all-or-none law 

The weakest stimulus capable of producing a response causes skeletal

muscle fibers to contract maximally.

Beevor's axiom the brain knows nothing of individual muscles, but thinks only in terms
of movement.

Head's law If painful stimulus is applied to areas of low sensibility in close central
connection with areas of high sensibility, pain may be felt where sensibility is high.

HEMME  Acronym for History, Evaluation, Modalities, Manipulation, and   Exercise.

HEMME’s 1st law  Most conditions treatable by soft-tissue therapy are characterized by
pain, limited range of motion, or weakness.

HEMME’s 2nd law  Most conditions treatable by soft-tissue therapy can be identified and
treated by using five basic steps:  History, Evaluation, Modalities,  Manipulation, and
Exercise.

HEMME’s 3rd law  Always be ready, willing, and able to disregard any law, principle,
axiom, or belief that proves to be incorrect.

Hilton's law  The nerve trunk that supplies a joint also supplies the muscles that move
the joint and the skin that covers the ins

Hooke’s law  The stress applied to stretch or compress a body is proportional to the
strain or changes in length thus produced, provided that the elastic limit of the body has
not been exceeded.ertions of the muscles that move the joint.

Meltzer's law (Contrary Innervation):  All living functions are continually controlled by
two opposing forces.

 van't Hoff's law  The rate of chemical reactions increases twofold or more for each
10°C rise in temperature.

Weigert’s law  The loss or destruction of living tissue is apt to be followed by

overproduction of such tissue during the process of wound healing.

Wolff's law  Bone and collagen fibers develop a structure most suited to resist the forces
acting upon them.
The Law of Facilitation (Reoccurring Injuries)

    "When an impulse has passed once through a certain set of neurons to the exclusion of
others, it will tend to take the same course on future occasions, and each time it traverses
this path the resistance will be smaller; the passage of these neural impulses become even
easier for all succeeding impulses."2

Commentary: 
    Have you ever experienced an injury that you thought long ago was completely healed,
but it has reappeared; and worse yet, you keep re-injuring it? This happens because pain
that is transmitted through a specific neurological pathway becomes �facile� or
�easily accessed,� and therefore is said to become "facilitated" or that a facilitated
pathway has been created.

    The pain then continues or re-occurs along this pathway or groove as a result of even
the slightest stress. Keep in mind that it is important to remember that whenever soft
tissue is stimulated, it contracts.3

    Furthermore, a facilitated pathway becomes more active the older you become,
because fascia contracts with age (which is discussed more in detail in the following
section). As fascia contracts, pressure on neurological pathways increases thereby
exacerbating pain. Then, a nasty cycle of pain--contraction-and increased pain ensues. 

    A regular appropriate yoga practice effectively rehabilitates contracted fascia; and
when hyptertonic (tight) fascia relaxes, acting in accordance to the inverse of Hilton's
Law, pressure is released on those nerves passing through that fascia. 

    This in turn effectively reduces stimuli into the joint that supplies that fascia and
ultimately releases the stimuli on the muscles that attach to that joint. (You will want to
re-read this section after you read about Hilton's Law, which is discussed in more detail
below).

Davis' Law (Over Stretching)    When muscle ends are brought closer together, the pull of
tonus is increased, which shortens the muscle, which may even cause hypertrophy; and if
muscle ends are separated beyond normal, tonus is lessened or lost, thus muscles
becomes �weak.�4

Commentary:
    When you try to hold stretches for prolonged periods of time, you may enhance
flexibility, but you also risk weakening muscle structures. If the object of an appropriate
yoga practice is to "move toward balance and union" and also to "maximize benefit and
minimize liability," then excessive stretching seems contrary to yoga. Davis' Law
addresses why "doing less gets you more."

Pfluger's Laws:5

Law of Unilaterality
    If a mild irritation is applied to one or more sensory nerves, the movement will take
place usually on one side only, on that side which is irritated.

The Law of Symmetry

    �If the stimulation is sufficiently increased, motor reaction is manifested, not only by
the irritated side, but also in similar muscles on the opposite side of the body� 

Law of Intensity
    Reflex movements are usually more intense on the side of irritation; at times the
movements of the opposite side equal them in intensity, but they are usually less
pronounced.

