Reading this report you will discover how Starecta was born. You will find out the origins of Starecta and why it has so many enemies inspired by a character who tries in every way to create divisions among people.
We decided to explain again how Starecta was born, even though we had already spoken about in the Press Kit and the first part of the book: “How I straightened up my spine.” But unfortunately, in the face of slander, you are forced to repeat things, just as you do with children.
We do not like wasting time with these things, because we have a lot of work to do and a growing community, made up of dentists, gnathologists, osteopaths, chiropractors, posturologists, personal trainers and other people from all over the world.
But we needed to write this report because there are people appearing on social media who are slandering Starecta. They accuse Starecta of just being a copy of another Italian method.
Starecta is not a copy – it’s unique!
Some individuals (who naively believed the untruths told by Maurizio Formia) are making allegations that Starecta is simply a copy of the OG method – Occlusion Gravity Maurizio Formia. Now in this article we will explain the real story and prove that what they are throwing at Starecta in the last few weeks is just lies and mud.
We will show you why it is false and misleading (and why some people have to come believe these misrepresentations in all good faith). To begin with, let’s state that Mr. Formia, the founder of OG, takes the credit in his book for the discovery of ‘balance’. Actually Mr. Formia did not discover anything at all.
To fully understand this, let’s take a step back in time. Mr. Formia was originally a patient of APPIM and was a passionate advocate of their method, as those who knew him at the time can testify. In fact, on online forums he even signed with the name of APPIM, as you can see below:
But what is APPIM?
APPIM is an association founded in the 90s with the aim of re-balancing people. Its birth is due to the insights and studies of Adriana Valsecchi. Adriana Valsecchi, before founding APPIM, had been the patient of some doctors and, given the inability of traditional gnathology to address her problems, she had to apply some personal insights to herself.
And thanks to those problems, she had some unique insights that gave rise to her new method. Valsecchi had in fact some dental work done badly. That work made her realise that teeth were at the base of her cranio-mandibular problems.
This insight triggered the birth of the balance movement. From this insight, many more have arisen: Valsecchi was the first one to speak of symmetry and the muscle relationship between teeth, body and psyche. Not only did she speak about it, but she also created a working method to achieve symmetry: the APPIM method.
Evidence of this is found in the book, “The theory of Muscular Occlusion” by Valsecchi, which states that it is not enough to bring the dental arches in symmetry, since the strongest muscle, in time, takes over again.
In her opinion, the goal is the recovery of muscle symmetry. His method was in fact focused on the achievement of symmetry, finding balance through a retainer (Bite). Mr. Formia, discovering APPIM years later, become their patient and loyal supporter.
This can be seen clearly on the online Forum association. It is in public domain for all to see. In some cases he even answered in place of Adriana Valsecchi.
APPIM has the merit of having given rise to the Balance Movement, a new concept still virtually unknown in the academic world.
The real evolution, which Mr. Formia attributed improperly to himself, in fact must be attributed to Appim and Adriana Valsecchi.
In fact it is APPIM that, when compared to traditional gnathology, has developed a method that allows, by means the splint, a stable occlusion.
To achieve this, she employed the use of pits that immobilise the cups and consequently stabilize the entire occlusion. And this is the real revolution that began the balance movement. In fact, only when the cusps sink in the pits you can finally create a stable occlusion.
Thanks to a stable occlusion, during swallowing, the skull can finally act as “lever” because it meets stable points on which to “cling”.
Only through this process it is possible to achieve genuine balance. This is a major change compared to the smooth bites that are produced worldwide today.
If we then want to identify the father – or rather the mother – of balance we have Adriana Valsecchi to thank.
The smooth bites applied by traditional gnathology probably bring relief to the facial muscles and neck, but they certainly do not balance the human body. This is simply because they do not create any occlusion and therefore no fixed point at which the skull can cling in order to act as “lever”.
The APPIM’s BITE was the first splint to use pits, unlike the traditional smooth ones.
