Energetic Therapy Support Protocol & Info

The Energy Jump Start Protocols

Using the Whack-A-Mole Energy Jump Start Protocol

My go to Energy Jump Start Protocol is The Whack-A-Mole Protocol which gets its name from the Whack-a-Mole Game as well as the colloquial use of the term to depict a situation characterized by repetitive hitting of a target. I like to use the Whack-A-Mole hitting exercise with beginning clients because it is a fun way to help them build a strong energetic charge in their body as well as mobilize their aggression which is often sorely lacking. To use the protocol, I instructed clients to vigorously hit a thick pillow placed in a chair with a tennis racket two hundred times. As they hit the pillow, they are to imagine that they are whacking all of the repeated attempts that their mole-like caretakers made to stifle and drive underground their move toward autonomy and independence as well as their reaching out for love and affection, for example. Having clients yell “No!” while hitting increases their energy charge and aggression.

(Note: Don’t forget to have your clients follow up after using these Energy Jump Start Protocol by using one of the Energetic Grounding Protocols below.)

Using The Bouncing Jump Start Protocol

For beginning clients who lack lower body strength, I like to have them bounce on a small trampoline while holding onto a pole or chair back for balance. Most beginning clients find the bouncing fun and it distracts them from what they see as the serious business of doing therapy. Having them hold their breath while bouncing and then take in a big breath after each holding of their breath increases the energy charge in their body.

Using the Hammer Heels Kicking Energy Jump Start Protocol

Another favorite energy jump start exercise for beginning clients who lack both upper and lower body strength is to have them do vigorous kicking while laying prone on their backside. The idea for this protocol comes from the pneumatic hammer, also called an air hammer. This type of kicking is reminiscent of the pneumatic hammer’s rapid percussion movement. I suggest that clients image their heels as air hammers which makes the exercise fun. To use the protocol, I instruct clients to lay back down on the floor and place a thick, heavy pillow or foam pad under their heels to protect them as they kick. Then, keeping their legs straight, they are to kick very rapidly on the pillow or pad as if their legs and heels are air hammers. They can imagine that they are hammering the stone or concrete edifices of their abusive caretakers to crush and pulverize them, for example. They are to kick in this way at least 200 times or until their legs tire, rest, and resume the air hammer kicking. This is repeated three to four times followed by energetic grounding. This exercise gets them breathing deeply and greatly increases the blood flow and energy movement in their body. It also is good for releasing tension and holding in t at he pelvis.

The Energetic Grounding Protocols

Using The Hair Pin Energetic Grounding Protocol

To use this protocol, I have clients bend at their waist to hang forward with their knees flexed slightly so that their fingers touch or nearly touch the floor.. Then, they are to straighten their knees and slowly push their rear end up toward the ceiling several times which puts stress on their hamstring muscles. Then they are to maintain this hair pin position in order to get a vibratory movement and eventually energetic streaming in their lower body. (The vibratory movement and streaming energy may take a while and a number of goes of using this protocol before clients report feeling vibratory and streaming movement of energy strongly, but it is the goal, as it is with all of the Energetic Grounding Protocols.)

Using The Downhill Energetic Grounding Protocol

This protocol gets its name from the downhill ski racing position in which skiers go into a semi-crouch by flexing their knees and lean forward with their body weight on the balls of the feet. This position puts stress on the calf and hamstring muscles thus leading eventually to a vibratory movement and energy streaming in the lower body and later in the upper body as well. This is my favorite energetic grounding positions which I have used for years to quickly induce pleasurable streaming sensations in my lower body which often move into my upper body. This leaves me feeling extremely grounded, relaxed, and ready for activity or sleep. I use it regularly, especially when I have difficulty letting down before sleeping or giving a speech, for example. To use the Downhill Ski Energetic Grounding Protocol with clients, I ask them to take a normal stance with their feet placed on the floor about 6 to 10 inches apart. Then I ask them to imagine that they are on skis doing a downhill ski run. They are to lean forward, flex their knees and lower their butt so they are in a crouch with their weight mostly on the balls of their feet. They are to extend their arms outward as if holding ski poles. (I like to hand them two 36-48 inch long dowel rods, which they can hold, one in each hand, as if they are ski poles, to help them keep their balance.) They are to stay in this downhill ski position, moving slowly from side to side and up and Dow as if making wide turns, until a vibratory movement and eventually energy streaming develops in their lower body. With beginning clients, this may require quite a number of repetitions and rest periods for the vibratory movement, and eventual streaming movement, to develop strongly. However, if clients’ legs are very rigid, it make take even more repetitions and some time for the vibratory, and, especially, the energy streaming movement to develop.

