Testimonials

As a PT working in the hospital setting, patients having abdominal surgery can oftentimes be afraid to move and in tremendous amounts of pain. Since incorporating VM into my post-surgical mobility protocol, patients are experiencing benefits from the soothing effects of this treatment. They participate earlier in mobility out of bed, have less pain and nausea, and are discharged from the hospital more quickly. VM has also shown to be effective for patients suffering from constipation in the hospital. Due to this, more and more doctors are now asking for their patients to receive VM! 

VM has totally changed my practice as a Physical Therapist; I feel I can help more patients.

An eye-opening experience to the subtleties of the body's message. Amazing course.

Most valuable experience as a practitioner thus far. Reinforced VM1 and got me more excited to continue on!

Taking the track VM1-4 in Dublin was a fantastic experience. Mixing with a range of therapists with differing viewpoints really challenged my way of thinking. I found the courses very solid in terms of anatomy, and they really encouraged deeper study both before and during the course in order to get an idea of what I was feeling. The tutors were excellent and very knowledgeable in terms of their anatomy and technique.

This work will revolutionize the practice of patient care of the next fifty years. This work will drive the roots of allopathic medicine with the innovations of modern medicine and provide an incredible body of new evidence and patient outcomes.

It took VM1 and expanded it and gave me a ton more tools to practice and try. This work is so important, and I am absolutely grateful and thankful to have found it and a source for continuing my learning journey.

VM1 will give you a good understanding of inter relationship of viscera and musculoskeletal influence, good anatomy review.

VM has changed how I look at each person, emotionally and physically. My whole approach has changed, and I feel my abilities to help my patients have a better quality of life has opened enormously.

This workshop was very eye opening. Just how important the viscera really are and how it works with the whole-body connection and/or the whole-body dysfunction.

VM has changed and upgraded my business and my approach to my work. I love it!

A great course for giving comprehensive skills to treat clients/patients in today's alternative medical world.

This work is so powerful - I really wish more professionals in my field would see its value. Why wouldn't one want to get at the core - a stronger system can take on development the way it was taught, as well as benefit more from traditional therapy when they are integrated.

Excellent course - I'm so excited to be moving forward and feel I have a great foundation to build my future courses.

It was career altering and amazing. I had no idea what to expect with this work, but I didn't expect this level of improvement of change within myself.

Overall was a helpful and enjoyable class. I feel better able to use these skills in my daily work. Thank you for the help and instructions!

There are no words to describe the beauty and wonder of visceral therapy!

It was an amazing experience, and I could definitely use this and apply the techniques right away!

I loved all the new information and the review of VM1 very helpful.

I have been a PT for 20+ years and VM has added specificity and insight into treatment.

This workshop really allowed me to have a greater appreciation for the anatomy and movement of abdominal visceral.

By learning the visceral anatomy, motility, and mobility along with the evaluation techniques of listening I feel much more prepared in the clinic to see and treat complex problems where traditional PT might have failed.

After being a PT for more than 14 year this material truly is the missing link to get our patients better.

I learned so much about the anatomy and how the organs work - very clear teaching.

The techniques taught at the Barral Institute are easy to apply on Monday morning and will immediately add value to your services.

As a pediatric and pregnancy chiropractor, I found these courses to be so complimentary to the chiropractic adjustment. It has done wonders for my practice, and I am always eager to learn more.

[This workshop was] very profound. I would compare this to my first manual therapy class which blew me away. Visceral Manipulation fills a void in my practice that I didn't know was there.

I wish I had found this a little earlier - it completes a missing link in my education and [I] expect it will have tremendous impact on my patients as well as myself.

A 'missing link' - adds another important dimension in the treatment of pain syndromes.

After being a PT for more than 14 years, this material truly is the missing link to get our patients better. Thank you.

Opens new doors toward effectively treating orthopedic patients.

Within 5 days (after VM1) I worked with 14 clients and got to integrate VM1 into every session. I had an amazing variety of clients to work with, and it had amazing results, and that was just the instant gratification! I worked with a client who had her mastectomy surgery a few years ago who had issues with extension of the trunk and arm, within the first ten minutes it resolved. A lot of women had c-sections with complications post surgery, and movement and discomfort was relieved. I love that I am barely scratching the surface and enjoying the exploration. From the basics of VM1 it fueled my fire to learn so much more.

