I first met Wes Burwell in 2011 when he was teaching a class on light. Since then, every time I hear him speak, his understanding of the benefits, function and capacity of light has evolved. His commitment to deepening his understanding has helped innumerable people such as myself. Not only did light therapy repair my labral hip tear, but two other benefits as well: my heart palpitations which were chronic and acute, vanished and, the scar tissue I developed after a long and difficult labor, of which I was told, "would never go away," completely disappeared! Obviously, this is what led my own interest in the vast benefits of light.
The following is a conversation with Wes Burwell. He answered many of my questions about light therapy and its benefits for a wide range of health conditions.
JW: Wes, you are well known in the light world for using a protocol known as the "Balance Protocol" which deals with restoring proper proprioception to the brain. This is hardly a new term but how does it apply to light therapy? Please share how the lights can assist in restoring proprioception and why it is so important:
WB: One of the biggest challenges I faced in working with clients was when they would plateau and nothing seemed to work to get them to progress. This inspired me to research for an understanding and the research led me to the field of dentistry, due to my work with EAV (Electro-Acupuncture According to Voll). Reinhold Voll stated once that "70-75% of disease starts in the mouth." I believed it was more to do with the routine dental issues involving pathogens and dental material signatures affecting the meridians, but it took a much more serious turn when I began to understand the integration of the meridians of the teeth and the neurology of the oral cavity.
Upon further research, I found an article that had been written by A.C. Fonder, called Dental Distress Syndrome wherein he describes his findings of 30 years of practice. He demonstrated how the whole body could be set up for disease, simply from the occlusion being slightly off. Because of the complex neurological feedback loops in the oral cavity, this would set into motion a whole host of compensation factors (symptoms and diseases). It would create deviations in posture, offsetting the structural and thereby causing imposition of the nervous system flow and the feedback loops from peripheral nervous system to central nervous system and back. By simply restoring the occlusion, he quantified how pre-existent symptoms in his patients could be tremendously shifted and in multiple cases completely eradicated. Improper feedback from malocclusion can cause the sympathetic nervous system to be slightly or excessively engaged on one side of the body and create excess muscular contraction on one side, which blocks it from engaging proper parasympathetic response. If this cannot be restored, the body will rob the resources of the opposite side of the body to maintain some form of balance. Using light therapy to target these points of contraction to relax and increase the blood flow to the side of the body that is affected by this can produce phenomenal results. This directly affects every flow system of the body, which the meridian system establishes and maintains for us to be able to function properly.
JW: That being the case, many practitioners feel that dental cavitations, (ie: infections in the jaw/gums) may be a contributing/underlying cause of breast cancer, for example. These cavitations often go asymptomatic and therefore not diagnosed. How would light therapy be able to affect cavitations?
WB: I energetically screen for cavitations using EAV and am of the mindset through experience that cavitations ARE one of the major underlying issues concerning chronic degenerative diseases. There can be many other things involved but the energetic screening constantly confirms it. Several dentists whom I have trained in light therapy have communicated to me that they had taken X-rays where 1st and 2nd level cavitations were identified. Utilizing light therapy for a certain treatment period they were able to stimulate new bone growth in those areas and confirmed by X-ray that a positive change had occurred on several levels. Incidentally, their patients’ condition dramatically improved and they experienced a reduction or complete disappearance of symptoms. Also, the energetic screening would no longer show their presence. This of course is not fully conclusive evidence as X-rays can be misread and errors concerning the energetic screening can also be a factor as cavitations are hard to identify without actually drilling into the area.
New technologies are coming forward, which can screen for cavitations much more accurately without the need for invasive procedures. Repeated light therapy sessions can further camouflage cavitation identification on X-ray, through direct irradiation of the tissue and subsequent release of nitric oxide. This stimulates an increase in osteoblast formation and regenerates bone and soft tissue locally. Although this may make cavitations more difficult to identify, this principle is what may be assisting in the cavitation reduction as all the local tissues regenerate including the actual teeth and gums.
JW: Light therapy is taking hold within the field of integrative fertility because of its unparalleled ability to form new capillaries (ie: angiogenesis), can you explain this to us and how it may be beneficial when doing an IVF embryo transfer in preparing the uterine lining?
