Hellerwork: What It Is and What It Does

In the ‘80s, there was a rapidly growing interest in fitness and widespread acknowledgment of the importance of maintaining good health in pursuit of a vital, productive life. This evolving attitude also emphasized the reduction and management of stress to maintain health and prevent disease.

The purpose of Hellerwork is to provide the individual with a sound foundation for good health by structurally realigning the body and freeing it from stored stress while, at the same time, providing an education in movement that will help maintain this alignment once it is achieved. Unlike the old health model of “Treat the symptom, ignore the person,” the Hellerwork approach recognizes the individual's wholeness and the importance of the individual’s involvement in the process.

In eleven 90-minute sessions, the Hellerwork Practitioner, through artful manipulation, remolds and rejuvenates the connective tissue surrounding the musculature, realigning the body and releasing chronic patterns of tension and stress accumulated during the course of modern life. This process restores the original plasticity of the tissue, returning to the body its natural flexibility and ease of movement, thus providing an excellent basis for fitness.

Why is such a body tune-up necessary? The body, as nature intended, is supple and highly flexible. Being 60%-75% water, the body’s bones and muscles float in a fluid environment of soft tissues. But with the experience of physical and psychological traumas, both large and small, and the subsequent accumulation of stress and muscular tension, the connective tissue, which envelop the muscles and shapes the body, takes on the weight-bearing function of bone, becoming rigid and inelastic. Tightness then progressively spreads throughout the body, becoming a permanent condition that worsens with age and contributes significantly to the body’s deterioration.

Hellerwork re-orders the entire body, returning plasticity to the tissue and relieving stored stress while educating the client in self-care. This realignment and release of tension also provides many other benefits. In addition to improved posture, clients commonly report the relief of pain in such areas as the neck, shoulders, and back, as well as increased energy and vitality. Many clients also experience improved abilities in concentration, sports, and other activities, and an increased sense of relaxation and well-being in general. Hellerwork provides a greater and more beneficial awareness of the body to support rather than limit the whole person’s development.

One of the most striking results of Hellerwork is its effect in preventing the usual physical decline associated with aging. Hellerwork can make the aging process not one of progressive narrowness and debilitation but a process of growth and expansion for the duration of one’s life.


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