Then Mr. Formia arrives on the scene, after being APPIM’s patient and having been an enthusiastic supporter of Valsecchi’s method, he departed from it.
You might ask why? Mr. Formia, suffering from severe lateral deviation, realised that the essence of the method was in the pits (and the stability points they created), so he was able to simplify the APPIM method and clean it up from a series of obsolete concepts and practices.
Basically the method of Formia is equal to that of APPIM, with the difference being that it is much simpler. So this is the evolution that Formia made: a simplified APPIM method.
We give him some credit, but it’s just a simplification of a method invented by others. He did not discover anything himself.
After all, he himself stated several times on the online forum of APPIM:
“The method APPIM not complete … in many cases it does not work and I had repeated this for years also on the appim forum. The Appim’s way is the right one … but without the measures indicated by me… It does not go anywhere.”
So in the words of Mr. Formia, Appim method works, but needs some additional measures, such as those he indicates. This suggests that his method is essentially the Appim method.
We would add that the only real difference between his method and APPIM is what Formia calls “soaring on premolars”: a thickness that is created naturally in people who have a deep bite and lack of vertical dimension.
But once smoothed (the so-called “soaring”) many people (especially the most serious postural cases) go back to the starting point without being able to continue balancing. Here is a picture of the bite with the cd. soaring:
So his approach is the same as that of APPIM, except in two aspects: it has been greatly simplified and has a temporary surge on the premolars.
The APPIM method was simplified, but in essence, nothing has changed. Both methods are capable of creating symmetry, but they are not capable of correcting severe cases of hyper-kyphosis, hyper-lordosis and scoliosis.
Therefore both methods work in the same way, within certain limits. If you do not have severe kyphosis, lordosis, or scoliosis then they work; but otherwise they cannot solve the problem because they have not integrated the evolution brought by Starecta.
And here comes into play Starecta. Moreno came into contact with Formia and tried his method successfully for the first 3 months, but then the method stopped working. Why? This is the evolution that Starecta created which caused a break with the past.
APPIM and Formia Methods did not work on Moreno at all because his problem was not only in the frontal plane, but also (and especially) in the sagittal plane (side view).
So the Formia method, which Moreno attempted, worked only for the first 3 months. Having exhausted the initial push and smoothed the so-called “soaring” (a process we think is utterly useless), the skull needed a new impetus.
What emerged was Moreno’s intuition of leverage and the importance of significantly raising the occlusion until you feel the upward push, clearly described in the book. This problem can really be understood by those who have strong kyphosis, scoliosis lordosis just as Moreno had. He had to turn his jaw into a real lever.
This aspect is even more evident considering that Mr. Formia had never dealt with cases like Moreno’s and that Moreno’s results, shown in the photos, are entirely unique. Moreover, it must be said that Mr. Formia has never been able to treat severe cases, like this, before or since.
The Formia method is a partial solution as it does not work in every case. Many people who have serious problems in the sagittal plane cannot unlock their situation. Many people (especially severe cases) claimed not to have received any benefit from the Formia method and that the modifications had been useless.
Having smoothed the “soaring”, Moreno came to a standstill and was about to give up. He had to personally experiment his new insights, based on listening to his body, in order to finally stretch his hyper-kyphotic and hyper-lordotic.spine .
All this happened while Mr. Formia accused Moreno of having introduced poor practices and misinformation into his community. Mr.Formia argued that Moreno was distancing himself from his method and damaging himself and others. Fortunately however, these new insights worked and Moreno saved his own life.
Obviously this was not enough to placate Mr. Formia who tried to snub him, hide this evolution, and still take the credit. The picture below is of me before starting the Formia method.
In the picture below I smoothed the so called soaring.
In the picture below you can see me three months after detaching from the Formia method. In this point I had already smoothed the “Soaring” and I reached an impass.
From this point onward, I applied my insights in order to find the balance and be which was finally able to straighten my back up.
After three months from the start of the Formia method I applied my intuitions. I realized that the Bite was not to be just a means to achieve symmetry.
It rather had to become the fulcrum point to make the jaw work like a lever and bring the skull into its ideal position.
