The Trager® Approach – The movement sends the message!
The Trager® approach is a way of learning and teaching through movement. Clients come to absorb a lesson, as opposed to receiving a treatment. The Trager practitioner uses the hands to communicate a quality of feeling to the nervous system during table work, and guides the person to move with that feeling on their own.
To communicate, practitioners use the language of movement and touch throughout the body: gently rocking, swinging, stretching and pressing. They work within the person’s pain free range to provide a sense of how it feels to move freely and painlessly.
Is Trager® new?
Trager was created by Dr. Milton Trager and the beginnings of his work began approximately in the late 1920’s when he was just 18 years old. The Trager Institute was develop in Mill Valley California in 1980.
For more information visit Trager Canada and Trager International.
Who benefits?
Anyone experiencing normal ache/pains/stress, stiffness, decreased mobility, inability to relax, chronic pain, serious conditions including back pain, depression, sports injuries such as tennis elbow and on the job ailments such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Trager responds very well to neuromuscular conditions such as Post Polio Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. Milton worked extensively with Parkinsonian patients with great success.
Trager aligns well with many other therapies including Chiropractic and Yoga. What are Mentastics? Trager for daily living. This is where The Trager Approach began. These are easy, gentle non-invasive movements that play with the weight of any particular part of the body to release held tension/pain etc… as mentioned above.
Mentastic movements are taught individually during a Trager session or in group settings. These fun movements create a feeling of calm and peaceful connection which is the essence of Trager.
What happens during a Trager® Session?
A session takes 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The receiving person may be partially clothed or fully clothed and lies on a well padded table in a warm comfortable environment. The practitioner gently and rhythmically moves the person’s body in such a way that the person actually experiences the possibility of being able to move that freely, effortlessly and gracefully on their own.
How might I feel after a Trager® Session?
Most clients express a feeling of deep relaxation and peacefulness and a feeling of being able to move more freely. Often clients recognize right away where their body has released. Others state that Trager helps them become more self aware and accepting of what they are experiencing physically, emotionally or mentally. Others have stated “I feel so relaxed, but also energized”.
Trager is an accumulative process.