Commentary: Have you ever noticed that when a specific muscle group on one side of
your body becomes injured or chronically sore, the same muscles on the other side of
your body also became sore? This is the "Law of Symmetry" and "The Law of Intensity"
at work.

The Law of Radiation

    If the excitation continues to increase, it is propagated upward, and reactions take place
through centrifugal nerves coming from the cord segments higher up.
The Law of Generalization
    When the irritation becomes very intense, it is propagated in the medulla oblongata,
which becomes a focus from which stimuli radiates to all parts of the cord, causing a
general contraction of all muscles of the body. The body is then said to become
"generalized."

Commentary  
    The progressive nature of Pfluger's Laws explain why the entire body ultimately
becomes so painful and "uptight" when it becomes generalized and  why  everything
hurts. The person can't stand to be touched anywhere and the body is in a chronic state of
fatigue. 
    Generalization can occur after considerable or sustained physical or emotional trauma.
Furthermore, the pain of generalization can become worse just when going through the
"ages and stages" thresholds, as described in the next section.     

Understanding these mechanics is especially relevant for yoga teachers who work with
people who are generalized; for the harder those who are generalized "try" to do their
yoga, the more uncomfortable they become (and may even exacerbate their condition).

Arndt Schultz Law

Weak stimuli activate physiological processes; very strong stimuli inhibit them.

Commentary: In combination with the above laws, Arndt Schultz Law clearly supports
the supposition that ill, injured, and generalized people benefit by doing less in order to
get more. 

         In technical terms, it can be said that the appropriate amount of action generated
within a yoga exercise: 1) avoids excessive stimuli, 2) serves to interrupt afferent
impulses, 3) decreases resistance to stimulus, and therefore 4) releases tight tissue and
nerve compression that brings about improved neural integrity and balance. 

    An appropriate yoga practice therefore decreases hypertonic tissue (tightness), helps to
restore flexibility, strength, and endurance; and increases circulation.
Hilton's Law

    As one of the most important concepts that explains how yoga works, Hilton's Law
essentially states that the nerve root supplying a joint supplies the muscles attaching to
that joint, as well as the overlying fascia and skin. 

Commentary: Let's assume you are doing some "aggressive" yoga and you end up
irritating, say the hamstrings of one of your legs. But it's not just the hamstrings that are
affected. Because fascia is a non-specific broad matrix of fiber that overlays your entire
body, including all your other muscle groups; fascia contracts both at the point of the
irritation as well as further away from the hamstrings. 

    Contracted fascia tends to irritate nerves of the hamstrings as well as those of other
muscle structures away from the point of irritation; even more so if you have experienced
previous injuries. Then the facilitated pathway that is created has consequences to your
muscles that are further away from the hamstring injury. 

    For example, let's say twenty years ago, you sustained a lower back injury that you
thought was completely healed. However, you have now injured your hamstrings. The
contracting fascia affecting your hamstrings also migrates upwards toward your back. 

    The nerves passing through the contracting fascia over your back then become irritated
and because a facilitated pathway exists, the muscles of your back readily contract
causing pain in an area you thought was completely healed. 

    If an irritation (physical or emotional) is substantial enough, and if enough facilitated

pathways exist, fascia throughout your body will contract which then causes your body to
respond in accordance with Pfluger's Law of Generalization. 

    It then feels like every muscle in your body has tightened and you become both
physically and emotionally sensitive � almost hyper-sensitive � to being touched and
even to loud noises.
  Your entire body hurts and you feel really uptight. In fact, your overall "uptightness"
can be felt in your skin, which also literally begins to tighten. And then to add insult to
injury, your energy level begins to drop. Is it any wonder you feel "uptight?"

    Here is another way to look at how this mechanism works. Let's assume you are now
in middle age. When you were young, you could �go for it� whenever you wanted.
Even though you could stress and abuse your body, it responded. Sometimes there was
pain, but you could work through it. Your coaches or instructors told you, �No pain, no
gain.� They seemed to be right. You became stronger, and your endurance grew.

