What does a session of the Metamorphic Technique involve?
A session usually lasts for about an hour. The recipient removes their shoes and socks and may be either sitting or lying down. The practitioner uses a light touch on the spinal reflex points in the feet, hands and head. Sessions are non-diagnostic: the practitioner does not seek to address specific symptoms or problems, so there is no need to take a case history. Some people may wish to talk about it and that is fine, but it is not necessary.
Metamorphic Technique practitioners work in a detached way. This does not mean that they don’t care. It simply means that they do not make judgements, impose their will or seek to direct the other person’s life force in any way. This creates an environment in which that person’s life force is free to do whatever is needed. The person is empowered to be his or her own healer. Most people find sessions very pleasant and relaxing.
Is the Metamorphic Technique a therapy?
The Metamorphic Technique is not a therapy or a treatment, as it is not concerned with addressing specific symptoms or problems. There is no need for practitioners to know about your personal or medical history. The Technique is gentle, non-invasive and completely safe. It can be used on its own or alongside conventional medicine or alternative and complementary therapies. It is easy to learn and, since no special abilities or background are needed, it is accessible to everyone.
Whereas people may seek medicine or therapy because they want to be healed of something, they come to the Metamorphic Technique because they want to transform their patterns. It is an empowering tool for enabling people to ‘get out of their own way’, let go of past limitations and move forward in their lives.
What happens after a session?
Practitioners cannot predict or guarantee what will happen after a session because this depends on each person’s own life force, which is unique. People often feel energised or relaxed, or both. As their energy shifts, people may sometimes re-experience some past symptoms or some emotional upset over a day or two. This is all part of the process of bringing up old patterns to be released. Thankfully, while the life force can bring about great shifts, they always seem to be at a level that people can cope with.
In some cases changes are immediately noticeable, while in others they are more subtle. These changes can range from significant improvements in physical, mental or emotional health to general feelings of having more energy and confidence, releasing old habits or gradually letting go of past hurts. People often report significant changes in the way they see life and how they feel about themselves; in many cases they experience a growing sense of purpose and inner strength and may find themselves changing their job, moving house, leaving a relationship or finding a new one as their life ‘gets on track’. Some people have described it like ‘coming home to themselves’.
One thing that is noticed time and again as people receive sessions, is that they change for the better.
How many sessions are needed and how often?
It is entirely up to each person to determine the number and frequency of sessions received. Some people have regular weekly sessions, while others have sessions every so often or when they feel the need. As everyone is different, practitioners cannot predict how long it will take for changes to happen. Sometimes people begin to notice changes after just one session; for others it may take weeks or even months. Each person’s life force will bring about changes in whatever timescale is right for them. While changes may not always be immediate, they do tend to be permanent.
Is the Metamorphic Technique suitable for everyone?
Yes. The Metamorphic Technique is gentle, non-invasive and completely safe. As it is the person’s own life force that does the healing, it cannot do any harm. It can be safely used by anyone including children, pregnant mothers and people who are dying.
The Technique can be received on its own or alongside other approaches, whether conventional medicine or alternative and complementary therapies.
What can the Metamorphic Technique do for me?
As the name suggests, the Metamorphic Technique is concerned with change and transformation, which can occur on a number of levels – physical, mental, emotional and behavioural.
While practitioners cannot predict the outcome, as each person’s life force is unique, the majority of people who have experienced the Technique do report benefits – it is unusual for the Technique not to be helpful in some way.
People are often drawn to the Metamorphic Technique at difficult times such as illness, bereavement, divorce and so on, or because they feel at a crossroads or ‘stuck’ in their lives. They find that it can help them to cope better in these difficult or transitional times.
Many people are drawn to the Technique because it allows them to deal with emotional issues and make deep inner changes without having to discuss their problems or delve into their past. On a physical level, people come with a variety of conditions from cancer to chronic fatigue. The Technique does not seek to address these conditions or their symptoms; however in many cases people find that symptoms diminish over time, or that they respond better to other treatments they have been following.
Can anyone learn the Metamorphic Technique?
