Trager®, Mindful Movement, & Reiki and Energy Medicine

By Robbin Phelps

Who I am | Trager® | Mindful Movement | Reiki and Energy Medicine | Contact

All my experience convinces me that matters both large and small, of physical and non-physical origin, in any stage of life, can be most fully met with care, lightness and deep acceptance. I am grateful to see transformations so often – finding new mobility, losing long-standing pain, remembering forgotten joy, releasing old burdens, navigating life transitions, or simply destressing.

My work weaves together many disciplines, as I am a Trager® Approach practitioner, a Reiki master, an energy medicine practitioner, a licensed massage therapist, and a licensed social worker. All life experiences shape who we are - we do not leave anything behind - so I also bring my background in music, tutoring, and computers. At this stage, I am absolutely delighted to work with my hands, as well as my head and heart. While much session time may be spent at a treatment table (picture massage therapy table), the work frequently progresses through moving around the room and talking, as we follow healing where it wants to go.

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Based on the conviction that physical change follows a change of mind, Dr. Trager developed a unique and highly effective method that skillfully reaches the nervous system by addressing the body in singular ways.

Dr. Milton Trager recognized well before contemporary knowledge on neuroplasticity that new information introduced to areas in the unconscious mind, gently and with skill, activates positive neurological changes which improve movement patterns. He referred to his work as psychophysical integration.

Trager® Approach Practitioners work in a calm, cultivated, meditative state, what Dr. Trager called "hook-up." Using the language of touch and movement they promote sensory awareness and ease of movement. Trager® sessions include gentle bouncing, stroking, elongations and a variety of playful body movements received in a calming, pleasurable atmosphere. Cumulative in nature, this work promotes ease, physical mobility, and a renewed lasting awareness of agelessness.

A mental, emotional and physical education, Trager® sends clients into the world with the physical efficiency and coordination that leads to effortless movement. Milton Trager called this feeling a place beyond relaxation, a place of peace.

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We move comfortably in Mindful Movement, exploring and inquiring into sensation and into qualities we want to embody, such as lightness or ease. This is a mind-body practice that brings our awareness and presence to our bodies and to this moment where we find our own calm peaceful place, and we open to the possibility of more freedom for mind and body. There are no moves to learn; it is simply an on-going practice of being with the body in movement. We find that tension eases, muscle tone balances, and injuries find healing and support. In this practice, we find the mind settling into its own spaciousness.

Mindful Movement is integral to the Trager® Approach, and is included in Trager® sessions, where it may go by the term Mentastics®, coined by Milton Trager. I love offering this work in and of itself for its accessibility and effectiveness. I invite you to engage with your own sensation and inquiry into movement in this way! An individual session can address your specific situation; my Zoom class offers a weekly hour to explore where movement takes us.

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Energy Medicine is a broad term covering myriad ways that we can interact with the energy systems of the body, i.e., acupuncture meridians, chakras, aura, emotion centers, and more. I have been practicing energy medicine for more than twenty years, having apprenticed with bio-energetic healer and medical intuitive Reverend Sue Greer, and undertaken many hours of personal, professional, and spiritual development that are part and parcel of this journey. In this work, the whole of the person is addressed in a fashion that fits them at that time, be it verbally, with light touch, no touch, or through physical movement. Nature, the elements, intention, and guides are among my influences in energywork. Benefits include clarity of mind, pain relief, emotional release, increased energy, and a sense of peace and calm.

Reiki is a specific form of energy healing, about 100 years old, that is profound in its simplicity, offering Universal Life Energy to another. It is used world-wide in hospitals, clinics, offices and homes to provide pain relief, speed healing, improve mental attitude and reduce the negative effects of medication and other medical procedures. As a Reiki Master, I can teach and empower other Reiki practitioners.

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Robbin Phelps

(202) 288-9017

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