    But that was years ago, and you have since passed through one or more of those ten-
year ages and stages thresholds that will be discussed in the next section.

    So let's assume that it's been a quite a while since you've done regular exercise and it's
time to begin again. The author of the new book you just bought, or your new exercise
instructor or

� worse yet � your inner voice tells you to try really hard and to "go for it" just like in
the old days. 

    And so you do. But now for days afterwards, you are hurting everywhere, all over your
body. You feel as if you overstretched and over exercised everything and you are really
uncomfortable. Here's what's happened.

    As you attempt to restore your former flexibility, strength, and endurance, you
become tighter. Why? Just the very nature of aging causes your fascia to contract.
And because you've irritated old facilitated pathways you don't feel better � you
feel worse, so you have to quit � yet again.             You went too deeply too
quickly. And this is what Hilton's Law is all about. If you go too deeply too
quickly, you stand to irritate your fascia. When fascia is irritated, it contracts. As it
contracts, the underlying muscles become stimulated. And so on. As your fascia
contracts, you experience more pain and lethargy; not the flexibility and energy you
wanted.
    During my study of NeuroMuscular therapy, I found that soft tissue contraction and
pain can be resolved quickly by initially working at the level of the superficial fascia,
near the surface; not by deeply working into muscle or deeper layers of fascia. That was
one of the reasons I changed my approach to yoga exercise. 

    In my therapeutics practice, I learned that doing less and working superficial soft tissue
first, affords quicker, safer, and longer lasting results. 

    When these very same concepts are applied to yoga exercise (as is presented in the
yoga-exercise routines of ExTension and Recovery Yoga), superb results are likewise
obtained particularly when practiced, at least initially, at the level of the superficial
fascia. 

    Accordingly, an appropriate yoga practice is both created and enhanced not just in the
doing of asana, but by avoiding over stimulation of soft tissue and waiting until it is ready
to respond. An appropriate yoga practice is created when we avoid pushing, forcing and
pain by not going too deeply too quickly; particularly when ill, injured, or as you are
passing through the ten-year thresholds.

Law of Facilitation
When an impulse has passed through a certain set of neurons to the exclusion of
others, it will tend to take the same course on a future occasion and each time it
traverses this path the resistance will be less.

Applications: 
The nervous system conditions itself to find the path of least resistance. The
body produces habitual patterns when a neural pathway is activated.  The law of
facilitation answers the question, "why does it hurt in the same place every
time?" 
Old injuries tend to get re-aggravated with less stimulus.  Pain patterns tend to
become set patterns in the body.  Once an area is injured or compromised you
are more likely to have the injury occur again with less stimulation.  It will also
take less time to heal itself again. 
Also the more you get massage, the easier it is to relax.

Hiltons Law
A nerve trunk that supplies a joint also supplies the muscles of the joint and the
skin over the attachments of such muscles. 
Applications:
If an injury occurs it may be difficult to determine if the pain is coming from the
skin, muscle or joint. Stimulation of all areas in turn affects each part. Palpation
and other tools are needed to assess the area.
This is one of the reasons why working superficially on the body will often create
a deeper release of tissues.

Arndt-Schultz Law
Weak stimuli activate physiological processes: very strong stimuli inhibit
physiological responses.

Applications:
Use gentler methods that are slower of less stimulating to activate physiological
responses.  Doing deep tissue slowly and gently is more effective than using
force. 
Tissue that is gently agitated will heal faster than tissue that is left alone.  Weak
stimulus activates tissue growth and wound healing.
Triggerpoints can give off strong impulses that can turn off other processes in the
body. Whiplash injuries can influence the activity of the thyroid gland.
To turn off a response, use stronger stimuli.  To stop pain use cross fiber friction
applied for a few minutes.

Davis' Law
If muscle ends are brought closer together, then the pull of tonus is increased,
thereby shortening the muscle which may even cause hypertrophy.  If muscle
ends are separated beyond normal, then tonus is lessened or lost, thereby
weakening the muscle.  If soft tissue is placed under unremitting tension, the
tissue will elongate by  adding more material.

Applications:
If you don't use it you lose it!

