Dr Steven Johre
Steven was born in Canada and studied Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario and Memorial University, both in Canada, graduating in 1984. Subsequent to this he studied chiropractic and attended the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic in Bournemouth England. This study ended in 1989 and from there he embarked upon a 5 year apprenticeship in Applied Kinesiology in Edinburgh Scotland. He has practised for 35 years in various places in the UK.
From a very young age he knew he wanted to be a doctor. Like most everyone else, his experience of medicine was a very ordinary conventional one which seemed entirely normal and reasonable at that time. If anyone got ill they went to the GP and were given anti-biotics and whatever else. He enjoyed great health as a youngster and was always outside doing sporty things and rode bikes everywhere so he had no real idea of what a health problem really was. He remembers having some minor skin issues in the teens, and was put on Tetracycline (an antibiotic] for the better part of two years. This seemed a completely benign thing to do and after a couple of years stopped. This passed without any awareness of the damage that would have been done to the gut bacteria and microbiome and therefore the immune system. And that is generally how it went.
Although he loved elementary school and did very well, always achieving the highest marks in the class, by the time he arrived at high school he become entirely un-enthused by what was understood to be wrote learning and just intellectual information he thought to be a waste of time. And so not finishing a level of education sufficient to enter university he decided at the age of 17 to travel around Canada and the US, hitch-hiking everywhere and doing all manner of different jobs for about 4 years. This he found enthralling and what was deemed to be a real education. And it truly was, giving him invaluable experience in dealing with all kinds of different life situations, pleasant and otherwise.
After this period of time he returned to education and commenced study at the University of Western Ontario. Just as he was completing these studies and getting ready to enter medicaL school, his mother who had suffered from cancer for 9 years died. Due to various surguries over this period she had no breasts, half a lung, part of her throat and died of a brain tumor. Steven decided not to pursue a career after such an obvious failure in this approach. It was not long after that a friend of the family gave him a book on the Macrobiotic Diet. He read this book and found the ideas presented utterly fascinating and made sense. Macrobiotics is the way the Chinese look upon food as medicine, following the principals of Taoism. Taoism defines the fundamental tenets for just about all their thought toward the life of a human being in the universe. The concepts of Yin and Yang, referred to as complimentary opposites, are described where the balance between them defines harmony and therefore in the context of the human experience, balance, health and well being. This made total sense especially in contrast to the cut it out, radiate it, drug it and hope for the best model. To consider the balance between complimentary opposites such as, hot/cold, wet/dry, light/dark, positive/negative, black/white, salt/sweet etc etc was necessary for conditions sustainable to life did not seem far fetched at all. In fact it made perfect sense.
Steven was compelled to explore further the world of macrobiotics and managed in 1984, in London Ontario, Canada, to find a macrobiotic cooking class. Here he met 5 people that told him they had been diagnosed terminally ill from cancer and through natural medicine and macrobiotics, both of which he knew nothing about, there was no cancer left in their bodies! He wondered how it was possible he knew nothing about this, why the medics didn’t either, and how in the name of God it was possible for a middle aged woman preparing food in her kitchen to be capable of such a feat!?
From here he was directed to spend time with a wonderful man, Dr Alan Bell in Windsor, border down to Detroit. Dr Bell had practised as a chiropractor and naturopath for 40 years and was truly an inspirational figure. He was so completely committed to his patients and it was wonderful to watch him. He explained many things to Steven and he was afforded the opportunity of speaking with several of his clients. He asked them many questions and received nothing but positive feedback. These were people with serious health issues. DR Bell instructed Steven to become a chiropractor and naturopath and not long all after he was on the way to England to do just that.
During the chiropractic studies he became aware of Applied Kinesiology and Dr Goodheart and began to read about it. Yet again, he was intrigued by more fascinating, intelligent, and common sense thinking. Steven managed to secure an apprenticeship in Applied Kinesiology in Edinburgh lasting 5 years with a man who had practised for 10 years. Again he was able to speak with all his clients and once again it was nothing but positive. Steven was sufficiently excited to put in the years of learning and practise to become competent and have enjoyed this and the continued learning immensely.
After 35 years of working in natural medicine, having had a front row center seat to the beauty and efficacy of it, it is very interesting to look in retrospect. His hope is to introduce the gift of the natural process to those seeking alternative paths in resolving their health issues in a clear, jargon free and sensible way. The purpose of introducing himself in this manner is to help people understand why someone, like himself in this case, would choose such a path. It is not the product of delusion, being easier, less education or cost required, less frustrating, necessarily more financial rewarding, or criticism free. Far from it. It is the product of seeing the truth and not compromising on principals that one knows to be true through observing reality and seeing through the ever present smoke screen of conventional thought. Einstien had a wonderful quote which has inspired me over time; “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly”.
Over many years and hundreds of thousands of treatments he has seen and learned many things that have astounded, surprised, excited and inspired him to continue. If a person becomes competent in muscle testing and has the required knowledge base they will learn that the body will become the teacher. The insights gained through the practise have been nothing short of incredible. He has learned that the body is:
1] entirely integrated
2] there are several causal factors to all chronic health problem symptoms
3] body intelligence is a very real thing and can be recruited to aid diagnosis and treatment
4] there is no need to give conditions labels when you can treat what causes the problem
5] every system is entirely unique
6] true healing is a process which requires time, commitment and is the responsibility of the individual
Steven has learned how to treat and witnessed the successful resolution of many different types of health problems over 35 years [see Testimonials]of practising AK and this is why he has chosen to continue as a natural medicine practitioner rather than embarking upon a career in conventional medicine. More and more as people become further informed and frustrated by the lack of efficacy of the conventional approach they are discovering what Steven has. Natural medicine works and it does so because it follows the reality of the natural process
Applied Kinesiology
Applied Kinesiology [AK] was developed initially by Chriropractors in America in the early 1960’s. The man considered to be the founder of AK is Dr George Goodheart, a chiropractor from Detroit. Dr Goodheart was acknowledged by Time Magazine as one of Americas top 100 innovators of all time for his groundbreaking work in the world of medicine, specifically natural medicine. Others involved at the inception of AK were David Walther, Walter Schmidt and Alan Beardall.
