General Discussion Of The Work

Part One of the book consists of a general discussion, the exercises to do each day and an explanation of proper breathing to go with the work. Part Two of the book covers each of the areas of the body from the forehead to the legs.

How To Read This Book

Each issue covered will be set out in a box. The box will appear before the detailed discussion. You can quickly get a general idea or the material by just reading what is in the boxes or you can use the boxes as a way to review.

There will be two types of boxes. A major box is shown as

Major boxes will cover an area of information. A minor box is shown as:

Minor boxes will provide a preview summary of the material discussed subsequently in detail.

Occasionally I have a point that I want to emphasize. That does not mean the point is more important, it means that if you keep it in mind it will help a great deal with your work. An emphasis point will be shown as:

In learning all these exercises (in doing this work) I would suggest that you first just read through both parts of the book to get an overall idea of the possible extent of the work. This read will be rather daunting in that it will seem to present so much material that it will be impossible for you ever to learn it all. Don't worry about that. Just read through to get an overall idea of where you are going. Then start again with Chapter two and just learn the daily exercises. Spend a week or two just with the daily exercises until they are learned and practiced. Then re-read Chapters three and four. Now spend as long as it takes you to do a half reasonable job with the normal breathing as discussed in Chapters three and four. Even though there is then a lot to do with the breathing, still once you have at least partially mastered Chapters three and four, skip in your work to Chapter 11 and start work on your forehead and eyes.

You've been breathing all your life. You know how to breathe. What's the big deal? Wait till you try to breathe properly, you'll see what the big deal is. In any event, get this down as well as you think you can and then start with the material in Chapter five. Practice each of the breathing exercises there, one at a time in order, until you have learned each of them. Many, I can assure you ahead of time, you will not be able to do. Don't let that throw you. The idea at this time — at the beginning of the Reichian work that will occupy you for years to come — is just to make all these exercises a part of your fund of knowledge. In time, as the work progresses, because you have spent some time with each of the breathing exercises and made them part of your knowledge base, you will be able to use each as it seems appropriate in the course of your work.

What Is This Work

It is to be appreciated that Reichian therapy is psychotherapy. It is not mysticism, it is not meditation, it is not occult. It is not chakras or auras or meridians. It is psychotherapy. The major difference in Reichian therapy is that it approaches the psychotherapeutic process by working on the body.

The methods here were first developed by Wilhelm Reich and then added to by various practitioners including the author. Since Reich did not leave any detailed description of his technique, it is not possible to say with confidence which of the exercises presented are directly those used by Reich and which were added by other practitioners. The author was taught the therapy by Francis Regardie who practiced this therapy for over three decades. The author has been practicing the therapy for three and one half decades and thus this presentation bears the signature of over sixty five years of experience.

This book will not present the theory of body-based psychotherapy. That will be the task of a separate book designed for the practicing psychotherapist. It is clear that the theory of the therapy put forth by Reich is totally mistaken. It is ignored in this presentation. For those people who need, for personal reasons, to re-introduce Reich's sexual and/or energy theories into the practice, they may do so as they read and perhaps mark up their copy of this book.

Footnote 1. The author is 4th generation trained. From Reich to Dr. A; from Dr. A to Dr. B; from Dr. B to Dr. C; from Dr. C to Dr. Willis

Reichian therapy is a particularly powerful technique of therapy. Reichian therapy, by itself, can accomplish things that normal verbal therapy can not do. But body-based psychotherapy does not supplant or obviate normal verbal therapy. It is still the case that insight, self-understanding, is essential to any psychotherapeutic process.

It is by no means required that you be in some form of verbal therapy in order to make effective use of these procedures. Reichian therapy will do its job whether you are or are not also in verbal psychotherapy. But, as I will emphasize repeatedly, this is a powerful form of therapy and its power must be respected. I had one patient who took what little he had learned as a patient and then stopped therapy to do the work on his own at home. When he returned, he had done so much harm to himself that I refused to take him back into therapy. That story is not meant to scare you, it is meant to underscore the power of this approach and thus the need to proceed slowly.

A Minor Note On Repetition

There is, in this book, a non-trivial amount of repetition. Obviously, since I even mention it here, it is deliberate. There are some issues which are, in my view, so important that I would rather my reader be annoyed by the repetition than the point be lost in an otherwise reasonably lengthy book.

Repetition is annoying, not being aware of an issue can be dangerous.

A Note On Chapter 23

As you see, this is not a short book. There is a lot to cover and I have attempted to supply as much of the technique and theory as might be needed for the personal use of this therapy. Chapter 23 alone is over 100 pages long. By the time you get to Chapter 23, where I deal with the cognitive work you should do along with the body work, there may be a tendency to just skip that chapter and stop at the body work. I want to caution against that tendency. The cognitive work is essential for the body work to have its desired result. I urge you, at least once, to take the time to read Chapter 23. You may or may not be willing to undertake the more arduous work of observing yourself and using the exercises and techniques I provide in Chapter 23, but reading it at least once is a worthwhile investment of your time.