Is your neck killing you, lower back in spasm or perhaps you have a stomach problem or unexplained headaches? Whatever it may be, there is a solution — let your body heal itself.

Essentially that is what Body Stress Release (BSR) is — allowing the body to access areas of locked in stress and letting recovery take place.

BSR practitioner Ismail Mammon of Bowwood Body Stress Release Practice says he's amazed every day by the results of the treatment and the speed with which the body heals itself.

Some of his patients after years of Scoliosis have shown remarkable results in just two sessions.

Ismail says, "I'm not a miracle worker, it's not me who does the healing, I just allow for the healing process to take place by locating areas of stress and tension in the body and facilitating in restoring your body's communication system".

What is stress?

Stress becomes locked into physical structures when the body fails to adapt to an overload of stress. This may result in pain, stiffness, numbness and postural distortions. In addition the body's capacity to co-ordinate its functions is undermined.

When it comes to stress, there are three types of stress and three ways in which it manifests in the body.

Firstly, mechanical stress is stress caused by physical activity, accidents or injuries. This sort of stress usually becomes 'locked in' the lower back.

The second type is emotional and mental stress, which everybody has, says Ismail. This usually manifests in the centre of the back.

Lastly, there is chemical stress which is caused by environmental factors such as food and the environment as well as allergies, even plants. This stress manifests in the neck.

For example says Ismail: "When I was studying BSR my wife complained of terrible migraines for about a week. When I asked her if she was using any new products or changed anything, we realised it was her new moisturiser that was actually causing the headaches and once the cream was gone, so were the headaches."

What each session entails:

Body Stress Release is a gentle procedure in which areas of body stress are located, using the body as a biofeedback mechanism. The practitioner assists the body to release the tension by applying light but definite pressure to the sites of body stress.

A special bed, which stands upright, is used to take tension/pressure off the back, and assists patients who are in pain and cannot easily get off and on a bed.

The first session usually takes about an hour as Ismail finds about who you are, what physical activities you do or sports you play, and which your 'problem areas' are.

After that the treatment is only about a half an hour per session, but be warned it could make you sleepy if you are really in a lot of pain.

So does it work?

Everybody is different, and obviously some people have more tension and stress than others. I thought I was pretty immune to stress besides perhaps bad posture and a lower backache after a long bike ride, but as Ismail began to ask me questions about my history — what injuries I have had, what ailments I have, and so on, I quickly realised that I block out negative memories and forget about pain and stress in my body, and could quite possibly have areas of locked in tension in my body that I had forgotten about.

My first session went smoothly and Ismail located an area in my legs where there was tension. Funnily enough that particular muscle running across my thigh had been pulling on my knee a few months back and had given me a knee injury.

Another thing I found was that my stomach was a lot better than usual for the rest of the week, as I tend to have a very sensitive stomach. During the second session, Ismail also noted that my stomach definitely still needed more releasing. It amazes me how stress can effect your organs as much as your muscles.

Lastly, I felt a lot more relaxed overall from the two treatments — especially in my neck and shoulders. Unfortunately, now that I have just done the Argus I might need to go back just for a neck and shoulder release.

Body Stress Release is a great way to aid fast recovery, especially if you are doing a multi-day race. This year Ismail will be at the Cape Epic and I am sure there will be a lot of grateful clients visiting him during the race.

A Session at Bowwood Body Stress Release is also only R150 and is a lot more effective and works faster towards recovery then many other techniques.

For more information on Body Stress Release if you are in the Cape Town or Claremont area call Ismail on +27 21 683 7073/+27 82 723 1907 or visit his website — www.bsr.za.com