TLDR - Muscle testing is a technique used to determine if your body will have a negative response to something or if you are strong with it. If you learn self testing, you will learn it can do much more.
Expanded
Muscle testing, also known as applied kinesiology, is a technique used to assess the body's response to various substances. This is based on the premise that the body's energy field first reacts to different stimuli, which then impact muscle strength. We then have the ability to test subtle changes in muscle strength to determine if we positively or negatively respond to something.
Connection to the Autonomic Nervous System
I believe we are taping into our subconscious when we are muscle testing and our subconscious influences our autonomic nervous system. If we test negative to something then this means our autonomic nervous system will have a negative response to it (there is much more to it but this is a high level explanation). This could mean it will make you fatigued, give you a headache, cause you digestive issues, or something else. The response is only a yes/no, though you can also learn to identify the level of severity.
The High Level Process
Preparation:
The person being tested should be in a relaxed state. The tester may ask the individual to hold a food item, supplement, or whatever is being tested in a small container.
Baseline Testing:
The tester establishes a baseline by asking the person to resist the pressure applied to a specific muscle (often the arm) without any stimulus. This helps determine the person’s normal muscle strength.
Testing Specific Item:
The tester then asks the person to hold the test substance. The tester applies the same pressure to the muscle as during the baseline test.
If the muscle response weakens (i.e., the person is unable to resist the pressure as effectively), it suggests a negative reaction to the food, indicating a possible intolerance or negative response to the item.
If the muscle response remains strong, it suggests that the item is likely well tolerated by the body.
How This Works
Neuromuscular Response: The concept is that the body's neuromuscular system reacts to different substances, and these reactions can be detected through muscle strength. When the body encounters something it finds stressful or harmful, the muscle response may weaken due to a disruption in the body’s energy flow.
Energy Fields: Proponents believe that the body’s energy field interacts with substances, and muscle testing can detect imbalances or disruptions in this energy flow, indicating a sensitivity or intolerance.
Span of Testing
Food Reactions: Are there any foods you cannot eat because they give you a bad reaction? What is the reaction? Do you have multiple foods like this, and do they have the same reaction or something different? Somewhere within you, some part of your body is not agreeing with whatever you consumed.
Emotional Responses: Have you ever done something that didn’t sit right with you? Maybe you hurt someone else or made a decision you regret? How did you feel? Do you have anything in your life that you dislike but don’t have a good reason for it? How do you feel when you think about it? These feelings are emotional responses and your body can go weak when you think of them.
Supplements and Medications: Have you ever read about a supplement that is supposed to have great health benefits but when you take it you feel worse? Muscle testing is a great way to test the item before you buy or consume it. Many chiropractors have supplements in their offices and will test to see what your body agrees with.
Other: Your body could subconsciously think anything is bad. It could be a color, shape, person, or anything. Once you get good at muscle testing you can play around with the possibilities.
Types of Muscle Testing
Testing Someone Else: This is usually how everyone is introduced to muscle testing. You can find many holistic chiropractors who do muscle testing and can test you on different substances via the above steps.
Self Testing: There are also many self testing techniques to test yourself. I highly highly recommend learning this skill. It will take a lot of practice but I promise you it is worth it. This may be the most important thing you could learn to reclaim your health. There are many free YouTube videos where you can learn. I will eventually add videos to streamline the process with what I have learned.
Considerations
Muscle testing can be highly subjective and depends on the skill and intuition of the practitioner. Results can vary between testers and sessions.
Test results may change between days, weeks, or any time period. Your body is constantly changing, and so is how you respond to the world around you.
Centralized medicine promotes blood tests to identify food allergies and sensitivities. I have found these unhelpful for identifying food intolerances as a food item may make you feel extremely fatigued and awful but the blood test will say there is no issue. Muscle testing along with an elimination diet is much more accurate in identifying the full spectrum of negative responses your body may have to something.
Reversing Negative Responses
Fortunately you have the ability to influence how your body will response to something. If you’re currently sensitive to a specific food you wish you could eat then there are steps you can take to reverse the negative response. More details in my Reversing Inappropriate Responses post.