This is a summary of an article published in Positive Health Magazine. If you would like to read the full article, click here to purchase a copy of the issue in which it appeared.

Trager is one of the many forms of bodyworking that have mushroomed in popularity over the last thirty years both in the States and in the United Kingdom. Dr Trager developed his approach for fifty years in his practice before teaching his methods to others, in the last twenty years nearly 2,000 practitioners have been trained in his approach.

The approach is a rapid, effective and painless method of deprogramming accumulated negative feelings and behaviour patterns and of restoring positive body image, feeling tone and organised responses. The purpose is to break sensory, motor and mental patterns that inhibit free movement and cause pain and disruption of normal function.

A session lasts one to one and a half hours, the patient lies on a well padded table in a warm and comfortable environment. The practitioner contact consists of gentle and soft touches and pleasurable rocking and jiggling actions that send resonating ripples through the body's fluid structure. It is important that the client's experience is pleasurable as pain and discomfort set up reflexes that cause more restrictive patterns.

There is a meditative element to the approach in which the practitioner and client are "hooked up" in a state of meditative calm.

The third element of the approach is called by Dr Trager "Mentastics" from mental gymnastics. Mentastics is the development of the art of not trying. It helps the client to learn to create the the same gentle pleasurable experiences felt on the table and to learn to pursue those movements and sensations into deeper staes of internal connecttedness and ease of motion.

The approach can be used to help patients with muscle spasms and chronic tensions, as well as poor posture and restricted movement. It can also help in the management of chronic pain. It has also been used beneficially with individuals suffering from chronic and degenerative conditions. Although it does not claim to effect a cure it has been effective in restoring emotional balance and a positive, actively engaged outlook on life.