You cannot understand this feeling unless you experience it firsthand. I started out with a very serious situation; it was not just a simple kyphosis or a slightly anterior skull. I looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Many other people with the same problem turned to me in order to end the misery that the Formia method was unable to resolve. It can be seen from the conversations I had via Facebook I had back then with different community members who adopted the Formia method.
…:”yes, I think it’s a greater leverage”
M:”at the end you just add the distance from the pivotal rotation and see, its simple, experiment”
…:”what about the protrusion?”
…” I will try, I have to take courage”
M:”exactly”
…:”Me and you are rare cases on the profile…
I contacted you because I can see in you the same misalignment that I have”
…..:”thank you very much, I hope this is the right time, I can’t go on like this”
M:”this is the right time”
…:”but there is no picture of the initial ‘soaring
…:”the cranium is not sinking as it use to, it has straightened up a lot
Now I need to regain the posterior vertical dimension that is my first problem”
“My main symptom is hyperacusis
If I can detach the condyles from my ears at least I can live decently”
“For example I can only feel contact on premolars”
M:”it’s alright, it’s more than mine having that mass, maybe for you protrusion is enough…not for me I needed a longer lever do you understand?
…:” in fact that makes sense, that there could be others with the same problem, but the lever concept is not clear, of which lever are we talking about, now I’ll send you the graph”
M:”anyway if you have problems recuperating, you could experiment, if it’s a year.”
…:”the problem is that I can’t trigger the lever to smooth it”
M:” exactly, then we should experiment also on you, you said it correctly, trigger the lever”
Initially they were all upset by my innovation and in fact Mr. Formia told me that I had to lower the Bite. Obviously, he did not understand how the human body really works because he was missing an important piece of information that I had gleaned because of my severe postural problems.
I could not go on with him; the study of balance had to go forward and progress. Something new and more effective was to be born.
I was not the only one to detach from that stagnant environment. Even a group of people, including Cristiano Favaro, broke away to found a very active forum that addresses the balance to 360 ° (In this forum we talk about many other practices that can help people’s health) called Symmetry Body ( http://simmetriadelcorpo.it/phpbb/ ). With these people I cherish a relationship of friendship and mutual respect. In fact I recommend you visit the forum symmetry of the body, because there is a lot to learn.
In the Body Symmetry Forum there is a testimonial of a former client of M. Formia.
There were many people in this forum who could not continue in the balance process, because of the great limitations of the Formia method, trying to exchange ideas to find a solution.
Unfortunately, however, they were hampered by Mr. Formia. He did not want people were to communicate with each other for fear of losing control and feared that finally evidence would surface, that his method was flawed.
Mr. Formia, in order to maintain control of the situation, threatened not to help people if they were communicating openly in the community about the method and their problems. To understand the climate of tension that we lived then (and I still believe is happening in his group) it has to be known that he opened and closed the forums all the time to keep away people he did not like and who could not get results with his method. In this way he was hiding the truth to newcomers who did not know what had happened previously. The newcomers were told that former balance clients were scoundrels, and so fomented hatred among people.
This also serves as a warning to the current followers of Mr.Formia. Ask yourself questions. Things evolve – if you can not get on with the balance, it is because the method of Mr. Formia does not work in every case.
In fact one of the main features of Starecta method, unlike that of Mr. Formia, is that the application of the method is not the same for everyone. To make sure that the adjustment takes place with success, individuals must pass through various phases and some knowledge of their own body is required.
Often the registration of the bite must be repeated several times with height and position of the bite adjusted differently. Further adjustments of the bite are to be done in relation to certain bodily feedback mechanisms.
And it is for this reason that it is self-balancing. Only the person who applies the method really know their feelings and how to proceed in the optimal way.
Ultimately, thanks to a repeated application of the method, the person will exclude all the wrong modifications until the right one is found. The right change is one that helps you feel supported so that you can continue the balance.
Finally, it must be said that the Formia method was touted as a panacea for all ailments, without taking into account that there may be many other factors that affect people’s posture.