Using the Bridge Energetic Grounding Protocol

For beginning clients who have difficulty becoming energetically grounded, this protocol often works like magic. The protocol gets its name from the arched appearance of the body which resembles a bridge spanning the running water of a brook. It is literally a bridge to doing energetic grounding.

To use this protocol, I have clients lay backside down on a mat with their knees in a raised position and their feet placed flat on the floor. Then, they are to raise their pelvis off the floor into an arched stretch. Next, they are to lower their butt so that it is about an inch above the floor. They are to relax their pelvic floor by pushing outward as if having a bowel movement and maintain this position until they tire of doing it. As they do so, they usually develop a vibratory movement in their lower body which eventually will lead to pleasurable streaming in their musculature when repeatedly done over a period of time. However, if their thigh and calf muscles are very tense and contracted, their lower body may spasm or buck repeatedly as the energy flow downward slams into these tense and contracted muscles creating a jerking or jumping movement. If this happens, they are to continue the exercise and eventually the jerking/bucking movement will become a vibratory one as the tense holding in these muscles begin to release allowing energy to flow through them more easily.

When clients tire of maintaining the bridge position, they are to lower their butt to the floor and relax. The exercise is then repeated several times. To strengthen the effect of the exercise, I suggest that they image running water beneath their bridged body, feeding their energy and spirit. This bridge position will build an energy charge, vibration, and eventually streaming in their body which, with intention, can be moved downward into their legs and feet as well as upward into their belly and torso, and even into their chest, arms, hands, and face/head.

Using the Backup Energetic Grounding Protocol

This is a great Energetic Grounding Protocol to use in a group therapy setting. It gets its name from the back to back position used to do the exercise which helps clients literally feel supported and backed up by an assist person. Energy streaming tends to move along the toned muscles of the spine. It is referred to as pleasurable Kundalini energy or feel good orgasmic energy. It is also felt as chills running up and down the spine when frightened, for example. Helping beginning trauma clients feel pleasurable streaming in their spine is no easy task. However, I find that the Backup Energetic Grounding Protocol can do wonders in helping with this challenge.

I use the Backup Energetic Grounding Protocol in my therapy groups as well as in my individual sessions with clients. To use this protocol in a group setting, I have the group members pair off and then stand back to back with one person being the Focus Person and the other acting as the Assist Person. The Focus Person is to stand in such a way that she/he feels supported when leaning back against the Assist Person’s back. This can be done by having the Assist Person place one foot ahead of the other in a braced stance or by using a wall for bracing. The Focus Person is to lean back against the Assist Person’s back, making full back to back contact.

I then have the back-to-back pairs check to see if the middle of their backs are making full contact. If one or both have an inward curve of the backbone, caused by muscular tension, then I have them insert a rolled up towel of the right size to fill the space. They are then to move their feet outward so that they lean strongly on each other. This puts stress on their legs and will often cause a vibratory movement in them. I instruct the Focus Person to relax and rest in this position in order to take in the feeling of being supported and backed up by the Assist Person. As the Focus Person’s tense back muscles release, the curvature of the spine will reverse, allowing the backbone to make contact with the Assist Person’s back without using the towel (assuming that the Assist Person and the Focus Person have a normal curvature of their spines). This position will build a strong energetically grounded charge in the Focus Person’s body.

I instruct the Focus Person to take in the feeling of being supported and backed up, and simply be with any emotional feelings that surface such as fear, sadness, anger, or joy. To strengthen the effect of this exercise, I suggest that the Focus Persons doing the exercise picture in their minds taking in the love and support that they have always longed for from their childhood caretakers. I suggest that they express any emotions, feelings, thoughts, and memories that surface. When they begin to tire in this back-to-back position, I have the pairs stop the exercise and then repeat it as needed. I have them do energetic grounding as the final step. When clients do this exercise, they often report feeling their spine for the first time as being present and strong. It is also not unusual for them to report feeling pleasurable streaming in their spine for the first time.

To use the Backup Energetic Grounding Protocol in an individual therapy session, you as the therapist can take the role of the Assist Person or have the client invite a family member or friend to attend the session and assume the Assist Person role.

Energetic Protocols for Facilitating Client-directed Energetic Therapy:

The Client Is In Charge Agreement Protocol

As a therapist, use this Client Is In Charge Agreement before starting client self-directed energetic trauma healing therapy with your clients:

We, the undersigned client and therapist, agree to conduct our energetic therapy sessions as follows:

1. The client is in charge of self-directing the energetic therapy process, and will act as an equal member with the therapist to develop the therapy treatment plan.

