The idea of the two-state (stress and relaxation) function of the autonomic nervous system played a prominent role in our curriculum. I taught about it in my classes on craniosacral therapy, visceral massage, and connective-tissue release. Together with an American neurologist, Ronald Lawrence, MD, I even wrote a book, Pain Relief with Osteomassage,6 about pain relief and hands-on treatment, based on this interpretation of the autonomic nervous system.
