Table of Contents

1. A wriggle in deep time

2. Embryological morphogenesis

3. Modelling movement

4. Lateral contractile field (L-CF)

5. Dorso/ventral contractile field (D/V-CF)

6. Helical contractile field (H-CF)

7. Limb contractile fields (Limb-CFs)

8. Radial contractile field (R-CF)

9. Chiralic contractile field (C-CF)

10. Fluid field (F-F)

11. Archetypal postures: a self-tuning mechanism

12. Decoding the Chinese meridial map

13. Manipulating shape

Abbreviations and glossary

About the Author

Graduated BCNO (now BCOM) 1983. Taught osteopathic technique BCNO 1986-2003, taught osteopathic rehabilitation at the BSO 1997-2003.London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1986-1990Keynote Lecture, 1st International Conference on Advances in Osteopathic Research, London 1999Workshop, 4th Pan Pacific Medical Acupuncture Forum, Taupo, New Zealand, 2004Private practice, Wellington, New Zealand 2004 - Leon Chaitow ND DO is an internationally known and respected osteopathic and naturopathic practitioner and teacher of soft tissue manipulation methods of treatment. He is author of over 60 books, including a series on Advanced Soft Tissue Manipulation (Muscle Energy Techniques, Positional Release Techniques, Modern Neuromuscular Techniques) and also Palpation Skills; Cranial Manipulation: Theory and Practice; Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Practitioner's Guide to Treatment, and many more. He is editor of the peer reviewed Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, that offers a multidisciplinary perspective on physical methods of patient care. Leon Chaitow was for many years senior lecturer on the Therapeutic Bodywork degree courses which he helped to design at the School of Integrated Health, University of Westminster, London, where is he now an Honorary Fellow. He continues to teach and practice part-time in London, when not in Corfu, Greece where he focuses on his writing.

Reviews

'The biomechanical and postural concepts emerging from Phillip Beach's study of contractility and vertebrate movement patterns are revolutionary and clinically relevant to all manual therapists and acupuncturists. They change the way we need to view the body and its behaviour'.

Leon Chaitow, Registered Osteopathic Practitioner and Senior Lecturer, University of Westminster, London, UK

'Reflecting his extensive education, profound explorations, and years of practical experience, Phillip Beach's ideas braid movement, embryology, and acupuncture into a unique and useful systemic perspective'.

Thomas W. Myers, author of Anatomy Trains