2. The therapist will act as the client’s assist person, suggesting therapeutic interventions for the client’s consideration, guiding and coaching the client in the energetic therapeutic process, teaching the client the therapeutic skills and knowledge needed to move the energetic therapy forward, asking for feedback from the client regarding the therapeutic process and progress, and be open to and follow up on the client’s suggestions and feedback for improving the energetic therapy.

Client’s signature________________________________ Date________

Therapist’ signature_________________________________ Date________

Energetic Protocols To Work Through Resistance:

Using the Spontaneous Movement Protocol to Work Through Internal Resistance

Here are the steps to use the Spontaneous Movement Protocol to Work Through Your Resistance

1. When you become aware that your emotional brain alarm has gotten triggered thus creating a resistance in you which is blocking you from moving forward with your energetic healing work, set an intention to work through it by tapping the wisdom of your spontaneous movements to get your energetic therapy going forward again.

2. Then, do more energetic grounding. Although additional energetic grounding will often not completely remove your fear and shut off your over reactive emotional brain alarm or your inner judge which is telling you not to move forward with your trauma healing work due to a perceived danger in doing so, it can help reduce your fear and turn down your brain alarm enough so that you can more effectively use the Spontaneous Movement Protocol to work through whatever is keeping you from moving forward.

3. Then, use the Spontaneous Movement Protocol to work though and over come the resistance that is stalling your energetic therapy. Remember that your own cellular wisdom will often take you energetically deeper into your fear and internal resistance in order to work through it. Unless you understand and work through your fear and resistance on an energetic and emotional level, it will remain in your energetic holding defense’s brain alarm center where it will continue to create the urge to flee, avoid, deny, freeze, fight, argue, blame, self-blame, and other stalling and resisting behaviors.

4. Do more energetic grounding such as using the Downhill Ski, Hair Pin, or Wall Sit Energetic Grounding Protocols, for example. When you are energetically well grounded, move to step 5.

5. Set an intention to work though your fear and internal resistance which is keeping you from moving forward with your energetic healing work. (See the Setting Your Intention Protocol below.)

6. Next, go to a still point in your body and mind. To do this take a deep breath and let your body become quiet by ceasing all physical movement and thought.

7. Then, wait for a spontaneous movement to arise from your body that will help your work through your fear and internal resistance. Do not think about what your energetic movement might be or talk about it which will put you into your mind rather than connect you to the spontaneous movement which will tap into the inner wisdom of your body. Have confidence that this spontaneous movement will arise from your body without thinking about it. The spontaneous movement that comes might be only a very slight one such as a twitch of your finger, a tilt of your head, a rocking from one foot to the other, an unseen shiver, or many other seemingly insignificant body movements and impulses. Or it might be a more obvious spontaneous movement which normally you would simply ignore. However, these slight or more obvious spontaneous movements are not insignificant. Rather, they are the key to moving you forward in your energetic therapy. If you missed initial spontaneous movement, simply use the next one that will arise from your body.

8. Identify the spontaneous movement that arises and follow it wherever it leads, expressing the feelings, thoughts, and memories connected to it, and letting it expand and lead to the next spontaneous movement and emotive/memory expressions, and so on. This is your own cellular wisdom speaking its mind. Repeating the spontaneous movement or movement sequence will help you fix it in your consciousness. If the originating energetic movement or impulse is only a slight one, amplify and exaggerate it to see where this leads. Do not talk about the movement at this point, or guess what your next energetic movement might be, where it will lead, or what it means. Let the energy in your body move you in a physical way without verbalization, except to express a memory or emotive thought that is connected to the movement. If you find yourself wanting to verbalize and analyze what is going on, then this may well be a form of resistance within you as well.

9. When the spontaneous movement/s is clearly established in a repeated and amplified or exaggerated form, continue to make, repeat or amplify the spontaneous movement/s, and express your feelings, emotions, thoughts, and memories that are connected to the movement/s. Express these feelings, emotions, thoughts, and memories as you make and repeat the energetic movement/s. If you have difficulty identifying or expressing your emotions, set your intention to do so and then simply keep repeating the energetic movement/s until the feelings and emotions that are tied to it come. Or, you can simply wait for another spontaneous movement to arise from your body and then follow where it leads by expressing your feelings, thoughts, and memories connected to it. If you still have difficulty accessing and expressing your feelings and emotions, try using theBunker Busting Protocol described below.

10. As your spontaneous movement/s arises from your body, ask yourself the question, “What memories, emotive thoughts, feelings, or key words go with my spontaneous movement/s?” Emotive thoughts and words have an emotional tone of sadness, fear, anger or joy connected to them. Wait for your emotive thoughts or key words to arise. When they do, voice them aloud. Repeat them as you repeat your energetic movement/s so that your thoughts and key words are combined with them. When thoughts and feelings arise, they should be limited to only a few words or a phrase at the most; otherwise, your words can take you out of your felt-body sensation and feelings and into your mind as a form of further resistance.