Let us continue with the story…
Later, as I said, I moved on from Formia’s method. I decided to develop the new theory that eventually led me to write the book: “How I finally straightened up my back.”
This fundamental shift has led to the discovery of the “leverage point” and the identification of the fulcrum of the lever on the teeth, especially on the first molar. I think it is this finding which is truly unique and has revealed, not only how the human biomechanics work (something that Mr. Formia only knows in part), but has also allowed us to solve severe cases such as the S-shaped 30 degrees scoliosis of my friend Valerio and a hyper-kyphosis as extreme as mine.
The Starecta method comes from the lever effect. Without leverage there is no balance. The key is lifting the bite; otherwise you do not activate the lever that has its fulcrum on the teeth. Mr. Formia completely ignores this concept.
We honestly do not understand why, when Moreno made this discovery, Mr. Formia criticized him so bitterly. And yet now he claims that this discovery belongs to him. At the time, Mr. Formia had no intention of accepting this discovery and was deeply upset. It was for this very reason that Moreno detached from his method. Formia method had become stagnant when he had refused to accept this important development.
So what has changed now?
Probably over the years Mr. Formia has finally accept the effectiveness of the leverage principle but then decided to improperly attribute this insight to himself. Was it not enough to call himself ‘the father of balance’ after taking that honour from Valsecchi?
The testimonial on Mr.Formia’s Website
Mr. Formia presents on his website a testimonial from me which, in his opinion, is evidence that it was his method that solved my postural problems. The truth is that his method worked just for the first three months, just as I’ve explained in the book. After that his method did not bring any more benefit; in fact, I was back to the previous situation.
I left my testimonial on his site because initially I did not realize the importance of my own discovery. I only did that later, after deep study and having settled my theory. At the time I did not give weight to my own discovery and I wrote that testimonial out of the sheer happiness I was in at that time. Only later I realized the incredible importance of my own discovery.
However I grant Mr. Formia the credit for bringing me closer to the APPIM method and of having greatly simplified it.
What Mr. Formia and his followers must absolutely understand is that no one finds out anything from nothing. All we know is developments and improvements of existing things. We are all standing on the shoulders of giants.
Valsecchi’s merit lies in starting the balance movements with the unique insights that allowed her to solve her specific problem. Formia’s lies in having understood the essential role the pits play, in the anchors they form and how that was able to solve his own specific problem. Moreno Conte, however has to be credited with discovering the leverage effect which was able to solve his specific problem and can resolve any other variety as well.
This evolution of the balance does not stop here; in fact it will continue. And Starecta will encourage this development and all those who wish to pursue it.
About the verbal attacks that we received online
As previously written, we have recently been subjected to defamatory attacks on social media, but fortunately there are some people in Mr. Formia’s circle, who inform us of his actions. Thanks to that we can promptly intervene and reverse the damage that is caused to our image. But frankly we are tired of doing this!
We have already spoken to some lawyers these days who are drawing up complaints against those who publicly and on social media defamed the name of Moreno Conte and Starecta.
These attacks are made with fake accounts, without face or name, created specifically to defame Starecta.
Anonymous accounts are born specially to defame Starecta.
This is a measure of the quality level of our detractors. If Mr. Formia has a right to make these claims, why does he not issue court proceedings instead of just conveying untrue and defamatory information on social media?
Moreover, his activity has caught the attention of the NAS (police) because different people have reported it. You can also read about it on some important national newspapers such as La Repubblica: The fake doctor is a musician, raid of NAS in Ivrea
PS. All these amazing innovations and improvements have been made by people who were suffering firsthand. Initially they all have been criticized for their innovations. But these people did not stop and tried to solve their problem – problems that no one had previously been able to solve.
It would be very nice if we could have an open 360 degrees discussion with all the relevant scholars on the issue: patients, innovators, doctors, dentists, dental technicians, posturologists, etc .. because the sharing of knowledge and ideas is the only key to the evolution and development of new techniques that can improve people’s lives.