This information is so cutting edge and powerful - it should be required for all PTs in any field.

This really opens our minds to connections throughout the body that often-traditional therapy doesn't correlate.

The courses clarified the difference between mobilizing and motility techniques. I had not found much benefit in mild force before but now I get it. It's still the body responding.

I appreciate the quality of courses the Institute continues to provide as well as the quality of practitioners I get to meet through them.

This class really helps me to consolidate the concepts in VM2 and helps me to connect the whole body together and also the new knowledge to my patient’s conditions. Basically, it helps me to connect my thoughts and body.

I will use these techniques to expand my practice! I will continue to learn with Barral as long as I possibly can!

As excited on day 4 as on day 1. Can't wait for the next class!

Barral brings the anatomy, physiology, and techniques together in a very digestive fun, and integrative way. 

This work has been a game changer for my practice. It has allowed me to be more specific and efficient in each treatment session which has correlated to a quicker improvement in my athletics pain, movement, and performance.

I am extremely excited to put all the techniques to use. I learned information that is immediately applicable.

This information and these skills allow me to treat patients in ways I could never achieve and with more traditional orthopedic-based classes. When you experience the treatment first-hand in the course and a pain you've had for years suddenly goes away, you know visceral manipulation is gold.

This visceral work moves clinicians beyond the mundane and closer to seeing the entire person they are treating!

My experience is Upledger and Barral and (D’Ambrogio) TBB. These classes have continued to make me a better listener and better hands-on practitioner.

It is A True Gift to my personal healing and growth.

This is becoming an integral part of my treatment techniques.

Continually learning and progressing with my touch and diagnostic skills is what kept me coming back for more.

Helped me to further understand the miracle and healing power of the body!

Enriches your hands - enriches your practice!

These techniques add so much to our toolboxes of how to get people moving better in their bodies.

The love of the craft is passed on from instructor to student. I feel motivated, encouraged and more confident that I can grasp the beautifully intricate technique of VM!

Very well organized and directed. This was by far the best class I have taken within the series!

It deepened my understanding of thinking, feeling, and being patient for the body to express itself and change in the way that it needs.

This work puts me in a whole different category than my massage colleagues.

The ability to work with the IAHE programs has given me the tools to help my clients as a total body experience. Best thing I have done for my clients and career.

A Life changing perspective personally and professionally.

This is the best workshop I have ever taken. It has given me hope and reinvigorated my practice.

I have learned so much about anatomy and how to listen with my hands - much more than I ever did in Med school!

With Barral classes, I get a very integrated learning experience - gaining new techniques, insights, and appreciation for the body and how to be the best practitioner I can be.

Wealth of information and lots of practice! Love the format teaching then practice!

VM5 combines the long-awaited ease between the palpate the dense body with the palpate energetic body.

Greatly opened up the mind-body connection in a way I never thought was possible.

The way VM integrates emotions with the body is so very refreshing and easy!

I got a lot of pieces that allowed me to connect and integrate what I have been gradually exposed to. Wonderful practical info and excellent layer palpation visualizations, exercises, reinforcement, research.... Thank you!

There is a perfect amount of material to absorb/process in each day of the class. Nothing was rushed. MTP is a new diagnostic tool which will become more helpful as I practice and become more skilled in it.

VM Curriculum has potential to change and improve your practice, your health, and your life!

VM6 is a testimony to integration of all VM classes to a complete structured freedom of an empowered practitioner.

These VM courses have changed my practice. I have done CranioSacral Therapy for 24 years and with adding the VM Curriculum I am even more specific and effective!!

This work has changed my life as much as my practice. It is more enjoyable and easier and a great to help people improve health.

I have been studying with the Barral Institue since 2015. Since then, my work has changed. I am constantly stimulated and excited and I will be a student forever!

As a therapist if you truly want to help your clients, study with the Barral Institute!

I am always impressed how we can get even more specialized and precise with the human body.

This work is deep, gently powerful, and graceful. It is allowing me to help my clients resolve more significant physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual issues with ease and permanence.