11. Sometimes a sound will help move you forward Also, an increase in the volume of your voice as you amplify the force of your energetic movements will help. This increase of voice volume and strengthening of energetic movement can often help you find and express your feelings and emotions.

12. Continue the above process by identifying and following any subsequent spontaneous movements and expressing the feelings, emotions, memories, emotive thoughts and key words, and sounds that are connected to them. By simply following your own spontaneous movements and energy flow, and expressing the emotional content and memories connected to them, your own internal cellular wisdom will help you work through your fear and internal resistance and thus move your energetic trauma healing therapy forward..

The Toxic Shame Busting Protocol

Part A: Covering the Shame Filled Client

When trauma clients encounter toxic shame that shuts them down during their trauma healing work, suggest that they allow themselves to be covered with sheet or blanket. If they agree, simply place the sheet or blanket gently over their head so that the top half of their body is completely covered. Then, allow them to experience being under this covering. Often shame filled clients who are covered in this way will visibly let down and relax as well as comment on how good it feels to not be seen all of which confirm the benefits of the covering. If these clients do not relax or find the covering to their liking, check in with them to ask about what is going on for them. Then, simply respond to their feedback as appropriate. At some point, the clients who liked the covering will want the covering removed and can then proceed forward with their trauma healing work. If they do not ask to have the covering removed, again check in with them to ask how they want to proceed. One possibility is to ask if you can join them under the covering and do the validating & extolling in part B below. Whatever their response is, take your cue from them. Go to Part B when and if they are ready.

Part B: Extolling the Shame Filled Client

Using this extolling part of the Toxic Shame Busting Protocol requires that the therapist, group members, or family members know the client who is to be extolled quite well; if this is not the case, then the therapist, group members, or family members will need to do some research to learn the strengths, abilities, and accomplishments of the client in order for this part to work.

The validating & extolling steps are quite simple. Step 1 is for the client to agree to get validated & extolled—this is to say, to receive high praise from the therapist, family members, and/or group members. Step 2 is for the therapist, family member/s and/or group members to extol the client—this is to say, to give the client high praise and validation for his/her strengths, talents, abilities, accomplishments, values, and character traits. If this protocol is used in a family or group setting, then the whole family or group is to extol the client. Step 3 is for the therapist to check in with the client to see if he/she was able to take in the high praise and validation. If the client was unable to take in the extolling statements, then some therapeutic work has to be done with the client to remove the block/s that prevents him/her from taking in the extolling.

The ground rules for this part of the extolling exercise are as follows: in a group or family setting, those giving the high praise to the client are to each take a turn doing so and to not use qualifying words like ‘sometimes, mostly, usually, and on-the-other-hand’, for example. The client receiving the high praise is not to respond except to take in the extolling words, say thank, and refrain from commenting on the high praise received by diminishing it, downplaying it, and explaining it, for example.

The Take-It-In Protocol

There are times when Clients/Focus Persons are engaged in doing Energetic Therapy that it is very important for them to take in the positive feedback or validating words which they are receiving, such as when using the Validation, Extolling, and Advocate Protocols, for example. This Take-It-In Protocol can help them do so.

Instructions to the Therapist/Coach/Assist Person

Step 1: Ask the Client/Focus Person if she/he can take in the positive feedback/validating words. If the answer is no, ask the Client/Focus Person to repeat the positive feedback/validating/extolling words that are being given, and if there are errors, help him/her make the correction. If the answer is yes, go to step 2.

Step 2: Ask the Client/Focus Person to identify the part of the positive feedback/validating words that she/he is having difficulty taking in. Next, repeat the positive feedback/validating/extolling words which he/she finds difficult to take in. Then, ask if she/he is able to take in the feedback/words. If the Client/Focus Person is still having difficulty, help him/her identify the reason/s for this. Perhaps she/he is simply dismissing or diminishing the feedback/words, or his/her Inner Judge is negating the positive feedback/validating words. Or, it could be that guilt or shame is preventing the Client/Focus Person from taking in the feedback/words, or a past trauma, or an emotional block is causing the difficulty. Suggesting these possibilities might help. Also, the Client/Focus Person can use the Spontaneous Movement Protocol to help discover the answer.

Step 3: Do Energetic Therapy work with the Client/Focus Person, such as using the Spontaneous Movement Protocol, for example, to help her/him resolve the reason/s for difficulty.

Step 4: Have the Client/Focus Person repeat the positive feedback/validating/extolling words, and then, ask if he/she is able to take it in. If the answer is still no, repeat the steps above until the difficulty is worked through.

