RESTORING POLYVAGAL HARMONY AND CORE MUSCULAR INTEGRATION UTILIZING THE TRAGER® APPROACH

Leverage the essential principles of Dr. Milton Trager’s seminal approach to touch and movement as a language that by their very nature are trauma-informed, non-invasive methods for reaching the unconscious mind and dissolving some of the deepest effects of trauma held in the musculature, those impacting the vagus nerve system.

Using the body as a handle to reach the mind for this dialogue and to establish a state of peace and safety, we’ll utilize a combination of compassionate, mindful attention, oscillatory mobilizations, and informed positional releases to follow the path of the vagus nerve to address and integrate the implicated skeletal muscle groups associated with the fight, fight or freeze response—those including trapezius, diaphragm, and psoas.

On the shoulders of your own well developed skills and coupled with a mindful presence, these concepts will enhance your capacity to restore tone to the Ventral Vagal System through the Neck/Shoulders/Rib cage of your clients to facilitate deep and positive interoception and social connection.  And the down regulation of the Dorsal Vagal Response through the diaphragm, abdomen and psoas/QL, will help to restore visceral harmony.   We’ll also build on the Mentastics to empower your clients to further the neuromuscular gains from this protocol to ensure lasting change through simple Trager® Mentastics:  mindful, somatic movement exercises.

About the Vagus Nerve:  Proper balance of vagus nerve response is essential for optimum health and well-being. The longest nerve in the human body, the vagus nerve originates in the brain stem and extends into the chest and abdomen. Carrying both motor and sensory information, it supplies innervation to the heart, major blood vessels, airways, lungs, esophagus, stomach, and intestines.

In addition, the vagus nerve stimulates the secretion of acetylcholine within the central nervous system.  Acetylcholine plays a role in motivation, arousal, attention, learning, memory including muscle memory, and REM sleep.  Acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter as well as a neuromodulator, also aids in reducing inflammation in all organs.  It modulates the release of other neurotransmitters, including dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, impacting the mood and the energy level.

Instructor: Michael Lear works with veterans and others managing effects of trauma and has been published on the subject. A Trager® Instructor, Michael has been practicing Trager® and other forms of bodywork since 1987. A dedicated mindfulness adherent (Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka) and Ashtanga Yoga Instructor, Michael’s lifelong commitment is to assist folks to be happy in their bodies and connected to those around them.