This can be seen in muscle imbalances where one ser of hypertonic muscles
have shortened and become hypertrophied while the antagonists have weakened
in response to their being stretched beyond normal.  A person with rounded or
forward rolled shoulders will have tight, hypertrophied pec. major and minor
muscles while their rhomboids will be weak.

Reciprocal Inhibition
When the agonist is firing and the affected joint moves, the antagonist group will
be inhibited.  This is the basis for coordinated movements of the musculo-
skeletal system.

Application:
This can be used to treat cramps or hypertonic muscles.  
This is the basis for PNF -Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation.
All or none
The weakest stimuli capable of initiating a response, triggers an impulse that is
transmitted along the entire neuron or muscle fiber, producing maximum strength
response in cardiac and skeletal muscles and nerves.

Application:
A little can go a long way to produce a response.

In muscle contraction, all fibers of the muscle must contract for optimal
functioning.  When adhesions and scar tissue form in the muscle, it reduces the
effectiveness of the muscle.

Law of specificity of nervous energy

Excitation of a receptor always gives rise to the same sensation regardless of the
nature of the stimulus.

Application:
It doesn't matter which method you use to activate a sensory receptor, it will
respond in a specific manner.  Technique or modality are not as important as the
simple process of activating the sensory receptor in some manner in order to
achieve a response.

Weber's law

The increase in stimulus necessary to produce the smallest perceptible increase

in sensation bears a constant ratio to the strength of the stimulus already acting.

Application:
Just a little bit more will change the perception.  For an application of massage to
alter or change a sensory perception, the intensity of the application must match
and barely exceed the existing sensation.  To overcome a perception of cold you
would need to apply a compress which is at minimum one degree warmer than
the areas temperature to create a sensation of warmth.

Pfluegger's Laws- general laws that explain the body's transition from an acute
pain syndrome to a chronic pain syndrome.  A trauma to one part of the body, if
left untreated will progress into a chronic full body condition.

Law of Unilaterality
If mild irritation is applied to one or more sensory nerves, the movement will take
place usually on one side only, on the side that has been irritated.
Application: The body responds to trauma initially at the site of the injury.  Light
stimulation remains fairly localized.  If a client experiences mild irritation it will
likely effect the localized area on the side of the body in which the irritation has
occurred.
Law of Symmetry:
If the stimulation is sufficiently increased, motor reaction is manifested not only
by the irritated side, but also in similar muscles on the opposite side of the body.
Application:  If trauma is great enough, pain may be experienced on the opposite
side of the actual injury.  By using increasing levels of massage intensity, a
bilateral effect can be created even if massaging only one side of the body.  By
massaging the unaffected side, the painful areas can be addressed without direct
massage work.  This leads to the idea that applications of massage should take
into account the whole body and that massaging the associated areas especially
on the opposite side of the body will increase the overall affect of the massage.

Law of Intensity:
Reflex movements are more intense on the side of irritation and less strong on
the opposite side.
Application: similar to the law of symmetry.  

Law of Radiation
If the excitation continues to increase, it is propagated upward and reactions take
place through centrifugal nerves coming from the cord segments higher up.
Application:  Simulation will move up the spinal column and trigger reactions in
the corresponding body areas innervated by those nerve segments. There may
be spasming and pain above the actual site of the injury to protect the injured
area.  (Muscle guarding)

Law of Generalization:
When the irritation becomes very intense, it is propagated in the medulla
oblongata, which becomes a focus from which stimuli radiate to all parts of the
cord, causing a general contraction of all muscles of the body.
Application: Very intense massage application can trigger whole body muscular
contractions (massive muscle guarding). This is what trauma does to the body
creating intense, generalized whole body muscular contraction.

 Law of conservation of energy

Energy is constant: it is neither created or destroyed but only transformed from
one form or another.
Applications:  The energy that is a result of a massage has been transformed or
released within your client.
When a taumatic event such as a motor vehicle accident occurs, the energy of
the force of the car is absorbed by the body.  Healing is achieved by releasing
this energy from the body.

Murphy's law
If something can go wrong it will.
Application : Never assume that something will never happen to you.  This is
especially true when looking at issues that arise in the therapeutic relationship. 
Be careful of dual relationships, power differences and boundaries.