Based on the work of Noah Steven Karrasch, CORE work can be performed as a series of five sessions, as a one session all-purpose treatment, or as specific symptom work...

...though we believe symptoms only point us to the problem and don't necessarily show where it's located. People come for many reasons:  pain or lack of movement, a desire to enhance performance or be more in touch with their bodymindcore, and as an adjunct to other therapies. We suggest trying a session with a practitioner to see if this bodywork makes sense to you.

S T A F F

Noah Karrasch, Founder - U.S.

Pamela Martin, Instructor - Scotland

Chris Mowen, Instructor - England

Pentony O’Hagan, Instructor - England

(Noah) Steven J. Karrasch, founder of the CORE Care Group in Springfield, MO, was born in St. Joseph, MO (home of Jesse James and the Pony Express) in 1950 and grew up on a farm north of town. He graduated from Savannah, MO Public Schools and the University of Missouri, Columbia in 1972 with a BS in Education, vocal music emphasis.

After working as an entertainer at Silver Dollar City in southwest Missouri, he taught public school music for several years. Next came a stint in Maine as a camp counselor, bartender, and pianist/vocalist/entertainer. On returning to the Ozarks in 1981 he taught music in the public school system until he picked up the Ida Rolf book Ida Rolf Talks About Rolfing and Physical Reality (Rosemary Feitis and Ida Rolf). This book totally opened his mind to the importance of bodywork with Ida Rolf's first quote: "This is the gospel according to Rolf.  When gravity gets flowing appropriately through the body, then spontaneously the body heals itself." He contacted the Rolf Institute in Boulder, CO and initiated the training process to become a certified Rolfer in 1984. He was certified by the Institute in 1986, received advanced certification from the Guild for Structural Integration in 1991, but since 1990 has disaffiliated with the Rolf Institute and has continued to develop and train in his bodywork practice. Since COVID days he has retired from private practice in Springfield, MO and does only occasional work in other parts of the world, mostly in mentoring situations, and now moving to online presentations.

Noah has been a teacher of bodywork both for massage schools and independently since 1994. His reason for participating in the training of the massage community is that he believes too many massagers learn just a bit about deep tissue work without really understanding what they are trying to achieve. He hopes to increase the level of learning in the massage and bodywork community by challenging his students to continue to enhance their skills as they invite change in their clients instead of demanding it from them. He sees a primary importance to teaching the philosophy of deep touch; the technique follows when the grounding of 'why' is present. He has given up his NCBTMB credential, let go of his Missouri massage license and gone inactive with his Arkansas teaching license. More and more he’s interested in working with students who are less interested in credentials and more interested in enhancing their knowledge and skills. He makes clear to these students that certification in CORE work is still under the jurisdiction of local governmental and governing bodies,.

His partner Gloria Galanes retired from her position as Dean of Arts and Letters at Missouri State University in 2017. During the fall semester of 2006 she taught for the Missouri-London program in London, England, so Noah lived and worked in London from Aug-Dec of 2006 while she completed her semester there.

Through fortunate circumstances he was invited to sing Handel's Messiah at St Paul's Cathedral in that December. He was a visiting fellow at the Wren Clinic in East Central London and continued this exchange until the closing of that clinic in 2014, and has now made numerous trips to London twice yearly to work and now to teach bodywork also (see Noah's Travel Diary). The UK visits have nearly stopped...from twice yearly, at this stage, trips to the UK have become very rare and are focused on instruction, not on seeing clients.

