Diane Fuller is a former Registered Nurse who studied homeopathy with Misha Norland from The School of Homeopathy and completed Lou Klein"™s Master Clinician course. She practices in Prince George, B.C. Canada and can be reached at [email protected].

About the author

Elaine Lewis

Elaine Lewis, D.Hom., C.Hom.
Elaine is a passionate homeopath, helping people offline as well as online. Contact her at [email protected]
Elaine is a graduate of Robin Murphy's Hahnemann Academy of North America and author of many articles on homeopathy including her monthly feature in the Hpathy ezine, "The Quiz". Visit her website at:
https://elainelewis.hpathy.com/ and TheSilhouettes.org

12 Comments

    • Thanks Jim! The great part about it is that you can use it for allopathic medicines, herbs, foods and even things like pollen that you collect outside in a glass of water during allergy season.

      To antidote a food or medicine, put a few grains of the food or medicine in a glass of water and then dump and dilute until you get to the 12th or so glass (muscle testing can help you decide which glass to go to) before you take a dose.

      If you feel bad after eating, try spitting in a glass and dilute it the same way. Lots of people have had good results doing that as well!

      All the best,

      Diane

  • Dear Diane,
    I have been on some homeopathic remedies years ago and on more than one occasion. From those experiences I concluded it is really beneficial to see a good practitioner. Often, the remedies simply do nothing at all if the practitioner has formulaically prescribed something without trying to understand your constitution. I’m rediscovering homeopathy after years and being treated for a very complex set of conditions/symptoms that are really a hodge podge of physical, emotional and mental symptoms.
    Well, I’ll stop rambling and come to the point, I am really really intrigued by muscle testing, I’d never heard of it before. I would’ve loved to consult with you but I’m based in the UK. Is there an institution/clinic/individual in the UK you can recommend to me? After 7 years of being on some very toxic medicines I am desperate to be my normal self again.

    • Thank you for your email Manish. I’m sorry, I don’t know of practitioners or organizations in the UK that do muscle testing and homeopathy, although, here in Canada, some naturopaths do both. You might want to phone some alternate practitioners and ask if they do some kind of testing for remedies.

      You may need to make some drastic changes in lifestyle if you have a lot of detoxifying to do. For this, you may get some help from http://www.gaps.me Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride’s website – she is in the UK. Also, Dr. Jerry Tennant who is a medical doctor and also a homeopath in the US, cured himself from an “incurable” illness and has some excellent info on the internet. http://tennantinstitute.us

      All the best in your search!

      Diane

  • Hello,

    For several years I have been practicing muscle testing myself on foods and such because I am sensitive to many things. I have found you can use it for many things. Recently we found out my son’s room, in a house we just purchased is painted a bad color for him. So being kinda out there I had him muscle test color samples to find what would work in his room. Here is my question…on a few of the colors there was a distinct pull sideways to the right instead of back or forwards, does this mean anything? We both are curious as to why or what it means if anything. We did find two very positive colors for his room. Thank you for your time and help.

    Blessings,
    Mary

  • Thank you for your email Mary.

    I have seen some strange reactions when people try the leaning muscle test. One man, instead of going forward when something was good for him, swiveled around in a circle – the same man went sideways instead of backwards when something was not good for him.. Some people do go sideways instead of back or forward.

    Others, when they are being muscle tested by somebody else, get a pain in the arm being tested, or in some other part of the body as a reaction to whatever it is they are holding. One very sensitive lady can tell by just holding a remedy, what part of her body it will affect.

    We must remember that muscle testing is a way of finding the body’s reaction to what is being tested. Sometimes the message isn’t as clear as we would like it to be, and so we have to figure out ways of interpreting the information. Fascinating isn’t it?

    Maybe with your son, the color was ok, but the paint brand wasn’t? Maybe try testing the paint and the color separately.

    It is great that you are using muscle testing in such a creative way. It can be useful for so many things!

    God bless you,

    Diane

  • I am curious as to which cheek and me to hold the homeopathic remedy on to check if the remedy is the proper one? Because when I hold it on my right cheek and me I’m strong… But when I hold it on my left cheek and knee I am weak…

    • I am sorry, my last question was supposed to say which cheek and knee the remedy should be tested on…

      • Thank you for your email Twyla.
        When an area of the body is weak on a remedy, no matter what the point on the body is, I usually assume that it is not a good remedy for the one being tested. You may have underlying issues in the areas tested, for example a tooth infection or knee problem. With muscle testing, you can discover some fascinating information about your body that leaves you wondering for a while. But I have always found that with good, honest muscle testing (when you or the person you are doing the testing on, don’t have preconceived ideas about the results – like deciding that this remedy is or isn’t good for you while doing the test) your body gives good, honest information. You need to be asking the question “Is this remedy good for me or the person being tested?” in an attitude of curiosity and wonder for it to be accurate.

        If you test the cheek and knee without the remedy you should be able to tell if there is an underlying problem in those areas. If they are strong without using the remedy on them and weak with the remedy on them, then the remedy is not a good one for you. If the cheek and knee are weak and the remedy tests weak, the remedy isn’t good for you.

        You might be interested in Dietrich Klinghardt’s Autonomic Response Testing (ART). For more info see https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/01/09/the-absolute-best-muscle-testing-system-i-know-of.aspx
        I hope this helps!
        All the best,
        Diane

  • Diane, does it matter which cheek or which knee or do you do both the left and the right?

    I don’t think it matters, Elaine. Maybe some people it is on one side and some on the other. If any point is weak, I think it would not be a great remedy. I like them to be strong on all points. In the past few years since I have been retired, I haven’t used most points- usually just the arm. But then, I am mostly just doing family.

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