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Different Theories on How it Works
Dr. Trager believed that all holding patterns in the body originate in the unconscious mind. These habitual movement patterns are the result of a lifetime of experiences – adjustments to injury, emotional traumas, early learned faulty movement patterns and structural problems. However, as a rule no new learning takes place without new input. Both the table work and the Mentastics® provide this new input, helping to release unconscious holding patterns and to establish more beneficial ones in a gentle way. The work uses the client’s own weight, rhythm, momentum and gravity to facilitate release in a natural process that uses no force and lets the movement do the work.
Touch and movement are used to send messages to the neuromuscular system that create an experience of relaxation and provide a reference point for well being. The practitioner works in “hook up”, a meditative, inquiring and connected state of mind, and this state of ease is communicated to the client’s tissues and mind. Over time, awareness of old movement patterns and tensions increase as well as the ability to sense and create new movement qualities. Older patterns weaken and new ones are reinforced.
Conditions it Works Best For
Many benefits of the Trager® Approach have been reported in case studies and anecdotally. The Trager® Approach has been used for a variety of physical and psychological health conditions including helping with chronic stress, postural and alignment issues, headaches, post-stroke trauma, back pain and sciatica, movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis, and athletic and artistic performance. In addition, a recent National Institutes of Health funded research study on the Trager® Approach and acupuncture for chronic pain validated its effectiveness for the reduction of shoulder pain in spinal cord injury patients (Dyson-Hudson, 2001). An earlier study demonstrated positive effects on chest mobility in patients with chronic lung disease (Witt, 1986).
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Content last modified on Sep 4, 2003
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