During much of the time that Milton was teaching bodyworkers, most of the other modalities relied on pressure to overwhelm resistance in the connective tissue of the body. Massage techniques were mostly drawn from deep tissue, trigger points, sports massage, and offshoots of Rolfing.
At the time, Wilhelm Reich’s concepts of therapy including strong emotional releases in the client, were influencing many in helping professions. As your client enters a fear-based flight or fight state, an explosive emotional release could be cathartic (purifying, purging, cleansing)! Ida Rolf was a protégé of Wilhelm Reich, and Fritz Perls was promoting the same thing in Gestalt Therapy.
Both Milton and Perls taught at Esalen Institute in California. So it was important that Milton distinguish his work from fear-based, pain-based catharsis, although for awhile he did use the words “Fight me, Fight me” instead of “Meet me here” when he was trying to stimulate client reflexive responses; for stimulating breath and intercostals in the upper chest.

Taking a Different Tack towards pain: Those of you who have been reading these newsletters over the years probably know that I have taken a different approach towards working with pain. I had my own experiences of dealing with intense pain during three years of in-depth Vipassana meditation. I learned the strong connection between my negative thoughts and memories, and how much pain I was experiencing.
Likewise, with clients I learned how much the pains they were suffering were mentally linked to feelings of guilt and punishment.
Two doctor friends helped me to realize the various bodily functions of pain. Also, pain signals can become trail markers in healing and increased conscious awareness.

In this webinar we will explore a “path of pain” which can lead directly towards releasing the thoughts which cause suffering. This path leads to a wholly different way of living life; by attending to our pains as sources of transformation. When the conscious mind starts to pay attention to the full language of the body, things change. This is the basis of all somatic approaches. Usually our minds pay attention to what we like; avoiding what we don’t.
Pain signals can help us enter our body’s continuous state of Presence. 
Bodily pain signals are never punishment!
Pain is always NOW!