There is an effective, gentle method of emotional self-healing called Focusing. Although it can be done well with another person, it can also be done on your own and is a simple technique. Developed by an American psychotherapist called Eugene Gendlin, it could be seen as having the same goals as Tantric Journey but without using physical touch. Consequently, it can be used alongside our deep tissue massage or on its own, if you are still unsure at this stage about receiving bodywork. Gendlin taped a large number of psychotherapy sessions, and got his researchers to look for some difference between those clients who got better and those who didn’t. He identified a common factor in those who got better, irrespective of other aspects of the therapy. He then, as it were, siphoned off this factor, developed and formalised it into Focusing. Essentially, Focusing involves moving away from your head and looking inside your body; noticing any sensations; choosing one to work with; saying hello to that sensation;noticing it; looking for any characteristics of the sensation such as colour, shape, texture etc and in particular if the sensation has an emotional aspect, what it feels. Then checking with the sensation – yes talking to the area of sensation – to see if the emotional label is correct or needs any adjustment; finally, asking the sensation what it needs before seeking permission to say good-bye for the time being. All this can be done in 15-30 minutes. Personally, I don’t find Gendlin for all he has given us, the clearest or most eloquent of communicators. I like the beautiful description of this approach given in the short audio book by Ann Weiser Cornell (available in AudibleUK, part of Amazon) called The Power of Focusing – A Practical Guide to Emotional Self-Healing. Ann also has some videos of YouTube.
Why then have bodywork? What is so special about the Tantric Journey emotional release therapy is that it physically identifies where traumas have settled in the musculature; and works directly on such areas through touch, to enable a powerful release at a level that goes beneath the mind, to where they have been stored as stagnant energy. If you want to know more about this therapy or find out what I can offer in Grantham – easy to access by train from London or Leeds – then visit tantricjourney.com and you can find my details and those of other therapists in the Book a Tantric Therapist section.