Why do some practices seem to work and others not?

Imagine yourself as a unique tensegrity structure with additional non-structural rods.

A practice pushes on a rod. Is it structural for you or not? Is the activation energy sufficient to create a transformation in structure or will the structure return to its former homeostasis?

Sometimes, prolonged pressure on a rod will transform the structure. Sometimes prolonged pressure on a rod displaces it enough that a sudden jerk will then displace it.

In some sense, our surface display is but a shadow of this structure. It can give some clues as to how applying a transformative method might transform you, but information is lost, and time brings changes of its own accord, muddying the clarity.

One's overall felt-sense of whether a method might deliver on its promise for you is as good a decision metric as you will get.