Yes. Although the theory behind it can initially seem quite difficult to grasp, the practice is very simple to learn and use. No special abilities or background are needed to practise. It does not involve diagnosis, so no medical training is needed. Many people take short courses so they can use the Technique with family and friends. Parents are especially encouraged to learn, so they can give the Technique to their children.
How was it developed?
The Metamorphic Technique has its origins in the work of Robert St. John, a British naturopath and reflexologist. During the 1960s he discovered that he could bring about significant changes by applying a light touch to particular points on the feet that reflexologists call the spinal reflexes. Later, he realised that everyone has their own capacity for self-healing and that, if he allowed it to become fully active whilst practising, then his patients would be empowered to be their own healers in a truly effective way. Since permanent, far-reaching changes on a number of levels were now occurring in his patients – changes originating entirely from within the patients themselves – he developed a body of work aptly named Metamorphosis. This unique approach distinguished it from the temporary, limited changes that his previous therapeutic approaches had achieved.
Gaston Saint-Pierre, who studied extensively with Robert St. John during the 1970s, saw the potential for the development of a practical tool for self-healing and the realisation of one’s potential that could be easily integrated into everyday life. He therefore went on to further develop the work and created the term ‘The Metamorphic Technique’ to differentiate the new direction the work was now taking. The word ‘technique’ is defined as a way of approaching a task that perfects itself in the practice. In 1979 he set up The Metamorphic Association, which was then registered as a charity in 1984, to promote the Technique worldwide.
What is the theory behind the Metamorphic Technique?
From the traditions of Eastern medicine to the new discoveries of science, it is generally acknowledged that energy or ‘life force’ underlies all forms of life. This is the basis for the Metamorphic Technique. It is now widely recognised that our energy can get ‘stuck’ in particular patterns. Every cell that makes up our bodies and minds holds memories of our experiences – not only from our childhood but going right back through our time in the womb to the moment we were conceived. When an experience affects us strongly, the thoughts, emotions and beliefs connected to that memory can set up energy patterns in which we become ‘stuck’. In a sense, they keep us stuck in the past. These energy patterns can express themselves in a variety of ways, such as physical or mental illness, emotional problems, limiting attitudes and beliefs or repeating patterns of behaviour. In fact the Metamorphic Technique sees all mental, emotional, physical and behavioural ‘problems’ as symptoms or expressions of energy patterns.
By using a light touch to the spinal reflex points on the feet, hands and head, the Metamorphic practitioner acts as a catalyst (something that speeds up a process of change) to the person’s life force. The life force, guided by the person’s innate intelligence, will then bring about whatever transformations of the energy patterns are needed. This enables the person to naturally shift those patterns that no longer serve them. The energy that was ‘stuck’ is released, freeing them up from past influences and allowing them to let go and move forward. While the theory can initially seem quite difficult to grasp, it is not necessary to understand it to benefit.
What is unique about the Metamorphic Technique?
The Metamorphic Technique is:
- A unique tool for personal transformation.
- Not a therapy or a treatment, but a technique that helps trigger your own inner life force, enabling you to better realise your potential.
- Based on a new way of looking at energy patterns. While other approaches often focus on removing energy blockages, the Metamorphic Technique looks at transforming energy patterns. It does not consider people to be ‘blocked’ or ‘broken’ and in need of being ‘fixed’. Instead, it simply notices that you may have patterns that no longer serve you and that you wish to transform. The energy that was involved in creating the old patterns is released and can be used to create new patterns.
- Empowering. Any changes that occur originate entirely from within the recipient. That person’s own life force has an innate intelligence of its own. The practitioner simply acts as a catalyst in the process.
- Non-invasive. There is no physical manipulation, nor diagnosis, nor any need to discuss personal problems or medical history.
- Gentle and completely safe.
- Accessible to everyone, and easy to learn and integrate into everyday life.
kindly provided by Gaston Saint Pierre (founder of the Metamorphic Association)
Metamorphic Technique Links:
The Metamorphic Association – a network of people who support each other in learning, sharing, exploring, practicing, promoting and teaching the Metamorphic Technique.