The basic principle of chiropractic is that the spinal cord which is housed by the spinal column [spine] sends and receives messages to and from the periphery, ie muscles, organs, and to the brain more centrally thereby influencing all body function. The spine itself with its several articulations [joints] and highly complex movement has many nerve fibers originating here and also effecting the spinal cord. These relationships and interactions between joints, muscles, organs and the nervous system sends incomprehensible amounts of information back and forth between them, regulating and controlling all body function. This is vital for the integration and workings of all systems in the body and explains why chiropractors and osteopaths target their treatment toward maintaining and normalizing proper functioning of the spine through joint manipulation.
The principle objective of spinal manipulation is to ensure proper neurological input from these highly innervated [receiving vast amounts of nerve connections])structures. Due to the various neurological connections between joints and organs at the level of the spinal cord, correct function of these is supported by correct spinal mechanics. Chiropractic is one of several natural modes of therapy designed to maintain and restore normal functioning of our bodies. Manipulation of the structure has been a form of treatment which has prevailed over millennia, largely due to its common sense approach and irrefutable efficacy experienced by millions past and present.
The anatomical and functional relationships described above led chiropractors to test muscles in order to ascertain the integrity of said connections. Initially gross muscle weakness was observed when nerve interference occurred due to more physical problems like inter-vertebral disc prolapse [loss of space between vertebra] impinging upon on nerves directly inside and exiting the spinal column. This of course was applied in conventional medicine by orthopaedic surgeons and physiotherapists. Dr Goodherat and others discovered that more “subtle muscle function” was impaired by “functional” disturbance of the spine and not just by gross physical change observed by physical pressing on a nerve structure. This is why we can call natural medicine, functional medicine. The main pre-occupation is to avoid serious problems by diagnosing and treating these functional issues long before they spiral down into more serious maladies. The limitations of conventional diagnosis and the lack of understanding of functional problems explains why on so many occasions I have encountered clients that have been told there is nothing wrong with them.
Bones of the spine called vertebra are stacked on top of each oer and stabilised by the inter-vertebral discs and two other joints called facet joints, which more guide the movement of each set of vertebra. There is a space between the two articulating vertebra called the Intervertebral Foramen or IVF. This where many elements enter and exit from/to the spinal cord to the periphery controlling just about everything in the body. The correct movement of this so called motor unit is a major pre-occupation of chiropractic and osteopathic treatment. Muscle function is directly controlled by nerves entering and exittng the spine to the spinal cord, where a treendous amount of interaction takes place, connecting or influencing other nerves and systems controlling and regulating organs. The 5 Factors of the IVF as shown below was a defining principal of AK, integrating various systems of the body, explaining why muscle function and testing could elucidate many functional states in the body.
As more subtle imbalances were recognized, questions arose as to what other medical models could be explored using direct communication with what we call body intelligence through muscle testing. In remembering that muscle testing is a non invasive way of scrutinizing the nervous system, the validity of and ways other models could be examined and perhaps incorporated into AK became of great interest to many. As a result of many years of deep and meaningful research by highly educated, intelligent and committed people, the way in which the acupuncture meridians, joint function, homeopathy, nutrient requirement, and many other aspects of health and medicine was elucidated through the vehicle of muscle testing and put into practice with extraordinary results. This is why people invested the many years required to become a competent practitioner of AK. In my view the reason for the success of AK in treating so many health complaints is due to the direct communication with body intelligence through muscle testing.
AK considers the human system to be divided but not separated into 3 main aspects. The structural, chemical and the mental/emotional. These three entities are separate and distinct yet entirely inter-connected. In order for good health to prevail these must function correctly individually and communicate properly. This we can call balance or harmony. Modern day physiologists would call it homeostasis. Here we have a very real and useful definition of health as well as an objective to strive for in our treatment plan. The Chinese called this Yin and Yang 4000 years ago and it is as true now as it was then because it is the way nature works. All our incredible technologies and discoveries will never change this reality. In my view all our attempts to counteract this have lead to the problems we observe in our world today. Theses manifest in the form of the myriad of chronic degenerative diseases that pervade our lives. It seems we have acquiesced to the promise that such a thing is possible by those who proport to know better than mother nature. We can say that all our health issues whatever they may be, are caused by a disruption of the balance of nature. And our physical body is nature. We came out of it, we breath it, drink it and eat it in order to survive. Quite simple.
The Triad of Health describes in a conceptual way, a theoretical model of how the human system functions as individual part and inter-relates as a whole. Through this, the body can be understood in a practical and real way providing a guideline to aid the great challenge of diagnosing and treating the causal factors that generate the imbalance within the 3 aspects of the triad, manifesting as the symptomatic picture of the individual. The pictorial representation above provides a visual representation of this model. From this it is possible to understand that the triad can adopt any orientation caused by any permutation of causal factors and in doing so acknowledges the uniqueness of every person. It also therefore acknowledges that a unique treatment plan is required for every person as well.
Get in touch
To enquire about Applied Kinesiology, contact Dr Steven Johre directly.