Noah published his first book Meet Your Body:  CORE Bodywork and Rolfing Tools to Release Bodymindcore Trauma, released in Feb of 2009 by Singing Dragon Publications, a division of Jessica Kingsley Publishers of London and Philadelphia. This book is meant primarily for clients — and their bodyworkers — to teach them how to better stretch, release and maintain their own bodies. His second book challenges us all to examine the connection between body complaints and emotional traumas.  Written more specifically for therapists, it's recently been published by Singing Dragon and is titled Freeing Emotions and Energy Through Myofascial Release. This book was released in February of 2012 and is available from amazon or the publisher. A third book was published in 2016:  Getting Better at Getting People Better is a philosophical look at what actually gets people back into health, and how the practitioner's own self-examination and attitudes contribute to success with others. The fourth book, with assistance from Robert White, physiotherapist/Pilates instructor/CORE Level IV from Teasdale, UK, and Elizabeth Buri, yoga and Pilates instructor/CORE Level IV and Level II Instructor, of Malaysia is called BodyMindCORE Work for the Movement Therapist: Leading Clients to CORE Breath and Awareness. Though primarily for movement therapists, most therapists could benefit from the information provided. His fifth book, The Self-Care Guide to Surgery: A BodyMindCORE Approach to Prevention, Preparation and Recovery was released in February of 2020. Book six, his text for bodyworkers who want to understand CORE, is called The Essential CORE: Bodywork with Hands, Head and Heart (2021) and is self-published and available on Amazon, as is his (hopefully) final book for both bodyworkers and patrons of bodywork: Finding and Sharing Resilience: Coping in a Crazy World (2022)

His daughter Molly is a graduate of Stephens College in Columbia, MO with a BFA in musical theater. She is rehabilitating a house in a small town in Texas where she runs her own online business. She is now the mother of Noah's grandchild, Henry.

In his spare time, Noah enjoys music, travel, gardening, reading, sunshine, most things Jamaican, rehabilitating the unused and unloved, and spending more retirement time in Crete, learning Greek.  And grandkids.  And slowing down.  And stretching more...

In these current trying economic, political, pandemic and environmental times of uncertainty, Noah believes we're all being given an opportunity to find and stay on our centers better. His work has always encouraged this; he now invites us all to learn to live in gratitude, more fully. He’s also realized that his style of work and of teaching the work encourages the practitioner to learn to work not just from hands and head, but also even more importantly, from the heart. Noah invites you to try a session of bodywork and see if you feel it serves your goals of achieving better health.

(Noah) Steven J. Karrasch has been licensed by the state of Arkansas as a Massage Therapy Instructor but has gone inactive on this license as well as forfeiting his license to practice bodywork in Missouri. Noah no longer teaches many classes of continuing education for massage therapists and bodyworkers infrequently, mostly in a mentoring situation at this time. His instructors are all certified and licensed by their local governing bodies; CORE work is not an accredited organization so students come for the information, not the certification to practice. Generally, to practice CORE work, one must either have previous credentials or plan to use CORE for family and friends without making a career.

The CORE Bodywork training and certification process is four phases long, with an optional Phase V. There are specific goals for each class and to become certified as a CORE Bodyworker with Noah and his instructors, all four segments must be completed. Levels II, III and IV have prerequisites; CORE I has none, though a massage certification, movement credential or chiropractic physiotherapy or some such credential is suggested. Many of these classes are held in Springfield, MO, USA, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, or London, England. Various 6-hour classes are held in other locations. Certain courses are also offered by Noah’s faculty: Elizabeth Buri in KL, Malaysia; Pam Martin in Edinburgh, Scotland; Pentony O’Hagan, Chris Mowen, and Nicola Reed in greater London; and Roxanne Portman, Naomi Lalonde and Abigail Showl in Arkansas; and very soon Albino Sandoval and Charity Smith in Missouri. Watch the Upcoming CORE Bodywork Classes page for information.

An online “tester” course called CORE .5 is in the works. The goal of this course will be to share with bodyworkers and to patrons what the basic principles of CORE work are and encourage them to learn and practice these principles; and hopefully to create interest among these folks so they’ll consider learning more of CORE.

Also, please be aware that the instructors may share feedback information written by one instructor as a prelude to meeting a student in their next phase, and that there is no guarantee that enrolling in a course will insure certification at the end of that course. Keep in mind that generally adding essence of time between segments of the training works to the benefit of the student as they absorb the ideas and put them into their practice.

CORE .5 Coming soon

CORE .5 — The Basic Ideas: A 6-10 hour online course that presents the basic principles of CORE work. In the time together, we will examine the ideas that make CORE work effective and talk about how one can incorporate these ideas both into a bodywork practice, but also into life in general. It will include one or two demonstrations of the first session of CORE bodywork, which is a great standalone session, and an online meeting with Noah or another instructor at its completion. An announcement will be made when this course is available.

