Alexandra Faer Bryan, R.N., is a Polarity practitioner and instructor who has over twenty years of experience applying Polarity in hospital settings, as a visiting nurse, and in a traditional private practice.

She received her nursing degree from Georgia State University in 1978, initiated her study of Polarity in 1980, and soon began utilizing its techniques in conjunction with cancer patient treatments. The benefits to her patients inspired her to become certified as a Polarity practitioner in 1985, by Eleanora Lipton, R.P.P., at the Polarity Wholeness Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Eleanora is a great instructor of the basics and teaches her own form of exercises called Yoga Energetics.

The operative aspect of this system is electromagnetic in its response, which prompted Polarity developer Dr. Randolph Stone, DO, DC, ND (1890- 1981) to designate its confines as the "human energy field." He sought to map out a theoretical human energy "circuitry schematic" in detail in his two-volume collection of works, simply titled Polarity Therapy. Over the course of his extensive, life-long investigation of energy in the healing arts, Dr. Stone observed that if there is a pain, stress, or disease, there exists a corresponding blockage of energy flow in a region of this field. He felt that, in addition to applying touch (using your hands on specific zones in the body) to manipulate the field and maintain a healthy, flexible, unobstructed flow of energy, a person's diet, environment, thoughts, beliefs, and emotions could all affect this system as well to create or release blockages in the energy flux, and in this manner either foster or hinder a state of well-being. It is important to understand that the pained, stressed, or diseased area may either be the section of the body which contains a concentrated amount of "clogged energy," or it could be an area that has been experiencing a "drought" or shortage of energy as a result of a blockage (or blockages). In an ideal Polarity session, abnormally blocked electromagnetic energy is released as individual, unfixed energies, which flow back into their balanced pattern and appropriate currents throughout the body.

Sessions are usually given on a massage table with soothing music and can be anything from mildly pleasant and soothing to a major release of pain with an amplified sense of inner-awareness. Most sessions can be done with the client fully clothed, but some specific types of sessions require the removal of clothing and may possibly involve the use of massage oils to attain the best results. The practitioner usually starts by gently holding the head in order to connect with the energy system of the client. Aspects of massage are used or adapted, and some sessions are very gentle with only the lightest of contact, while specific objectives at times employ tactics involving a more firm touch, or, at times, holding the hands distinctly on two points to allow the body's energy to establish balance.

Intuition is another important part of the Polarity process. Students are taught to listen to and respect their small inner voice which, in this case, can give sharp insight into the issues and needs that a client may have. This is sometimes expressed by Polarity instructors as "listening to" and "following one's heart." These perceptions are often accurate and help to make a connection with the client. The hands are also intuitive, and learning how to allow the hands to explore and follow the needs of the client is a growth process for most students/practitioners. I like to close my eyes and just let my hands "hunt out" the tension and blockages in the body. I do this without setting rigid limits or following set patterns because everyone has personalized patterns within the framework of the basic energy structure of the body. There are five primary energy pathways or circuits identified by Dr. Stone, named for the direction they follow around and/or above the body: the vertical, horizontal, spiral, radiant, and the involutionary/evolutionary pathways (discussed in Part III).

One patient who responded quite well to Polarity sessions was a retired minister who was a victim of bone cancer, which had spread into his lungs. On first meeting him, I was struck by his compassion and kindness. While receiving a painful procedure to drain fluid from his lungs, he talked about one of his church members who had suffered from cystic fibrosis and had received the same procedure. He commented that he had never appreciated just how brave she had been. I was touched that he could think of someone else's pain in the midst of his own.

The second time I attended him came after his leg had been amputated. When he came to my floor, he was in a great deal of pain. Unfortunately, his medication was ordered to be given via a central line of morphine directly to his heart, and I had to tell him it that would be at least several hours before the doctor could come and insert the line. I volunteered to give him a Polarity session to see if it would ease his suffering until the Morphine could be given. He unacquainted with the term but hastily agreed to anything that I was able to offer. He was very fragile, so I used only the most gentle touch. At the end of the twenty-minute Center-Charging or Chakra balancing sequence, he said that, although it hadn't eased his pain, it had relaxed him, and he thought he would be all right until the doctor arrived.

The next day, he asked for another session. He said it really seemed to help him feel less anxious. I was glad to be able to do something for him. During the twenty minute balancing session, he remarked that he "just felt so much love and warmth coming out" of my hands.

He said, "You know, what you did made me feel so peaceful. I feel just like God's love was pouring out of your hands. I want you to know what you did for me. When I became so sick with cancer, and in so much pain, I felt like a fool. It isn’t easy for me to say this, but I just lost my faith. I felt I had been a fool for preaching all my life about a kind and loving God if He could allow people to suffer so. But what you did let me feel God’s love coming right into me. It made me feel better physically, yes, but it also gave me hope. This work you do is a gift to the world, and I feel more hopeful about the entire world. We may have problems, but God does give solutions. I wanted to thank you because what you did for me helped me to make peace with my Maker."

When I returned to work the next weekend, I asked about him. A nurse told me he had died that Wednesday.