Reiki
A Japanese energy-based practice with no muscle-testing step. A receiving experience rather than a feedback-led one. We compare the two in detail in the kinesiology vs reiki guide.
The types of kinesiology, explained
“Kinesiology” covers a few different things, and that is exactly why people get confused before they book. Here is the map: the main branches, what each one does, and where practices like reiki sit next to them.
Start With the Map
One word, a few different things
If you have written kinesiology off before, there is a fair chance you just met the wrong branch for what you needed. The styles share one tool, muscle testing, but they use it to ask the body very different questions. Some read physical structure. Others read the nervous system and the whole person.
This page is the overview. For the proper detail on how the muscle test actually works, and the full holistic-versus-applied breakdown, the muscle testing page goes deeper than we will here. New to all this? Start with what kinesiology is, in plain English.
The Short Version
Same word, different branches
The big misunderstanding
It’s a family, not one method
Kinesiology isn’t one technique, it’s a family of branches that share one tool, muscle testing.Each branch uses it to ask the body a different question, and the university sports science with the same name is a separate field entirely.Meet the wrong branch and you might write the whole thing off.
The split that matters
Structural, or whole-person
Applied kinesiology reads physical structure.Holistic kinesiology reads the nervous system and the whole person.Same muscle test, different questions.
Applied structuralHolistic whole-person
What Vildan practises
PKP, on the holistic side
Professional Kinesiology Practice is a precise branch of holistic kinesiology.It works with the nervous system and stored stress, for things like stress, burnout and anxiety.Complementary, not medical, and results vary.
The Branches
The main types, one tap at a time
Four things people call kinesiology. Open any one for the detail, and see where Vildan’s work sits among them.
The original branch, traced to the American chiropractor Dr George Goodheart in 1964. It uses muscle testing mainly to read structural and physical imbalances, and tends to be hands-on and body-focused. Most of the branches that came later, including the holistic ones, grew out of this starting point. It is a different emphasis from the nervous-system work Vildan does.
A family of styles that use the muscle as a way to read the nervous system and the whole person, rather than a structure to correct. This is usually what people are after when they come in for stress, burnout, anxiety, or patterns that have not shifted with talk alone. PKP, the branch Vildan practises, sits inside this family.
Professional Kinesiology Practice is a precise, clinically developed branch of holistic kinesiology, created by Dr Bruce Dewe, a New Zealand medical doctor, and Joan Dewe. It draws on neurology, physiology, Chinese medicine and energy psychology, and works with the nervous system and stored stress using gentle muscle monitoring. This is the work at Intelligentle Healing, in person in Moorabbin or online across Australia. Results vary.
This is the one that causes the confusion. Sports or academic kinesiology is the university study of human movement, biomechanics and exercise. It is a science taught in degrees, not a complementary therapy, and it has nothing to do with the muscle-monitoring work on this page. Worth knowing, so you do not book the wrong thing.
Want the deep dive on holistic versus applied, and what the muscle test is actually reading? That lives on the muscle testing page.
Where Other Practices Sit
Not everything gentle is kinesiology
Two practices people often line up next to kinesiology. Both are worthwhile, and neither is a branch of it, they are neighbours, not the same thing.
Hypnotherapy
Works through guided relaxation and the spoken word to shift patterns at the level of the mind. Kinesiology works through the body and uses muscle monitoring as its read, so the two start from different places.
On the reiki question specifically, the kinesiology vs reiki guide compares the two fairly, side by side.
Who You’d See
The branch matters less than the practitioner
Knowing the branches helps, but the bigger thing is who you work with. Vildan Alihodzic practises PKP, trauma-informed, and the work moves at the pace your nervous system sets, never forced.
If you are still not sure which type you need, that is normal, and it is exactly what a first conversation is for. Read Vildan’s story, or start with a free clarity call below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the types of kinesiology
What are the main types of kinesiology?
Broadly, there are three. Applied kinesiology is the original branch, traced to 1964, and reads structural and physical imbalances. Holistic or specialised kinesiology works with the whole person and reads the nervous system rather than just structure. Sports or academic kinesiology is a separate university field studying human movement, not a therapy. Professional Kinesiology Practice (PKP), what Vildan Alihodzic practises at Intelligentle Healing in Moorabbin, is a precise, clinically developed branch of holistic kinesiology. Kinesiology is a complementary practice and is not a substitute for medical advice.
What type of kinesiology does Intelligentle Healing practise?
Vildan Alihodzic practises Professional Kinesiology Practice (PKP), developed in New Zealand in the 1980s by Dr Bruce Dewe and Joan Dewe. It is a branch of holistic kinesiology that works with the nervous system and stored stress, using gentle muscle monitoring as its feedback tool. Sessions run in person in Moorabbin, Melbourne, or online across Australia. Results vary.
What is the difference between holistic and applied kinesiology?
In short, applied kinesiology focuses more on structural and physical imbalances, while holistic kinesiology, the family PKP belongs to, reads the whole person and the nervous system. They share the muscle-monitoring technique but ask the body different questions. The muscle testing page goes through this difference properly, including what each one actually does in a session.
Is reiki a type of kinesiology?
No. Reiki is a separate complementary practice. It is a Japanese energy-based approach with no muscle-testing or feedback step, so it is a different thing from kinesiology rather than a branch of it. People often compare the two because both are gentle and hands-on. If you are weighing them up, the kinesiology vs reiki guide lays out how they differ. Both are unregistered, complementary practices in Australia and neither replaces medical care.
Which type of kinesiology is right for me?
It depends on what you are after. If you want help with stress, burnout, anxiety, or a nervous system stuck on high alert, a holistic branch like PKP is usually the fit, because it works with the nervous system rather than structure alone. The honest way to find out is a first session: Vildan gives a clear read on whether the work suits you. Kinesiology is a complement to medical and psychological care, never a replacement, and results vary.
Not sure which type you need?
That is what a first session is for. Vildan practises PKP kinesiology in Moorabbin, with online sessions across Melbourne, and gives an honest read on whether the work suits you.
Kinesiology is a complementary health practice and is not a registered health profession in Australia. Sessions are not a substitute for medical advice or treatment.