I find that VM6 is a great way to pull together a more comprehensive treatment plan for my clients.

It was really worth to fly to US from Brazil just for this course. Each time I come it changes my clinical thinking and the way I see the patients. Results are unbelievable. Thank you!

I was very skeptical coming into this class I have learned and grown a lot thru this, which I was not expecting.

I love this class and can't wait to use it in my practice. It takes you on another level deeper into the Visceral Work!!!

This final VM course really pulls together pieces of the curriculum. This will promote more effective, precise treatments for those I serve. Amazing and mind expanding! Thank you all!

These courses connect all the dots that were never connected in school - nerves, organs, muscle, etc. and with so much more specificity.

The first Neural Manipulation course did not disappoint. It met and exceeded my expectations. It will be a game changer in my practice of sports performance on rehabilitation. Freeing the nervous system is the key to healthy pain free unrestricted movement. 

This neural work should be a foundational tool for any practitioner working with orthopedics or neurological populations.

This was a good course. The techniques will be a great compliment to my orthopedic skills.

I recommend this class for experienced therapists who feel that their clients are ready for more thorough treatment and gentler techniques for more involved client cases. 

Wish I would have discovered you when I graduated from PT school 17 years ago!

This class will bring a wonderful new dimension to my practice. Also, my own health will benefit knowing this material.

There is no way any provider can say that know how to do soft tissue manipulation without Barral education.

This training was fabulous. I have been looking for another direction to take my practice in and this is it!

This material will be perfect for my clients with irritable nervous systems as it gives me an entrance via corresponding levels in the system.

Amazing, can't wait to get back and use this on patients. Loved the workbook - so organized and easy to follow in lecture and lab

Tremendously lovely info and techniques to integrate into my CranioSacral practice. I have expanded my vision of the nervous system / body.

NM2 is very practical, hands-on course, which will greatly enhance my practice. The instructor and teaching assistant are so knowledgeable and fabulous at ensuring everyone learns with a great understanding and hands on skill.

Neural Manipulation for me feels like this missing link in my practice

Since beginning the VM and NM courses, the way I view bodywork has changed in a significant, positive way. 

Superior workshop - thank you for the opportunity to learn this new material. Overall excellent material. Very excited to be able to use in clinic. 

I appreciated when the anatomy explained why a treatment technique could be helpful.

This work is amazing. In one treatment I had a release of a dysfunctional holding pattern that had been there for years. 

NM has opened up a whole new therapeutic approach that is gentle, effective, and not too intrusive to my clients.

Learning to evaluate and treat peripheral nerves will enable you to evaluate and treat people with chronic pain more efficiently and effectively.

Learning to evaluate and treat peripheral nerves will enable you to evaluate and treat people with chronic pain more efficiently and effectively.

The depth and breadth of my experience in NM2 gave me specific tools that I can bring back to my practice!!

These classes are my number one choice for the future of my career, and I am so pleased to have these techniques as the foundation of my practice.

I can't wait to apply the work of Neural Manipulation with my clients. The difference I feel in my own body is dramatic. I have less pain and greater range of motion. Inspiring!

I am always impressed by the level of science/scientific research and validation of the techniques taught in every class I have taken. I have been able to help so many of my clients based on techniques I have learned in these classes.

The neural work changed everything about my bodywork practice! I feel so sorry for the people who endure hard pressure thinking it's the only way to get better.

The NM1 course was awesome! I could feel a change in my own body and in my partner’s. I'm excited to apply these techniques in my own clinic. 

As an Athletic Trainer, the Neural Manipulation curriculum has been a complete game changer for me and my athletes. The facilitating recovery of the nervous system and homeostasis is as well as maintaining mobility and stability throughout the season.

The instructor brings wonderful clarity to her teaching and demos.

Materials continue to expand as field of knowledge expands.  Always more to learn and apply. 

My own body benefited greatly from the work I received. This is a bonus in addition to the learning.

Life changing on all levels, both personally and professionally.

This work permits me to help so many more people in my clinic. So many bizarre symptoms patients present now actually make sense.

The truth is in the body, it is not hidden, it is ignored…

This NM approach changes mobility by working directly through the nervous system creating a more efficient pathway of least resistance.