The Bunker Busting Protocol

If you are very well defended and have strong internal resistance which prevents you from accessing and expressing your feelings and emotions, use this Bunker Busting Protocol. It gets its name from the bunker busting bombs that the military uses to bust through defensive bunkers. However, the intent of this protocol is not to destroy your defenses, but rather to build an extremely strong energetic charge in your body that will help you overcome them and move your energetic therapy forward. To use the protocol simply follow these steps:

1. Choose a physical activity which is very strenuous, such as hitting a pillow with a tennis racket, for example. Then go at the activity full force! Do it until you are spent.

2. Then, rest. Before your breathing returns to normal, stand on your feet and let the feelings and emotions that are blocking you from moving ahead with your energetic therapy come from deep within you. As you do so, you are likely to find that they erupt spontaneously.

3. If you are still blocked, repeat the above steps.

The Speaking-Your-Resistance Protocol

The simplest and quickest protocol to use when something inside you is keeping you from moving forward with your trauma healing, is to speak your resistance/fear. By simply giving voice to your resistance/fear, it can empower you and allow you to move forward. To use this protocol, follow these steps:

1. Claim and speak your resistance/fear. Use phrases like, “I don’t want to go there because it is just too painful,” or “I don’t want to see this because it is too scary.” Find the truth of your resistance/fear and speak it.

2. Trust that what you say is the truth. Ask yourself, “Does what I am saying resonate with me?” If so, trust it. If it is wrong, you will discover this as you do more trauma healing work.

3. If your resistance/fear persists and does not transform itself into action when you claim and speak it, then look to see if your inner judge is online. If so, use The Inner Judge Protocol below.

Using The Silence Your Inner Judge Protocols

Silencing your inner judge, or inner critic voice, is accomplished when you get rid of your inner victim self—that is to say, when you fully heal yourself from having been a victim of childhood and adult trauma. Until that time, this helpless inner victim voice in your head tends to run in the background with little awareness on your part of how crippling and destructive it is in your life. It is part of your over reactive emotional brain alarm, and as such, needs to be rewired and eliminated. The following inner judge protocols can be very helpful in shutting down your inner judge until such time as you finally heal yourself fully and thus get rid of it for good by no longer feeling yourself as a victim. (See Byron Brown’s Soul Without Shame [1999] for more on this.)

The Dis-Identifying With Your Inner Judge Protocol

1. Recognize that you are identifying with your inner judge when you use the pronoun “I” to self-judge and self-attack either in your mind or aloud. For example, let’s say that your inner judge attacks you as being stupid. If, in your mind you phrase the self-judgment by saying, “I am stupid,” then by so doing, you identify yourself with your inner judge and in your mind there is no difference between you and your inner judge.

2. When you recognize that you are identifying with your inner judge, place the self-attack in its original context—that is, phrase it just the way you heard it as a child from outside yourself. State it using ‘you’ rather than ‘I’. Thus, for example, re-frame “I am stupid” by saying what you heard as child which was, “You are stupid.” In other words, you are re framing it by saying “My inner judge is saying that I am stupid.” By articulating the self-attack in this way, you separate yourself from the hostile judgment of your inner judge which in reality originated because a caretaker or someone outside of yourself judged you as stupid; doing this helps break the identification that you have with your inner judge.

3. Likewise, when you find yourself negatively judging others in your mind, know that this is also the voice of your inner judge projecting onto them your own self-judgment issues. If you make a sincere effort to examine these projections, you will discover that they serve as a mirror reflecting back to you things that you don’t like about yourself but which you have denied owning as such. To work with these projections, re-frame them so that it is clear that your inner judge is doing the attacking and not you. Thus, for example, instead of thinking, “He is stupid,” say, “My inner judge thinks he is stupid.” The “He is stupid” phrasing continues to foster your identification with your inner judge while the “My inner judge thinks he is stupid,” phrasing helps separate the judgment as coming from your inner judge’s voice rather than coming from you.

Using The Defending Against Your Inner Judge Protocol

When your inner judge is online running the show, your authentic self has little chance of shinning forth and helping you heal your childhood trauma. This Defending Against Your Inner Judge Protocol is designed to help you shut down your inner judge so that you can move ahead with your energetic trauma healing work. To use this protocol:

1. Identify the words that your inner judge uses to attack you.

2. Refute these attacks by calling out your inner judge. For example, say to your inner judge, “Your are a fraud!” (or a coward, a bully, an abuser, a molester, and so on). Keep it short and to the point. Do not engage with your inner judge by trying to reason with it or defend yourself. Use words like, “How dare you attack me that way!” or, “Knock it off you ignorant piece of crap!”

3. Speak your true feelings to your inner judge like saying, “It hurts me when you attack me that way. I just feel like giving up. And, I don’t want to feel this way, so stop hurting me and trying to run my life.”