WB: One of the benefits of nitric oxide being released by light therapy is increased blood flow through the existing vasculature, but also increasing angiogenesis of the local tissue, which will establish greater perfusion and support the increased production of capillaries in the endometrial lining. Insufficient blood flow through the arterial system to the uterus is one of the primary causes that interfere with the health of the uterine lining and its ability to prepare for implantation of the embryo, naturally or otherwise.
JW: Whenever I read about integrative endocrinology, light is not mentioned. Clearly we can think of light therapy as a viable modality to support the endocrine system. Can you explain this to us?
WB: Light therapy directly over the area of the gland can help to restore proper blood flow and drainage of the terrain allowing for better communication from the neurology as well as hormonal communication and feedback via the bloodstream. This can also help to detoxify the gland as well as remove pathogenic interference and better oxygen/nutrient uptake for production of hormones. Issues regarding inflammation of the gland or its terrain can also be eliminated effectively. Light therapy can also increase certain neurotransmitters and enzyme production, which can assist in the glands functioning.
JW: How about light therapy being able to enhance the effectiveness of drugs and/or supplements?
WB: Due to an increase in ATP (adenosine triphosphate), enzymes, neurotransmitter production and vasodilation from direct application of light application to tissues, there may be an increase in absorption of, or effectiveness of certain supplements or medications. If someone is taking medications they should consult their primary care physician before receiving light therapy. The physician should be made aware so they can check for interactions or possible sensitivities, which may result with light usage. A reduction in medications dosage or discontinuation have been evidenced in numerous cases when using light therapy routinely and under medical supervision. As for supplementation, in general, there would be a greater absorption or utilization in the body, which could allow for lesser amounts for same benefits due to better access and delivery.
JW: In terms of spinal health, the infrared wavelengths can penetrate bone, but there are also capillaries within the spine. Can you talk about how light could possibly affect overall spinal health?
WB: Due to the nitric oxide release activated by the light therapy, the blood flow to the area could be increased, into and out of an area providing greater perfusion and initiating a regeneration effect of all the local tissues, including bone loss due to degeneration or even excess calcification. Utilizing the balance protocol, complete postural restoration has occurred for many individuals.
JW: Although there are many endemic, global concerns we can focus on, I am curious about how light therapy may be able to help our veterans and other victims of trauma resulting in PTSD. Can you share with us how light may be beneficial to this community?
WB: A recent research article has shown that PTSD is associated with a reduction of blood flow to the right thalamus within the brain. This makes it no longer just a psychological disease, but something that has a physical component, which can be treated. By applying the light strategically to the head, the infrared light component can pass through the skull and actually increase the blood flow within the brain itself and stimulate angiogenesis to create new capillaries. If the angiogenesis factor is substantially implemented through the release of nitric oxide it could create a sustainable effect. The symptoms of PTSD could thereby be lessened or even resolved through this restoration of blood flow and greater perfusion.
In Chinese medicine there are many references of conditions being related to "stagnant blood," which mirrors stagnant qi. When the blood becomes stagnant there is an indication that the life force is less present. When this occurs the life energy potential of the individual is no longer habituating the terrain. Mother Nature sends in the troops in the form of lower life forms (pathogens) to donate their life energy to fill in the void to bring it closer to the potential of the individual. Unfortunately, it is a lesser existence and more taxing to the system over time. When we use light therapy locally we can boost the energy to the area and open the pathways to it. The blood can then flow into the area and allow for better nutrient/oxygen delivery as well as removal of waste products and carbon dioxide and greater access of the white blood cells to clean up and maintain the terrain. Before and after pictures of blood showing stagnation on a slide, and after light therapy the blood becomes very active have been repeatedly evidenced. The blood flow and activity of blood mirrors the qi flow or presence and a reduction of blood flow is a clear indication that the life energy is less present. Almost every disease including genetic deviance or even cancers can be related back to a lack of blood flow into or out of an area, relating to an interruption of the cycle of life.
JW: Thank you Wes for sharing your brilliance, research and experience with us. May we benefit numberless beings with this powerful technology.
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