The textbook and techniques for cranial nerves are very user friendly. The information is explained well enough to get good results by following the protocol. It doesn’t take months of practice to catch on it.

I feel very fortunate to be able to learn such fantastic techniques and quite enjoy the instructor’s style and sense of humor!

The NM techniques have changed the way I approach and treat chronic pain and athletic performance in a new more effective and efficient way. 

The Barral courses have expanded my practice as well as my own understanding of how efficiently we can affect the nervous system with ease!

The Barral Institute provides an in-depth meeting point for energetic medicine rooted in anatomy. These courses bridge the gap between un-tangible and the tangible.

I was intimidated at first to work on cranial nerves. This workshop has opened new doors and many useful techniques to help my clients. All of the NM classes are absolutely necessary for all manual therapies.

This course was exceptional. I can't wait to use these techniques and feel excited about adding to my toolbox.

I love this course series. I love that the listening skills are interwoven into the techniques, and I love how the wisdom of the joints is made apparent.

Anytime you can take a class taught by Lisa Brady Grant, you will be greatly rewarded and privileged for the experience!

This is perfect for the type of clients I see this has been an absolutely excellent course.

This is an excellent new therapy adding one more piece of the puzzle to include joints. Barral is a genius.

I am continually impressed with the level of specificity these classes lead me to making my treatments much more successful. Thank You!!

I have been a professional bodyworker for 30 years. I came to this work after an injury led me to a visceral manipulation therapist in my area. I fell in love with the work, and I dove into the study of it. My work has changed, deepened, and become so much more satisfying.

The Barral work has opened up a whole new realm of work for me. After almost 30 years as a bodywork professional, I am thrilled to have a new doorway opening for me and to feel my capacity to help my clients heal.

This work provides the practitioner with an evaluation/treatment approach that is efficient, specific, and extremely effective!!

Many mysteries of how to help the spine and access the specific area of dysfunctions solved.

These classes are awesome and mind boggling!

Do not wait to sign up for a class! They fill up quick and are always worth it for you and your patients.

Learning about systemic approach to our particular system is refreshing. After you learn about bony ligaments and muscular aspects of upper extremity and still want more, take this class!

I always feel like there is a piece missing whenever I have clients that continue to complain about the same issues. I feel with these techniques I will be more knowledgeable and able to address their issues more completely.

"I feel blessed to have the opportunity to learn with these amazing beings. So grateful!"

"This is the brain material I've been needing in my practice."

"Every time I take a class, my depth of palpatory listening becomes more precise at helping my clients."

"Innovation and brilliance, immediately applicable following class. I am excited to share this therapy with my patients."

"If this class has been on your radar, definitely take it, more than worth it!"

"The ringing in my ear stopped after Day 2 of class. It will be great to bring this back to my clients!!"

"I am a better therapist because of the Barral Institute!!"

Enhanced my palpation and awareness skills tremendously and will have an effect on ALL my skills and treatments.

Listening Techniques gets to the core of listening skills in VM, with hands-in training and validation of your skills. It should help me break through my trepidation and better trust my hands.

A well-presented class for a variety of skill levels. I already plan to retake this class in a few years. Knowledgeable and skilled instructors facilitated a measurable improvement in my listening skills.

A wonderful weekend opportunity to enhance listening with your hands, after taking a course full of new   techniques that inspire!

Having done Manual Therapy for a number of years, the visceral curriculum has brought my skills to the next level. My patients now anxiously await my return from each new class I take.

It's a privilege to learn from the Barral teachers. They are prepared, organized, passionate and extremely knowledgeable.

I can tell you that my listening skills have been refined and the possibilities of what to listen for have been expanded. Thank you.

I love the concept that we are facilitators, and we are helping our patients to utilize theit power within to heal themselves. It is an awareness and an awakening. THAT is worth far more than GOLD.

Every BI course introduces me to aspects of my excellence I didn't even know about!

An incredibly enriching way to continue education; an integrative, mind-blowing experience and an approach to understanding the human body.

The Visceral Dissection workshop (VMD) gave me a clearer understanding of the variability of the organ location and the fluid content. There is nothing like actually having them (the organs) in your own hands. Really feeling and sensing organs was extremely beneficial for me. I no longer have to imagine how an organ would feel.

