Our co-founder Betty Fuller’s birthday happens to be April Fool’s Day, a fact which gave her great delight. In honor of her birthday and her birthing of the Trager organization, Gail Stewart wanted to share an excerpt from a piece written by John Holland, in memoriam…
When Esalen Institute offered a yearlong series of workshops, I enrolled….The registrar was a friendly guy in charge of the San Francisco Esalen Programs and said you will love Betty fuller. She’s an excellent mentor-leader.
The year was 1971 and I had just completed a year managing the Bishop’s Coffee House in downtown Oakland. Young adults sought the coffeehouse to find refuge ….A short list of major changes of traditional attitudes that were happening at that time included: sex, birth control, marriage, patriotism, religion and other social values. Esalen Institute and other educational institutions were confronting the challenge of personal and cultural change, modeling a freer life and reframing what it means to be human.
Betty Fuller’s presence loomed large in front of me when she greeted me at the Esalen registrar’s office. Betty was at least six foot two, weight about three hundred pounds. She was wearing a mu-mu bright with colorful flowers, and her cherub like face was shining with a thin, perspirant sheen. My slender muscular frame was pulled by her heavy arms to her cushioning bosom, where I nearly lost orientation, barely hearing her radio-announcer voice say “Welcome, John, we are going to have a grand time together this year.” I practically fell to the floor when she released me. From that moment, I was embraced by her power, her unconditional love, razor sharp intuition and love of life….At the end of that year, all twelve workshop members came away equipped to more fully serve our loved ones and work in our communities.
Betty was a successful schoolteacher and became a Gestalt practitioner of the Fritz Perls lineage. An excellent workshop leader, she encouraged world-acclaimed practitioners known for their healing abilities to teach others. When these distinguished healers hesitated, she used her training as an educator to help them develop instructional methods and models so others could become practitioners utilizing [their discoveries.]
There was much more I do not know of Betty’s life and work. However I was a close friend of hers when she convinced Dr. Milton Trager to teach his insightful process of touch and [movement.] Later, Betty organized the Trager Association, helping to formulate its standards of care and training programs.
In a tender moment we shared when seeing each other often Betty told me about some tragic experiences she had during her childhood. Regardless of the trauma, she modeled ways to deal with emotional damage, a great help to hundreds of people. [Gail’s note: Betty’s elective “Motion and Emotion” was a display of that vision and compassionate energy.]
I know of no higher tribute to Betty Fuller than to acknowledge how deeply she touched all of us who basked in her good humor and benevolent presence. Aloha, Betty.
Written by: John Holland, ‘09
[John is the late husband of Catrinka Holland, Trager Practitioner on the island of Hawaii. John himself was another larger-than-life character.]