The Philosophical Roots of Ortho-Bionomy: Principles That Shaped the Practice

Ortho-Bionomy is often experienced as something subtle, unusual, sometimes hard to name. It is unique in its foundational technique of guiding the body into its comfort zone and offering slight compression into the joints to reset the proprioceptive nerves. Its roots stretch into streams of wisdom that Arthur Lincoln Pauls studied, practiced, and lived. He drew from osteopathy, martial arts, and homeopathy — recognising the natural laws already present in life and giving them form through practice.

Arthur once described Ortho-Bionomy as “the right application of the natural laws of life.” This phrase carries his whole orientation: healing arises when the right environment allows the body to remember its own intelligence.

What follows are the principles Arthur named, as he received them through these traditions. They are not presented as rules, but as rhythms and patterns that continue to shape the practice today.

Principles from Osteopathy

“The body has the inherent capacity to heal and balance itself.”
Ortho-Bionomy rests in this trust — change unfolds naturally when it is given space.

“Structure governs function. Function governs structure.”
A reminder of the dialogue between form and movement, each shaping the other in an ongoing conversation.

“The rule of the artery is supreme.”
Where circulation flows freely — blood, breath, or energy — vitality follows.

“Spontaneous release by positioning.”
Lawrence Jones’ discovery that comfort allows pain to resolve offered Arthur a framework for what he had already observed: that release begins with ease.

Principles from Martial Arts (Judo)

“Understanding and integrating the principles of movement.”
Judo taught Arthur that technique and life are inseparable. Listening through motion, recognising timing, and working with rather than against became essential to Ortho-Bionomy.

“Developing balance and a strong base.”
Grounded presence provides stability without rigidity, allowing responsiveness.

“Following or joining another person’s energy while maintaining one’s own balance.”
Relational work requires both connection and self-presence — a meeting that honours both.

“Follow force, do not oppose it.”
Change arises when patterns are first met as they are.

“Observation and recognition of one’s own nature.”
The practitioner is part of the work — self-awareness becomes an active presence in the field.

“Judo means ‘the gentle way.’”
Gentleness carries strength, moving with clarity and wisdom.

“Minimum effort, maximum outcome. Less is more.”
Small inputs often allow the greatest changes — a principle that echoes throughout Ortho-Bionomy.

“Observation of oneself in relationship.”
Awareness extends beyond technique, into the ongoing dance of self, other, and the present moment.

Principles from Homeopathy

“What cannot be healed from within, can’t be healed from without.”
Ortho-Bionomy offers the conditions for inner recognition, creating space for change to emerge.

“Let ‘similars’ be cured by ‘similars.’”
Meeting posture with posture, sensation with sensation, allows the body to recognise itself and move forward.

“A disease can be cured by administering a remedy that provokes the same symptoms.”
This principle resonates with the Ortho-Bionomic practice of exaggerating a pattern — bringing it into clearer awareness for release.

“The effective dose is the smallest dose.”
A subtle shift, when held with presence, can be profoundly effective.

A Living Foundation

Taken together, these principles are less a set of instructions than a way of seeing. They reflect an orientation toward life that values receptivity, attunement, and trust in what is already unfolding. In practice, this means the practitioner becomes less a fixer and more a facilitator — someone who meets the body and the being exactly where they are, and allows themselves to be guided by what emerges through that meeting. This quality of “non-doing” is not absence, but presence — a willingness to stay close to the rhythms already alive in the system and to trust their intelligence.

Ortho-Bionomy also invites us into alignment with the laws present in nature, and to recognise how these same laws express themselves through the body. Just as water finds the path of least resistance, or a tree bends toward light, the body too reveals its natural pathways toward ease and coherence when given space. The practice becomes less about imposing change, and more about witnessing what is already true and allowing it to unfold.

Arthur’s gift was to recognise these laws — not as abstractions, but as living movements — and to shape a practice that lets them come to expression. In this sense, Ortho-Bionomy is both deeply practical and profoundly philosophical: a gentle way of seeing, a way of meeting, and a way of living in resonance with the patterns of life itself.