Put a stop to those two-left-feet moments. If you feel like you’re constantly tripping over yourself, Hellerwork could help restore your body's natural balance from the inside out by encouraging you to make the connection between movement and body alignment. Based on the assumption that everyone is innately healthy, Hellerwork will make you more aware of your relationship with your body and the world around you.
And so three become one. Hellerwork is a system based on the inseparability of mind, body and spirit. It aims to realign the body by releasing chronic build-ups of stress, reconditioning the whole body from posture to emotional state, thus improving your overall wellbeing.
Involving deep tissue massage alongside a basic lesson in understanding body structure and movement, your first taster of Hellerwork will begin with a consultation. Here you'll be asked about your body and if there have been any noticeable changes recently, this will then be followed up with an assessment of your structure and movement patterns, and from this your practitioner will compose a personalised treatment for you, based on your particular needs.
Unlike regular massage - where you can let someone else do the unwinding for you - the bodywork component of Hellerwork requires you to actively participate in the process by stretching and moving during certain times. Although mostly administered whilst lying on a massage table, some work is carried out while you're seated or standing. Focusing on the tissue that covers the muscles – fasciae, as opposed to the muscles themselves, the technique used feels like slow deep pressure, followed by a pleasant sense of ease and release, but depending on the condition of the tissue, the sensations can sometimes be a little uncomfortable.
After the physical side of the session, your practitioner will then have a chat with you to air any concerns or stresses affecting your life which may also affect your mood and, in turn, posture. They'll explain the links between mind, body and spirit. For example, if you’re in a negative mood the way you carry yourself changes, which can lead to your emotional problems becoming physical ones.
Typically a series of eleven ninety minute sessions of Hellerwork is advised and you’ll need to maintain what you’ve been taught when you get back to the daily grind, such as how to sit correctly or stand with the correct posture.
If you're feeling a little out of sync with your body, have aches and pains from sitting at your desk too long or are all too aware of your absence of posture, Hellerwork can help you help yourself. Giving you the tension release you need, upon completion of a session you'll leave feeling a sense of lightness, length, and well being. And, with the added benefit of knowledge, Hellerwork empowers you to integrate your new found awareness and new relationship with your body to a new way of being.
Specific conditions that respond well to Hellerwork Therapy are those that can result from accumulated tension or the body being out of alignment. These include chronic back or neck pain, migraine or headaches, scoliosis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Fasciitis.
Hellerwork was founded by Joseph Heller in 1978 following his study of Rolfing.