Trager is something that I weave into my Watsu sessions naturally. TRAGER sessions (on a massage table) are also available by booking a massage at Kalani or in my cottage.

STORY OF THE TRAGER APPROACH 

"The Trager Approach" as it is more generally known, is the discovery of Milton Trager M.D. who first encountered its principles somewhat serendipitously, at the age of 18. He then spent the next 50 years, as a lay practitioner and later, medical doctor, refining and expanding his discovery. With a long and successful career as a therapist behind him, Milton Trager embarked on the new venture of teaching his work at an age when most others are thinking of retirement. There are now thousands of Certified Practitioners throughout the globe; in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan. At the age of 88, he passed away in January 1997 - after teaching for over 20 years. (From  Trager.com)
 

More poetically speaking, Milton said:
"There is a way of being
which is lighter,
which is freer,
a way in which work as well as play
becomes a dance
and living, a song.
We can learn this way."

 
Milton Trager developed a way to use the mind to reach the body and to release muscle, tendon, and ligament holding patterns that were no longer beneficial to the client. This wonderful body/mind approach is never painful and emphasizes instead playfulness and ease. Soft, gentle hands help to suggest to the body what lightness and “letting go” feel like. The neurological system responds to these suggestions by allowing more space in joints and tissue.

Mentastics are taught to help the client recall and recreate the improved feeling state and range of motion acquired during the Trager session. “Movement is the medicine,” according to Milton. Mentastics movements that suggest “letting go” are explored and practiced to empower clients to maintain a less stressful state of being all the time! These movements can be as specific or general as a person requires. Since they are easy on the body, as simple, painfree suggestions of ease and grace, Mentastics can be used all day long!

Milton Trager saw the beneficial effects of his approach on a wide variety of conditions. People paralyzed with polio or afflicted with Cerebral palsy have been able to construct new neuro-pathways or relax spasms enough to move more gracefully. Athletes find that increased flexibility and range of motion improve their performance. The rest of us benefit from reduced stress and awareness of healthier ways to move and use our bodies as we work at sedentary jobs and cope with the pace of life these days!

Milton taught "Hook-up," based largely on his personal Transcendental Meditation practice. This benevolent force, referred to as the natural order of things, the universe, God, whatever you feel is the best way to describe unseen forces, is intended to provide support, love and healing. Practitioners are taught to "hook-up" to these benevolent forces. In this way, we reach a state of profound relaxation and attention that allows us to listen to non-verbal cues from the client, and in a two way communication, share with clients our own understandings of softness, lightness, ease, and surrender while working with various holding patterns in the client's body. This is why the development of the practitioner is so crucial to the development of the Trager Approach. The bodywork is really only as advanced as is the practitioner's own experience in "letting go" and "hooking up" to a larger reality and possibility for each client.

The extensive training I have received to be a certified TRAGER practitioner has resulted in its influencing everything I do! So it is no wonder that the natural affinity of free flowing water in the WATSU pool facilitates the Trager suggestions of fluid movement, unbounded space, grace, beauty and easy flexibility. As practitioners, we constantly ask, "What could be easier?" This question has influenced my choice of home and lifestyle. Deciding never to leave the warm, balmy breezes of Hawaii, I live right next to Kalani (a three minute walk to the massage rooms and WATSU pool) in a bamboo cottage crafted in Vietnam with my partner. I balance my love of this work (willing to do a session almost anytime night or day) with the relaxation of reading and writing in the cottage or puttering in the garden. My stress level has decreased significantly, allowing me to nurture a sense of equilibrium that accompanies me into each massage session.