To Whom It May Concern;

My name is Bruce Beals. I am a semi-healthy 52 year old man. On June 16, 1973, I was in a auto accident that shattered my 3rd lumbar, I had to have 2 ft. of my large intestine removed, and had a 6 inch gash across my forehead due to hitting the headrest in the front seat. We were all wearing our seat belts. At that time, shoulder belts were not used, therefore the back and stomach injuries. I was in the intensive care unit of the Glens Falls Hospital for 3 weeks and in a room for another 3. I was fitted with a cast aluminum, leather bound brace that I had to wear for one and a half years. The following years I went through physical therapy until I was cleared to do just about anything I wished. Through the following years I had many jobs but, mainly I was a carpenter which fortuitously put me in great shape. Approximately 20 years ago I had a lumbar laminectomy due to lifting a large beam and rupturing the disc at L3 and L4 (to the best of my knowledge). After therapy for over six months I was back working as a carpenter.

10 years ago my back made it impossible to be a carpenter and I changed employment to be a construction superintendent. On January 7, 2003 I had open heart surgery requiring a double by-pass. Obviously, this took me off employment for several months. I then got into construction sales. This required many miles behind the wheel, which was tough on my back. After being introduced into the UCDavis Pain Intervention Center about 3 years ago, I went through a series of nerve burns, killing the nerves at L2 to L5, which initially provided great relief, and caudal epidurals, which also provided minimal relief.

After 2 and a half years of these procedures, they no longer provided relief. I was advised to look into surgery. I was referred to the UCDavis Spine Center. I was told that they could do an extremely invasive procedure that I will attach photos of. The surgery would entail 2 rods starting at C12 and ending at my tailbone. I was taking 4 Norco, (1000 mg Vicodin), 3 to 4 10 mg. Flexeril, 2 Klonopin as well as Fentanyl patches ( 100 times stronger than morphine ). On the patch they started me on 25 mcgs per hour and working my way up to 75 mcgs per hour. Needless to say I was in a trance.

My mother recommended me to see a man named Ben Katz. I sent Ben a series of x-rays that were taken prior to my going into surgery. Ben stated he would have to actually see me to make a decision if he can help me or not. I set up an appointment on January 22, 2009. We talked for about a half and hour and then Ben proceeded to analyze my problems and he treated me. After getting up off the table I hadn't any pain whatsoever. I call that day the start of my new life. I visited Ben every week for 5 weeks and I can say without a doubt that this treatment has made me into a new person. Completely changed my life. I am able to do things that I haven't been able to do in years. Ben had come to the conclusion that after the heart surgery, that is when my excruciating pain began, and in retrospect he's 100% right. I still have pain in my back, but, nothing like before. Usually the back pain comes from me doing things that I haven't done in years, such as gardening, going for long walks, etc. Following Ben's therapy, I am a true believer in his practice and would recommend this therapy to anyone who is living in pain.

A few months ago I had the pleasure of receiving a client who was slated for orthopedic surgery. She demonstrated a lateral lumbar concavity of 40% and rotational components, which translated the level of C4 and extensive protective muscle spasming. She was in significant, constant, and extensive pain with apparent referred sequalae extending inferiorly down to her left foot.

Fascially, she seemed to demonstrate significant rotational drags in the lower extremity, which demonstrated the obvious cranial rhythmic impulse asymmetries. Arcing revealed active restrictions around uterus (significant fascial components), duodenum, liver, stomach and left pleural dome/clavicular. Her body tended to rotate around these active restrictions and demonstrated facilitation at the appropriate spinal segments, which in turn had a profound effect on the paraspinal musculature, as well as pelvic obliquity. Cranially, she seemed to demonstrate significant intra-osseous restriction at occiput, temporals, and maxillae, ethmoid and vomer. SBS patterns included extended/right torsion/right lateral strain. Also, significant intracranial membrane restriction (dural) was noted throughout the falx, in particular the falx cerebelli. The cerebellar area and associated brain structures felt quite compressed and sluggish.

Her personal history involved long-standing depression, a lack of desire, and a sense of hopelessness.

