Introactive Touch:
When I first realized that I could initiate and feel a client’s touch in any part of her body, I was astounded because it meant that we could truly become interactive.

How is it possible anatomically for us to switch from feeling awareness which is a passive-receptive response, to touching which is an active-initiatory response?


In general, we use our motor nerves system to initiate responses. How are things changed when we use our sensory nerves to initiate active engagement?
The yoga practitioner uses her proprioceptive awareness in combination with focused breathing to initiate physical responses in different parts of her body.
Those responses produce relaxation, tissue softening, pain relief, and new possibilities of articulation.
In a like way I ask my clients to breathe into a part of the body where I am connected with my hands… I can vary my request by asking the client to fill my hands with the in-breath and empty my hands with the out-breath.
I can feel those responses in the client’s tissue along with corresponding effects similar to yoga… the tissue warms, softens, and becomes much more articulate.
What I am calling inner touch becomes a proprioceptive engagement when the client tries to initiate some effect in the tissue. I consider these client interactions as ways not only to bring relief from inside the tissue but as ways for the client to become more consciously aware in general.
I think the overall effect is to help a person step back from mind-initiated fears and frustrations into a true state of self-authorship and life fulfillment. 

Trager Hookup and Presencing: 
One of the unique differences between the Trager® Approach and other forms of bodywork is a discovery by Milton Trager that a certain state of mind in the practitioner could dramatically influence the results of sessions. He called this state of mind, “hook-up”, meaning that the practitioner was connecting with the client mentally as well as physically.

There are three ingredients in meditative practices that are identical to the use of hook-up in the Trager approach.
First, bodily sensations are used to maintain a state of continuous awareness of the present, to keep the mind from drifting or losing concentration.
Second, there is a continuous monitoring of the effects of remaining present by a witnessing/recording part of the mind.
Third, there is a commitment to maintaining this focus or alertness of body and mind so even very subtle changes in perception can be registered and worked with.

Personal Presencing:  
You will learn how to bring yourself into the present moment under many different conditions like fear, decision making, awakening to nature, finding inner guidance, and becoming present to your own destiny. The more you practice presencing daily, the more you can use the tools of presence with your clients. This class introduces practitioners to body-centered meditative techniques.
How do we develop our body awareness into an instrument for awakening?