4. Show disinterest in your inner judge’s attacks. Say things like, “I have no interest in your judgments,” or, “Your attacks on me are meaningless and a waste of time.”

5. To use this protocol in a group setting. choose someone from the group to role-play your inner judge. Give this person the words that your inner judge uses to attack you. Then, ask your role-played inner judge to use these words to attack you. Face your role-played inner judge and tell it to shut-up! Give it a good dressing down using words like, “You are not my friend! You are my enemy! All you care about is attacking me and cutting me down. I won’t have any more of your crap! So, get off my back!” Then turn your back on your role-played inner judge.

6. If you have difficulty shutting down your inner judge, choose someone to advocate for you against your inner judge and take in this advocacy until you can shut down your inner judge. (See The Advocate Protocol below for instructions on how to use it.)

The Toxic Energy Waste Dump Protocol

This is a very powerful protocol designed to activate your gag reflex. As a trauma victim, you were undoubtedly forced to swallow a lot of toxic energy waste in the form of ‘shoulds’ and ‘have-tos’ as well as other kinds of punitive and abusive actions from your childhood caretakers and abusers. This swallowing of toxic energy waste must have shut down your gag reflex. If you had to swallow a lot of toxic energy waste during your childhood, this protocol can be very useful in getting rid of it and stop you from swallowing more of it. To activate your gag reflex:

1. Upon arising in the morning, drink a full glass of water on an empty stomach.

2. Use a tongue depressor or the tail end of your tooth brush to gag yourself and throw up the water.

3. Repeat this toxic energy waste dump each morning for several weeks. Notice how open and free your throat, chest, and body feels after doing this toxic energy waste dump.

Energetic Protocols For General Use:

The Setting An Intentions Protocol

An alternative to personal goal setting is to simply set an intention to have something happen in your energetic therapy and then let your body wisdom bring it forth. Trusting your inner cellular wisdom by setting an intention avoids the total reliance on your rational mind which can betray you. Setting an intention and then letting it unfold allows you to rely on the total wisdom of your body including your rational mind. If you wish, you can also use The Setting Your Intention Protocol to manifest something that you want to have happen in your life or in a therapy session to move your energetic therapy forward. To use this protocol, follow these steps:

1. Set your intention in your mind and then say it aloud to yourself, to your therapist, or to your assist person, or by writing it down. In a therapy session, use the sentence stem “It is my intentions to ___________”, and fill in the blank. For example, “It is my intention to release the muscle and pain in my knee.” Outside of the therapy situation, use the same sentence stem, and fill in the blank with your stated intention. For example, here is one of my intentions written in this style; “It is my intention to do public zoom workshops to train trauma therapists and clients in how to use the self-directed energetic trauma healing approach presented in this handbook.”

2. Do not fill in the blank with a specific time or date that you want the intention to manifest, or with other details such as how you will manifest your intention. Let your own cellular wisdom fill in these details. The reason for this is that, in my experience, your own cellular wisdom will move you through a process that is much richer and more meaningful in terms of therapy outcomes, personal growth, or life lessons when you do not use your rational mind to control how your intention manifests. Setting an intention may result in an immediate outcome in an energetic therapy therapy session or it may initiate a process that takes you on a journey of exploration and adventure, teaching you the life lessons that you need to learn along the way.

3. Let your intention manifest as it will. Do not continually focus on it with your rational mind as if it is an objective or goal to be managed, driven, and coerced into being. Simply set your intention, put it out to the universe, and let it manifest according to the direction of your own inner wisdom along with the higher wisdom of the universe.

The Advocate Protocol

This is a very powerful protocol which may be used in a role play to confront your childhood abusers. It gets its name from court room in which abused victims have an attorney advocate on their behalf against their abusers. It is most effectively used in a group therapy, workshop, or co-counseling setting in which others can play the role of your abuser/s. To use this follow these steps:

1. Ask someone that you trust to serve as your advocate. Have your advocate step in front of you so that you face your advocate’s back. Place your hands upon your advocate’s shoulders so that you feel connected to her/him. If this does not feel right, ask your advocate to move into the position that does feel right such as to stand beside or behind you, for example.

2. Then, have your advocate confront your imaginary childhood caretakers or other persons who abused, hurt, or frightened you as a child, In a group setting, group members can role play these childhood caretakers and/or abusers.

3. Tell your advocate what you want to hear him/her say and do on your behalf with regard to the imagined childhood caretakers or abusers. Your assist person then advocates on your behalf, following your instructions. If your advocate does not get it right, provide further detailed instructions. At some point, you may wish to have your assist person step aside and advocate for yourself.