To make the story short, within 4 weeks (2 sessions weekly) she had significantly moved forward. Postural distortions, pain levels and frequency had decreased significantly (95%). etc.

The kicker is this....

She had an appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon upon which he didn't seem to recognize her as she was now walking (she was in a wheel chair the during the previous visit). He looked at her file and asked her what miracle medication she had been prescribed to get her out of such a serious situation. She proceeded to tell him that she was receiving CST, visceral, and fascial release, and he had no idea what she was talking about. Apparently, his ego structure was nudged as he proceeded to tell her to go back to whatever "therapy"/voodoo doctor she was going to as it seemed to be working for her and proceeded to exit her out of his office. Needless to say that he has never called me about the work.

I am happy to report that structurally she is as straight as a dime, that she has worked through some sizeable pieces of process material that seemed attached the active restriction patterns, and today once again experiences a desire for life, and has dramatically moved forward in regards to her emotional and expressive processes including her experience of the surgeon's judgment about her therapeutic choices. Reclaiming her stick (personal power) as some of my North African friends would say.

Sadly, I have often seen in the traditional medical community, ignorance and judgment such as this play itself through a process piece on the surgeon's part which is then projected onto the client. At the very least, it would be fascinating for such surgeons to learn something about the work before they travel into judgment/turf mode. Then again... let's not forget that there is no peer reviewed material regarding the motion of cranial bones and that there is no such thing as visceral motility (insert roaring laugh!)

Gotta love that voodoo! Cheers!

I just took VM1. When I returned from the class filled with all sorts of wonderful knowledge, which I had no idea how I would use or even wondered if I had comprehended. I was completely surprised to find my hands new more than my mind. On the very first client of the day I had such success! My hands new her uterus was tilted, and this was related to her stomach, which was related to the shoulder pain she had been experiencing for a year. Her doctor could not understand the pain and sent her to me. No coincidence she cam the day after I returned from the class. After I release restrictions around the greater curvature of her stomach, her pain was actually gone! How cool is that and on my first day. Thanks for the great instruction.

It is lovely to have the chance to affect lives on this level, very fulfilling for the therapist and most times life changing for the child or the adult.

I myself have many stories to tell.

An eight week old with projectile vomiting, not gaining but losing weight, just after one long CranioSacral session never vomited again, and passed normal body weight for his age in less then a month.

Two week old not able to have bowel movements but every five days or so, after one Visceral Manipulation session, is going almost every diaper...oh joy!

Babies not able to latch on, hungry and frustrated normally need only one or two sessions and they disappear from our lives, so others in need can take their places in our appointment books.

A seventy-four year old with a recent kidney transplant, freezing through the summer heat, with a dangerously low red cell count. Nothing was making a difference, until after three CranioSacral sessions went for his normal visit to the Cleveland Clinic to find his blood count normal, and the appointment was canceled with the hematologist.

Thirty-nine year old with a spinal fracture from an impact that bruised his body from the occipital ridge to his ileum not an inch of normal skin color on his back, in two days all the blood was gone, his doctor was totally amazed, just after one CranioSacral session.

My son's chronic ear infections, not responding to antibiotics cleared up within weeks, never to appear again...he is late twenties now.

Unfortunately when these stories get back to the doctor, the response is always "it would have happened anyway." Regardless, we keep plugging away with big grins on our faces, because we as therapist and the patients or their parents know differently.

We keep trying to interest doctors in our area with very little success, but once in a while we get one who begins to refer patients to us, because "whatever it is that we do, that cranio-whatever stuff" makes their patients get through a pregnancy without all the pelvic pains and aches they don't know what to do with. When the case totally baffles them, they figure what we do can't hurt....so why not try it. Keep spreading the word, because it works! And for those therapists who are reluctant because they don't know how to sell this stuff, don't try too hard. It sells itself.

I am sixteen weeks pregnant, and have been throwing up multiple times every day. I was only able to drink Ensure. I had one VM/CST session with Dee Ahern 8 days ago and have not been sick once since then, and have been able to eat!

I have more energy. For example, since I've been pregnant I have been taking the elevator to get up to the 3rd floor because I can barely make it up the stairs...but since the session, I've been taking the stairs every day and breathing better.