Deborah Haber – Certified Trager Practitioner
“Nothing can change until the old pattern is broken.” – Milton Trager
As you live your life you are performing daily routines and activities without giving much thought to the impact you are exerting on your muscles. Every time you step, gravity is pulling you down and the impact of the ground is returning a vertical force back through you. Your muscles feel this impact. As you walk you are using your muscles to move forward, but they also balance and keep you in an upright position. The simple act of walking requires so many involuntary actions, thoughts and commands working together like a perfectly tuned orchestra….. so you do not fall flat on your face.
Our muscles have other responsibilities then just carrying us from here to there. When you swallow, your muscles transport the food from your mouth down to your stomach. Muscles are aiding in the digestion of food from entry to exit. Your diaphragm is a muscle allowing you the breathe. Your heart is a muscle pulling in deoxygenated blood working in conjunction with your lungs and then pumping out oxygenated blood delivering it to the rest of your body, all a part of the muscle system. Shivering is the act you perform when you are cold. Your muscles contract and expand which causes heat. These vital functions of life are being played out by your muscle system.
The muscle system in the average healthy human body consists of about 36-40% percent of the body’s mass. You have a system that is consists of almost half of your body mass, and it is working and absorbing stress on a daily basis. The majority of the time you are not even thinking about it.
If this is what happens from day-to-day living, what do you think is happening to dancers, athletes, physical laborers, or from other high impact activities? Being physical is healthy. We are meant to exercise and move our bodies, but if we are not allowing a state of relaxation then it is all for nothing. If we are ignoring the cues that our body is telling us by medicating or living by the motto “no pain – no gain” exercise will only become difficult and no longer enjoyable.
As a culture, we are very hard on our minds and our bodies. I am right there at fault with the majority of the population. We do things to mask the pain whether it be mental blocking of the signals…brush it under the rug, truck on, get over it. Maybe you take a prescription or and over the counter drugs to so you no longer physically feel the pain. These pills are not taking the pain away, they are suffocating the message of pain at the nerve. The damage has not been cured only masked. By masking this pain we are allowing these old patterns to continue wearing and eroding on this elaborate and amazing system. Pain is a message letting us know something is wrong in our bodies. It is similar to having a leak in your roof and filling the crack in the ceiling and never tending to the roof.
Milton Trager is the man who discovered the Trager approach. Milton wanted to figure out how the body could softly land from a forward jump. He wanted to know how we as mobile beings could move lighter, freer, softer than we do.
The thought behind the Trager approach is breaking the old patterns and re training the mind and muscles to a gentle approach. The idea is to weave a mental state of relaxation with a relaxed state in your muscles.
When you go in for Trager body work expect that you will be sent into a state of total contentment. Arrive and allow yourself to be unemployed from your thoughts and your actions. The interesting part of the a Trager session is that Deborah is also putting her body in a state of comfort while working your body. She is rocking your muscles in a gentle motion and allowing herself to be aware of signals released by your body. Deborah is sending waves through your muscles and your body. The idea of this method is to be gentle and lessen the stress and tension in your body.
Deborah can pickup on a slight signals and messages released by your body and work that with this technique of gentle rocking to lessen the strain or constriction trapped in that area.
I went in for a session with Deborah. I am not suffering from any sort of direct pain or injury. I do have stress. I feel a bit ADD at times. I will say that the time in there is quite fantastic. I left my tensions behind and entered into a state of serenity. After leaving I felt euphoric and light. Stress escaped my body and was not present.
I feel that anyone would benefit from a Trager session. Maybe you are brushing the pain under the rug. Maybe you have found a storage space for stress between your shoulder blades. Maybe mental stress is causing headaches. Feel the relief that a certified Trager practitioner can provide by visiting Deborah.
Visit her website at http://www.tragerdh.com/
Call her for an appointment at 303-604-1000
Community Holistic Health Center