5. As your assist person advocates and stands up for you, take in the feeling and experience of having someone advocate for you. Feel the strength that this creates in you.

6. Use your newfound courage and strength to work through your fear and internal resistance so that you can continue your energetic healing work.

Muscle Holding Release Protocols

The Air Hammer Protocol

1. To use this protocol, lay on your back on the carpeted floor and bend your knees so that your feet on placed flat on the floor. Place a folded blanket under your butt.

2. Raise your butt off the floor into a good stretch.

3. Slam your butt down on the folded blanket with some force.

4. Rapidly repeated this movement of slamming your butt down on the folded blanket so that it resembles the action of an air hammer.

The Upper Body Energetic Pressure Roll/Roller/Stool Protocol

The level of energetic charge in your body and therefore the level of energy you have for living and healing is very dependent upon your breathing. If your breathing is shallow or paradoxical you will have less energetic charge in your body. Paradoxical breathing occurs when you breathe in and your belly contracts rather than expands. If you breathe deeply and fully, letting your breath expand your belly first and then expand into your upper chest, you will have more energetic charge in your body. The energetic tools described below are for softening, loosening, and releasing the muscular holding in the upper torso, chest, and diaphragm which tend to limit full respiration.

Here are three upper body tools that are designed to put pressure on the tense muscles of the back, chest, and diaphragm to help release the muscle and fascia holding in them. They are the pressure roll, pressure roller, and the pressure stool. Each is used to put differing amounts of stress on the musculature with the pressure roll putting the least stress and the pressure stool providing the most stress.

The pressure roll can be a do-it-yourself one made from a blanket or several towels rolled into a six to eight inches in diameter roll which is at least fifteen inches in length. Or, you can purchase a 6 inch diameter form roller on Amazon.com which works very well. Also, a large diameter foam pool noodle cut to size can be used. The pressure roller is made by using a length of large plastic pipe or a stiff cardboard concrete form that is about twelve inches in diameter and at least fifteen inches in length on which a 2 inch thick foam pad is attached with glue; this foam is covered by a length of carpeting that is glued on and held in place by cut out circles of plywood that are jammed into over lapping carpet on the ends. The pressure stool resembles a short 24 inch tall stool that is made with non-collapsible legs; it must be made to hold your weight safely as you lay over it on your back or chest . On top of the stool, a blanket or towel roll like the one described above is placed on the stool top and secured by straps attached to the stool or a lip on the edges of the stool to keep the roll on the stool. A common short three step stepladder will also work in place of a homemade stool but it must be made secure by attaching steel straps to the legs so that it will not fold up while leaning back over it.

To use this protocol:

1. Select the pressure roll, roller, or stool that works best for you, depending upon your comfort level and the degree to which you can tolerate the stress created by the selected tool as it works to help open your breathing and soften your chest, back, and diaphragm muscles. If you are unsure of which pressure tool will work best for you, start with the pressure roll and then move up to the roller or stool as your comfort level allows.

2. Lay over the selected pressure tool on your back. To start, rest your back on the roll, roller, or stool roll just below your shoulder blades, or somewhere near them depending upon your comfort level. Let the weight of your body create the pressure and stress to open up and deepen your breathing while softening your back and diaphragm muscles.

3. Making sound can also help open your breathing. Simply say the word, “No” and hold it out until you run out of breath, and so on, doing several repetitions.

4. Maintain this position until you feel your breathing open and deepen, and your tense back and chest muscles soften and release some of their holding, or until the position becomes too uncomfortable.

5. Then, when you are ready, come off the pressure tool and rest.

6. When you are rested, repeat the above steps at least one or two more times.

You can also change where your back rests on the pressure roll, roller, or stool roll. You can do this easily on the pressure roller by simply rolling upward and downward on it. This will challenge different areas of holding in your back, chest, and diaphragm muscles depending upon where your back rests on the roll, roller, or stool roll. Although your back is on the roll or roller, the tension in your chest and diaphragm muscles will also be affected and released to a large extent unless you need additional pressure or massage work. To add additional stress to help release the muscle and fascia holding, use dumbbell weights of various sizes by holding them in your hands extended outward and backward from your shoulders at arms length and in various directions. Also, you can lay on your chest over the roll or roller which puts stress directly on your chest muscles.

The roll and roller can also be used to help release the muscle holding in your lower back. To use them for this, lay over the roll or roller with it placed under your lower back to release the holding there.