CORE I

CORE I — The All Purpose Recipe: A 16-18 hour class introduces the philosophy of CORE work, sharpens assessment skills, discusses in depth psoas muscle with palpation, works with Noah's Muscle Roadmap model, creates stretching cues for client and practitioner, talks about the quality of integration in bodywork sessions, and provides opportunities for practice both in partnerships and with outside models (you may bring a model at no extra cost). Students will learn a CORE recipe for one-hour session. Note: This class includes elements of several six-hour classes: Psoas, Top Ten Hot Spots, Muscle Roadmaps, Stretching. Some information will seem old to you if you have taken these classes, but chances are you'll feel you've had an excellent review and achieved a new layer of knowledge. Pilates instructors, yoga instructors, MD's, physiotherapists and psychotherapists have all participated in CORE I training.

CORE II

CORE II — Technique: A 24-hour class; prerequisite is CORE I . Day one and two, techniques; day two review of CORE I recipe and demonstration on a model as well as video of deep fascia dissection. Day three work in recipe with partners, then with models. The purpose is to both give students many new techniques, challenge students to find the 'personal line' on each client, review the one session recipe, and prepare them for the five session recipe of CORE III. Also included in this class: seated back work, front of neck work, and emotional anatomy. Note: At any time in this process Noah or assigned instructors may choose not to certify a student after Level I if instructor believes the work of the student is not consistent with CORE values.

CORE III

CORE III — The Five Sessions: A 56-credit class over six days; prerequisite CORE I and II, by invitation. In this class Noah introduces his five series recipe and discusses the Ida Rolf ten session recipe and how it contrasts to the work we are doing. Students observe, receive, and practice Noah's five series on each other and one model, observing one series given by CORE IV students as well if they are present in the course; and come out with a specific formula for addressing clients' body needs while enhancing their body awareness and understanding of self-imposed restrictions that can be changed. Particular attention is given to developing greater communication skills with clients. This class examines how health can be integrated into the lives of clients and students. CORE is not Rolfing! This is a specific series that accomplishes many of Rolfing's goals, but also intends to achieve different results. Note: CORE III's and IV's will be asked to sign a contract stating they will not teach this work in its body.

CORE IV

CORE IV — The Final Step: A 64-hour class taken over eight days; prerequisite CORE I, II, and III and by invitation only. This class is meant to be taken at least one year after CORE III, with practice of the five series in between. It is for serious students who want to develop and polish deeper bodywork skills, and the class is guaranteed to change both the way you think about bodies and about the recipe for five sessions learned in CORE III. Those who have completed this course understand the value of CORE IV. The CORE IV certificate is not recognized by any governing or certifying body as a terminal degree; this training is for bodyworkers who seriously want to enhance their skills, not their credentials. That said, this certificate is becoming more valued and valuable as more students are practicing and seeing the value of CORE work.

CORE V

CORE V — The Master Class: Noah encourages any practitioner to pursue continuing education because there is always more to be learned. This informal CORE V is offered to those who have completed CORE III or CORE IV. Critical Thinking for Bodyworkers, in which the student and the instructor determine the direction of the course. In one to three days, depending on the needs of the students, we meet and work with current thoughts of CORE work. The purpose is to teach students to further enhance their skills and remember to accept deep work as well as give it. This can be seen as a master class, currently with Noah, and is only offered when requested by advanced students.

Links of Interest

CORE Bodywork

• The Rolf Institute

  Worldwide organization of Rolfers and the group that have retained the rights to use the name "Rolfer."

• Guild for Structural Integration

  The original name of Ida Rolf's workers, and the teachers who stay with the more traditional Rolfing recipe. This tends to be a more ecumenical group: their directory includes Hellerworkers and some Rolfers as well as GSI practitioners.

Massage

One of the oldest and largest organizations of massage therapists in the country; offering a credential, benefits, and a referral system for massage therapists and an information service for clients.

• American Massage Therapy Association