What If Your Body Knows?
How to start muscle testing for clear yes/no
Editor’s note: Adapted from my Substack (My Life is a Spell) post, revised and expanded for Threshold Witch.
The night my signal went down
It was night and my signal was down; rain was needling the windshield and the towering cedars and firs were just dark walls to either side of the road. We were somewhere in the North Cascades—no cell service, no reservations, our lives reduced to a car stuffed with gear and the question we always ask:
Left, right, or straight?
We hadn’t planned on nomad life. A wildfire had taken our friend’s cabin—a bright orange jaw that ate 133,000 acres and the place we were meant to stay. We’d just moved out of our rental and put everything into storage. The plan was a month of camping on her land.
The fire said otherwise.
So we aimed at the wet green on the map and started driving.
Normally, this is where muscle testing guides me. It’s how I navigate—restaurant menus, timing hard conversations, choosing trailheads, knowing when to wait and when to leap. A quiet yes or no in the body, like a door that either gives under your palm or doesn’t.
But that trip my signal went dead.
No familiar twitch, no strength change, no whisper of yes. Even “My name is Annika” came up as static. It felt like losing a sense I didn’t know I was leaning on until it was gone. I took a breath and looked at Ted. “You’re up,” I said. “You’re doing all the testing.”
Trusting a Signal You Can’t Prove
“I’d taught Ted how to muscle test months before. He’d picked it up fast—his answers were clean, unmistakable—yet he didn’t fully trust it. Skeptic at heart.”
He wasn’t thrilled about the situation, but what choice did we have? He nodded, and away we went, into the unknown, guided by his body’s wisdom.
So now here we were. Rain hammered. The road narrowed. Every few minutes a dark notch opened in the trees—a possible side road, a maybe-campsite.
Ted tested each one.
No.
No.
No.
Hours of no. The kind that makes you question if you’re ridiculous for trusting something you can’t prove.
Then, finally:
“Yes.”
We turned. The spur road was decommissioned—a berm thrown across the entrance like a shrug. We climbed over in our rain jackets, headlamps catching the glint of water on alder leaves. Just beyond the berm was a small flat spot with an old fire ring, ringed by salal and sword fern. Enough room for a tent. Not grand in that moment—just possible. We threw the tent up in the downpour and crawled inside, damp and grateful.
Morning was a different world. The storm had wrung itself out. Sun threaded through the canopy; drops hung on needles like a thousand tiny bells. We packed up and drove back the way we’d come, curious now, peering into each of the night’s maybes.
Every no from the night before revealed itself in daylight: too steep, too narrow, blocked by windfall, cul-de-sacs of mud. Unusable, every one. And the one yes? The first viable possibility on the entire stretch.
I watched something shift in Ted. A quiet awe.
“That’s…wild,” he said. “How did it know??”
I laughed. And relaxed a tension I hadn’t known I was carrying.
Because this wasn’t random.
And because now he trusted his own yes.
Hands forming the finger-loop muscle testing method—simple yes/no signal from the body.
What muscle testing is (and isn’t)
Muscle testing is a way of sensing a yes/no response in your body.
Like a pendulum—but you don’t need anything except yourself.
Not a substitute: It’s not medical diagnosis or a guarantee about the future. It’s a tool for guidance and timing, most useful when paired with common sense and discernment.
Try It Now: Three Simple Methods
Muscle testing amplifies a signal your body is already giving. Here are three accessible ways to begin.
1. Finger-Loop Test
Make a loop with the thumb and index finger of one hand. Hook the opposite index finger through it and gently pull.
Yes: loop holds / feels strong
No: loop slips / feels weak
2. Sway Test (Standing)
Stand with feet hip-width apart, knees soft.
Yes: subtle sway forward
No: subtle sway back
3. Arm Press (Gentle Self-Check)
Raise one arm parallel to the floor. With the other hand, apply light pressure at the wrist.
Yes: arm holds easily
No: arm gives way
Calibration Comes First
Before asking meaningful questions, you must calibrate.
Ground yourself. Notice your breath. Feel your feet.
Ask: Show me a yes. Pause. Test.
Ask: Show me a no. Pause. Test.
Repeat until the responses are consistent.
When I first learned, I spent two full weeks doing nothing but calibration—many times a day.
Start With Neutral Statements
“My name is ___.” → Yes
“My name is ___.” (wrong name) → No
“I live in ___.”
“Today is ___.”
Stay here until the signal is clear and repeatable.
Common Early Pitfalls
A few things that often trip people up:
Vague questions: If it can’t be answered cleanly with yes/no, break it down.
Outcome attachment: Wanting a specific answer makes neutrality hard.
Mushy signals: Sometimes the question itself doesn’t make sense—rephrase.
Skipping calibration: This is the most common issue I see.
None of these mean you’re bad at this. They’re part of learning the instrument.
When to Trust the Signal
You can trust the response when:
you calibrated first
the answer repeats across methods
your body feels calm afterward
reality corroborates
Like a rain-soaked forest road delivering one clear yes.
If it’s unclear, leave it. Come back later. Or sleep on it. Or try my Paper Oracle method!
If Your Body Is Already Buzzing “Yes…”
If this practice speaks to you, here are possible next steps:
Request the Free PDF: The Art of Muscle Testing — beginner methods, phrasing, and troubleshooting
Know Your Truth Course — in-depth training and practice (Spring 2026 cohort)
The T.W.I.T.C.H. Collective — community practice for those already using intuitive tools
You don’t need to rush. This is a skill that unfolds with practice.