The Lower Body Energetic Pressure Roll/Roller/Stool Protocol

Here are four lower body tools that are designed to put pressure on the tense muscles of the pelvis, hamstrings, calf muscles and feet to help release the muscle and fascia holding in them. They are the pressure roll, pressure roller, pressure stool, and Foot Savers. Each is used to put stress on different parts of the lower body’s musculature to help release the tension in these muscles. Three of these tools—the pressure roll, pressure roller, and the pressure stool are described above in the upper body energetic pressure roll/roller/stool section. The Foot Savers can be found on Amazon.com and resemble pinky balls or hard rubber balls about the size of a handball cut in half or you can use pinky balls or hard rubber balls by cutting them in half. The Foot Savers or cut rubber balls are placed on the floor, flat side down, and help to release tense muscles in the feet by standing on them.

To use this protocol:

1. Identify the part of the body that you want to address to release the muscle tension there. Then, select the pressure tool or tools that are designed to help release this muscle tension. Use the A, B, or C instructions below for your choice:

A. To release muscle tension in the pelvis, you have several tool choices. The pressure roll can be used with a minimum of discomfort by placing it under your buttock and laying on it for 5 to 20 minutes or so. The pressure roller is the next most stressful and is used by placing it under your buttocks and then rolling back and forth for a period of time. The pressure stool is the most stressful tool and is used by placing your buttock on the stool roll with your lower body stretched down on one side of the stool and your upper body stretched down on the other side of the stool. Care must be used when using the pressure stool in this way and perhaps is best used with an Assist Person helping you so that you do not fall off the stool accidentally.

B. To release muscle tension in the hamstring and calf muscles, use the 6 inch form roller for this. To use the foam roll, lay flat on the floor and place the roll under and near the lower end of the hamstring or calf muscle. For the least pressure, simply rest this muscle on the roll for 10 to 30 seconds to let gravity do its work. Then, move the roll up an inch or two on the muscle and maintain this position for a period of time, and so on until the full length of the muscle has been addressed in this way. To increase the pressure on the muscle, place your free leg on top of the leg at the point where the pressure roll is being used.

C. To release muscle tension in your feet, place the Foot Savers or cut in half rubber ball flat side down on the floor and then stand on them starting at the center of your feet. Maintain this position until it becomes uncomfortable to do so, and then shift stepping on them so that a different part of your feet is addressed, and so on.

2. Then, when you are ready, come off the pressure tool being used and rest.

3. When you are rested, repeat the above exercise choice at least one or two more times.

The Just Be-With-Your-Feelings Protocol

1. When you feel pain, fear, grief, anger, shame, guilt, helplessness, despair or any other painful feeling or emotion, stay with your feelings. Simply be with them and express them.

2. If you find yourself wanting to stop the feelings or distract yourself from being in them and expressing them, check in with yourself to see if something inside you such as fear or alarm is blocking you from moving ahead. If so, work through your fear or alarm to remove it with the Spontaneous Movement Protocol, for example.

The Tracking Questions Protocol

In using the Spontaneous Movement Protocol, I have referred to the use of tracking questions to help clients and focus persons keep on track in doing their trauma healing work. Here are some useful tracking questions:

1. Do you need to do more energetic grounding?

2. Do you need additional support? If so, what kind of support do you want?

3. What do you want to set as an intention for your trauma healing work today?

4. Do you need a stronger energetic charge in your body in order to move forward?

5. Do you want to let a spontaneous movement arise from your body that will help you realize your intention?

6. What are the feelings or emotions that go with your spontaneous movement?

7. Do you have any memories connected to your spontaneous movement?

8. What are your thoughts which are connected to your spontaneous movement?

9. Do you want to repeat your spontaneous movement?

10. Do you want to amplify or exaggerate your spontaneous movement to see where it leads next?

11. What is the sound that goes with your spontaneous movement?

12. Do you want to turn up your voice volume to help you move forward?

13. What do you want to do right now?

14. Are you aware of any internal resistance, fear, inner judge voice, or an alarm going off inside you which is, in effect, telling you that there is danger in moving forward?

15. Is your inner judge voice online trying to stall your forward progress? The use of the word ‘should’ or the phrase, ‘part of me’ as well as self-judgmental, self-attacking and self-deprecating statements and behaviors are clues that your inner judge is online.

16. Is your inner victim voice online? The use of words or behaviors that indicate a feeling of being small, helpless, or very young are clues that your inner victim is online.

17. What is the validation or blessing that you need to hear right now in order to shut down your inner victim and inner judge voices?

18. Are your words serving as a form of resistance that is keeping you from moving ahead with your energetic healing work? Words that come simultaneously with the movement or precede the movement are clues that internal resistance is online.

19. What is at risk if you follow your spontaneous movements wherever they lead?

20. Where in your past has this happened to you?

21. Is there another Energetic Support Protocol that might help you move ahead with your energetic healing work right now.

22. When you tune into your own cellular wisdom or intuition right now, what does it tell you to do?