We work with small groups of participants to facilitate processes of transformation and foster a deeper understanding of human potential.
If we define trauma as any stimuli which robs the individual of agency over their own neurology, we can see that there are both acute and chronic forms of trauma. Everything from “social conditioning” to Adverse Childhood Events(ACE) could be seen under this rubric. While the mechanisms along this spectrum can vary greatly, the common outcome is a rigidifying of the individual’s neural responses based on behaviors deemed most suitable for surviving the conditioning stimuli. This well intentioned adaptation of our nervous systems can, over time, limit our full potential, even as it strives to “guarantee” our survival. The Taoist canon, which at the outset informed classical Chinese medical practices, is extremely rich in practices for removing the limitations of both social conditioning and ACE-level coping mechanisms by reestablishing an individual’s agency over their own neurology. Tools for Transformation is different from other body based techniques in that it deploys the praxis of Taoist cultivation in order to provide a comprehensive map for function recovery, allowing individuals to guide the process across multiple modalities (qi gong exercises, reflective conversation, manual manipulation, guided systemic inquiry…) and eventually at multiple scales (individual, organizational, communal).
TOOLS FOR TRANSFORMATION
This model was developed through a series of month-long intensive trainings, and is currently offered in the following formats:
· HCO (Health Collaboration Organization) : an ongoing, dynamic, interactive alternative to an HMO. This subscription healthcare and vitality group offers multiple sessions weekly for participants to deepen their working knowledge of their own vitality, and to find support for specific healthcare concerns in real time as they arise.
· One-on-one treatment/training sessions: private forum for individuals who want to address specific concerns.
· Introductory workshops : daylong or weekend introductions to the working methodologies of the project.
• Organizational consultations: customized programs for implementing Tools For Transformation at the organizational scale.
At the heart of the intervention is a classical Taoist model for understanding how vital energies move and transform the natural world.
In nature FORMS are never static nor permanent. As the underlying ENERGY shifts the resulting formal manifestations give way and transFORM. In the fall, if you live some distance from the equator, there are fewer hours of sunlight energy. The deciduous trees respond by turning golden and bronze. They drop their leaves and begin to consolidate their energy into their trunks and roots. This process deepens through winter, and come spring, as the light energy shifts again, the tree has the stored resources to engage a new cycle of growth. As humans however we have learned to resist such energetic shifts in an attempt to keep our cultures and economies in endless outward expansion mode. But this “progress” comes at a cost. No system can expand forever. Are our systems reaching their limits? And what effect is this having on the individuals within those systems?
Tools for Transformation provides intensive education/training experiences to help identify how our vitality can get compromised by the patterns we adopt in order to survive various life circumstances, and then teaches specific practical techniques for uncompromising that vitality.

OUR INTENTION
Revitalizing systems at multiple scales
· individual health
· organizational health
· community health
By giving people back some of the “missing pages of the owner’s manual” for life in a human body, we can create a collaborative model for healthcare and a dynamically engaged citizenry which understands how processes of transformation occur.
Who We Are
Advisory Board
These rigorous trainings require a serious energetic investment. For many years we offered these trainings free of charge to individuals in need as part of a research project at the Helfgott Research Institute. We remain committed to working with individuals and organizations across a wide array of economic means. To facilitate this mandate we currently offer responsive pricing for all of our workshops and trainings depending on the resources of the individual or organization. The potential demonstrated by our participants for parlaying benefits to their own health and vitality into meaningful levels of social change will only be realized if we grant a diverse cross-section of the population equal access to the same tools for transformation. For specific questions about pricing or scheduling please contact us below.
Contact Us
Questions, comments, inquiries? Send an email to us. Find out how you can get involved as a Supporter or a Participant.