Shybear,
I don't post here much anymore but do read from time to time and saw your message. I've been using bodywork and somatic therapy to help continue my own healing. I realized that there was more than psyhcology could do and there was a lot locked inside of me. Fortunately I've got a somatic therapy person down here that understands what it is to be a survivor and he has helped me greatly.
In addition, I've also become a licensed massage therapist so I'm using my skills to help others. I don't like to just give a massage as I'm heading more for somatic work. I just took my Trager Level 1 class last month and have had a lot of trager done on myself. It is wonderful work.
Trager can be done with clothes on which I actually prefer for myself and for working on others. It is not something a client has to think about while they are on the table because the practionier if they are present in their own body is working with the client's nervous system the entire time. It is a very subtle way of doing this but very powerful. Sometimes the effects are right away and sometimes they have shown up in me a couple of days later. There have been a couple of sessions where I have cried because of beautiful realizations that I got from the session. It is a very nurturing touch and a very safe/supportive touch. It is very beautiful work.
I'm working on the certification process in this which is extensive. I've got three main class levels to go through plus a minimum of 30 practice sessions each time plus a lot of work on myself as a requirement. I still don't think I'm doing that much with the person and yet the effects I'm seeing are so profound that they blow my mind away.
Trager work grabbed my attention because it is about the body becoming more aware, more free and more connected. For myself, recovering from all the effects of the trauma and the paralysis several years ago, trager is exactly what my body was looking for. In the short time I've been having trager done on me, it is changing my life in so many ways. Trager just works with your body where it is at and it allows your body to do whatever it needs to do at that moment. It doesn't push you beyond where you are which I really love. It is so gentle, nurturing, caring and supportive.
I even find that I get as much from giving a trager session as receiving. It is very powerful work.
One book on how the body stores trauma that is excellent is "Waking The Tiger" by Peter Levine. If you haven't read the book, I would encourage you to take a look at it. It explains how the animal world deals with trauma and then applies that to how we as humans deal with trauma. If trauma is not released from the body, it has adverse affects.
Anyway, I hope you give Trager a try and if you have any more questions, please feel free to email me at
[email protected]. I'll try to answer any quesitons you may have or find someone that can as I'm just learning this process.
Take care,
Don
